教皇方濟各在與意大利主教閉門會議中使用了對待LGBT社區極具貶損性的詞語，並重申同性戀者不應該成為神父，意大利媒體周一報導。 意大利最大發行量的《共和國報》和《晚郵報》都引述教皇的話，稱修道院或神職學校已經充斥著“frociaggine”，這是一個粗俗的意大利詞語，大致翻譯為“同性戀”。《共和國報》將其報導歸因於幾個未具體指出的消息來源，而《晚郵報》則表示有幾位未具名的主教證實了這一說法，並暗示教皇作為一名阿根廷人可能沒有意識到他使用的意大利詞語是冒犯性的。
Pope Francis used a highly derogatory term towards the LGBT community as he reiterated in a closed-door meeting with Italian bishops that gay people should not be allowed to become priests, Italian media reported on Monday. La Repubblica and Corriere della Sera, Italy’s largest circulation dailies, both quoted the pope as saying seminaries, or priesthood colleges, are already too full of “frociaggine”, a vulgar Italian term roughly translating as “faggottness”. La Repubblica attributed its story to several unspecified sources, while Corriere said it was backed up by a few, unnamed bishops, who suggested the pope, as an Argentine, might have not realised that the Italian term he used was offensive.