Pope Francis has reportedly encouraged a 22-year-old gay man to continue to pursue a vocation to the priesthood after he was not accepted into a Catholic seminary.
Just days after the Vatican issued an apology for the pontiff’s use of a slur in reference to seminarians who identify as gay, Francis reportedly responded to an email from a young gay man, telling him to “go ahead” with his vocation.
The young man apparently wrote to the Pope after seeing reports that Francis allegedly used a homophobic slur in a closed-door discussion with the Italian bishops’ conference.
He reportedly asked the bishop to exercise caution in admitting gay men to seminaries.
The Vatican subsequently published and apology for the reported slur.
Prospective seminarian
The prospective seminarian, 22-year old Lorenzo Michele Noè Caruso, is reported to have written a lengthy email to Francis, expressing his bitterness at being turned away from the seminary.
He was disappointed by the pope’s remark, he wrote.
He also told Francis that he and many others like him “live on the margins of the Church, often forced to hide because they are excluded from the community or forced to pay the high price of rejection for their sincerity”.
He also said he hopes the Synod on Synodality, which has discussed LGBTQ+ Catholics’ inclusion, will result in “a turning point to walk together under the light of Christ, where no one is rejected and everyone is an expression of God’s plan for our Church”.
Pope’s handwritten response
Francis handwrote his reply to Caruso. His letter was scanned and attached to his email response to Caruso’s message.
In the letter, Francis reportedly thanked Caruso for reaching out, saying he was struck by the phrase “toxic and elective clericalism”.
“It’s true! You know that clericalism is a plague? It’s an ugly ‘worldliness’” he said.
Francis reiterated his position that “Jesus calls everyone, everyone”, telling Caruso “go forward with your vocation. I pray for you, please do it for me (I need it)”.
All welcome
The Vatican has also said Francis has reiterated his long-standing view that “in the Church there is space for everyone, for everyone! No one is useless, no one is superfluous, there is space for all. Just as we are, everyone”.
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