<p>Pope Francis may have put his liberal reputation at stake when he refused the nomination of gay French ambassador Laurent Stefanini. His action doesn&#8217;t come as a surprise considering how may times the pontiff has refuted gender theory, even comparing it to Nazi propaganda. ;</p>
<p>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&rsquo;s best diplomats, Stefanini&rsquo;s nomination as ambassador to the Vatican was both a &ldquo;wish by the president and a cabinet decision.&rdquo; ;</p>
<p>Cardinals Andre Vingt-Trois and Jean-Louis Tauran stepped up to back Stefanini&#8217;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&rsquo;s prolonged silence since Stefanini&rsquo;s nomination back in January can only be understood as rejection.  ;</p>
<p>The French media has been all over this story, reporting that Stefanini&rsquo;s rejection based on his sexual orientation was &ldquo;a decision taken by the pope himself.&rdquo; ;</p>
<p><em>Liberation</em>, a left-wing daily, reported: &ldquo;The Vatican&rsquo;s homophobia seriously tarnishes Pope Francis&rsquo; image as being (slightly) more open-minded than his predecessors on sexuality.&rdquo;</p>
<p>While Pope Francis may stand out from his predecessors by talking openly about homosexuality and gender theory, he can&rsquo;t seem to make up his mind. Just two years ago he proclaimed, &ldquo;If a person is gay and seeks God and has good will, who am I to judge?&rdquo; ;</p>
<p>Despite those accepting words, Pope Francis openly criticized France in 2013 when the socialist country legalized gay marriage. ;</p>
<p>Earlier this year during a talk in Naples, Italy, Pope Francis described ;gender theory as &ldquo;an error of the human mind that leads to so much confusion.&rdquo; He believes the traditional idea of family is &ldquo;under attack&#8221; and ;refers to the spread of gender theory as &ldquo;ideological colonization.&rdquo; He later explained: &ldquo;it colonizes the people with an idea that wants to change a mentality or a structure.&rdquo; ;</p>
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