LGBTQ+ activists have poked fun at the Pope for his recent comments about gay men becoming priests. On Saturday, Rome held its 30th annual Pride celebrations. Tens of thousands of people took to the streets in bright and colourful outfits – marching, dancing and singing through the Italian capital.
A large share of placards, signs and banners visible among the crowds made fun of the pontiff’s recent off-colour remarks. Last month, Pope Francis was forced to issue an apology after an Italian media outlet quoted unnamed bishops saying the Holy Father had used the term ‘faggotness’ in jest during an official meeting held in Italian. The phrase is understood to have been used in relation to the Vatican’s ban on allowing gay men to enter the clergy, which was recently reaffirmed.
The Argentine pontiff, who regularly uses slang when speaking in his native Spanish, is reported to have again used the term for a second time during a meeting with priests in Rome this week. One of the signs, displayed from a large motorcycle driven by a woman in a rainbow-coloured hat at the front of Saturday’s parade, read: ‘Attention, from here on high levels of faggotry.’ Another, held up by a man dressed as the Holy Father himself, said: ‘There is too much faggotry in this parade.
’ Elly Schlien, a leader of Italy’s main opposition party, was seen dancing on a float at the heart of the event. Putin warns West he's being 'pushed to point of no return' over World War III One dead .
