Report: Pope Rejects France's Gay Ambassadorial Nominee

Pope Francis met over the weekend with the gay man who is France's candidate for ambassador to the Vatican and told the candidate his appointment was unacceptable, a French publication is reporting.

Some articles published earlier this month indicated the pope had already rejected the candidate, Laurent Stefanini, but this is the first report of a meeting between the two. U.K. newspaper The Guardian cites a story in the French newspaper Le Canard Enchaine saying the pope objected to Stefanini because of France's 2013 marriage equality law and to the choice of an ambassadorial nominee who was bound to be controversial, given that the Roman Catholic Church considers homosexuality a disorder and gay sex a sin.

Le Canard Enchaine is a satirical publication, but the article on the pope was apparently meant to be taken seriously. "According to the report, Stefanini had a 'very discreet' 15-minute audience with the pontiff over the weekend, who said his objection to the French appointment was 'nothing personal,'" The Guardian reports.

Vatican officials would not comment to The Guardian "about the veracity of the report or whether a meeting took place," the U.K. paper notes. Stephane Le Foll, a spokesman for the French government, confirmed that the meeting happened but dismissed the Le Canard Enchaine article. "Nothing has changed: France has proposed a candidate and for the time being we are waiting for the Vatican's reply after the usual discussions and review of his candidacy," Le Foll told reporters.

Any nation has the right to reject an ambassadorial candidate proposed by another nation. "Usually, a country would not put a nominee forward to the Holy See if it knew following informal talks that the nominee might not be seen as acceptable," The Guardian notes.

The rejection may seem at odds with Francis's "Who am I to judge?" comment on gay priests and some of his other conciliatory remarks about LGBT people, but the pope has also shown no inclination to make major changes in church doctrine.

"Will Pope Francis's ecclesial decisions always exactly mirror his refreshing openness on so many previously hardened positions? Probably not," Yale Divinity School professor Teresa Berger told The Guardian. "Will some be disappointed? Probably yes."