Pope Francis may have put his liberal reputation at stake when he refused the nomination of gay French ambassador Laurent Stefanini. His action doesn’t come as a surprise considering how may times the pontiff has refuted gender theory, even comparing it to Nazi propaganda.
Laurent Stefanini, widely respected among French Catholics, serves President Francois Hollande not only as a personal aide, but also as Chief of Protocol. Regarded as one of France’s best diplomats, Stefanini’s nomination as ambassador to the Vatican was both a “wish by the president and a cabinet decision.”
Cardinals Andre Vingt-Trois and Jean-Louis Tauran stepped up to back Stefanini’s nomination, but Pope Francis would hear nothing of it. Nominees typically wait between one and two months to find out if they are accepted. The Vatican’s prolonged silence since Stefanini’s nomination back in January can only be understood as rejection.
The French media has been all over this story, reporting that Stefanini’s rejection based on his sexual orientation was “a decision taken by the pope himself.”
Liberation, a left-wing daily, reported: “The Vatican’s homophobia seriously tarnishes Pope Francis’ image as being (slightly) more open-minded than his predecessors on sexuality.”
While Pope Francis may stand out from his predecessors by talking openly about homosexuality and gender theory, he can’t seem to make up his mind. Just two years ago he proclaimed, “If a person is gay and seeks God and has good will, who am I to judge?”
Despite those accepting words, Pope Francis openly criticized France in 2013 when the socialist country legalized gay marriage.
Earlier this year during a talk in Naples, Italy, Pope Francis described gender theory as “an error of the human mind that leads to so much confusion.” He believes the traditional idea of family is “under attack” and refers to the spread of gender theory as “ideological colonization.” He later explained: “it colonizes the people with an idea that wants to change a mentality or a structure.”