Pope Francis meets with gay French ambassador nominee

Last updated on: April 24, 2015 at 5:00 pm by CNA Daily News

Pope Francis meets with gay French ambassador nominee 2015-04-24T17:00:00+00:00 CNA Daily News

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Vatican City, Apr 24, 2015 / 11:00 am (CNA).- Pope Francis met April 17 with Laurent Stefanini, the openly gay foreign service officer named by France to be ambassador to the Vatican.

News of the private audience, which was kept strictly confidential, was reported April 22 by the French magazine Le Canard Enchainé, although the magazine said that the meeting took place April 18. A source from the Vatican Secretariat of State told CNA that the meeting actually took place in the late evening of April 17, and confirmed that it lasted about 15 minutes.

The case of the French ambassador-elect to the Holy See has sparked controversy and media frenzy in parts of Europe.

At the beginning of April, French media spread the news that the François Hollande administration had chosen Laurent Stefanini to be the new French ambassador to the Holy See January 5, but that the Vatican has not responded yet to the request for accreditation of the new ambassador.

According to diplomatic right, a State can reject the request for accreditation of an ambassador, without giving any explanation about the reasons why. A State can even decide not to give a response at all to the request for accreditation of the new ambassador, and the lack of response is understood as a soft rejection of the appointment.

In order to receive Holy See diplomatic approval, ambassadors appointed to the Holy See must meet certain prerequisites and must behave in accordance with Church teaching. For example, an ambassador to the Holy See cannot be a divorced and civilly remarried person or someone living an actively gay lifestyle.

Laurent Stefanini describes himself as both gay and a self-proclaimed devout Catholic, who regularly attends Mass.

A source who serves in the Holy See diplomacy explained to CNA Apr. 21 that it should be well understood “why the Vatican delayed to give the approval to the appointment, but we can certainly assess that it was not for discrimination about his sexual orientation.”

As a matter of fact, the dossier of Stefanini lies in the Vatican Secretariat of State, which is the only Vatican body that may know in depth the reasons for the delay. The Secretariat of State is not issuing comments, as diplomatic procedures require discretion in relations among States.

According to the Italian daily news portal “Vatican Insider,” Archbishop Luigi Ventura, apostolic nuncio to France, invited Stefanini for a meeting in the nunciature February 5. During the meeting, Archbishop Ventura would have asked Stefanini to step down, but he had refused to do so.

As the Vatican delayed its response, news of the missed approval broke at the beginning of April, and secular media started pressuring the Holy See on the issue.

Withholding approval would not be unprecedented. In 2007, the Holy See did not give diplomatic approval to the appointment of Jean Loup Khun-Delforge as French ambassador. Khun-Delforge, who was openly gay, was cohabiting with his partner and in support of civil unions.

Stephane Le Foll, a spokesperson for the French Presidency, confirmed that “there was a meeting between the Pope and Stefanini,” and that “nothing has changed: France has proposed a candidate, and at the moment we are waiting for the Vatican response.”

Waiting for the final decision, a Vatican source said to the French newspaper 'La Croix' that “the Vatican message to France is: follow the procedures.” Such procedures imply silence while the review process of a proposed ambassador is ongoing.

Vatican

Previous Post

April 24, 2015

New Greensburg bishop seeks to emulate Francis' focus on mercy

Next Post

April 24, 2015 Armenian genocide beckons for a new start in Turkey, historian says

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Americas Asia - Pacific Europe Middle East - Africa Uncategorized US Vatican

Select a Month November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Which book of the Bible contains the Ten Commandments?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Leviticus Genesis Exodus Numbers