Pope Francis apologized Tuesday after he was quoted using a vulgar term about gays to reaffirm the Catholic ChurchB次元官网网址檚 ban on gay priests.

Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni issued a statement acknowledging the media storm that erupted about FrancisB次元官网网址� comments, which were delivered behind closed doors to Italian bishops on May 20.

Italian media on Monday had quoted unnamed Italian bishops in reporting that Francis jokingly used the term B次元官网网址渇aggotnessB次元官网网址� while speaking in Italian during the encounter. He had used the term in reaffirming the VaticanB次元官网网址檚 ban on allowing gay men to enter seminaries and be ordained priests.

Bruni said Francis was aware of the reports and recalled that the Argentine pope, who has made outreach to LGBTQ+ Catholics a hallmark of his papacy, has long insisted there was B次元官网网址渞oom for everyoneB次元官网网址� in the Catholic Church.

B次元官网网址淭he pope never intended to offend or express himself in homophobic terms, and he extends his apologies to those who were offended by the use of a term that was reported by others,B次元官网网址� Bruni said.

Francis was addressing an assembly of the Italian bishops conference, which recently approved a new document outlining training for Italian seminarians. The document, which hasnB次元官网网址檛 been published pending review by the Holy See, reportedly sought to open some wiggle room in the VaticanB次元官网网址檚 absolute ban on gay priests.

The Vatican ban was articulated in a 2005 document from the Congregation for Catholic Education, and later repeated in a subsequent document in 2016, which said the church cannot admit to seminaries or ordain men who B次元官网网址減ractice homosexuality, present deep-seated homosexual tendencies or support the so-called gay culture.B次元官网网址�

Francis strongly reaffirmed that position in his May 20 meeting with the Italian bishops, joking that B次元官网网址渢here is already an air of faggotnessB次元官网网址� in seminaries, the Italian media reported, after initial reporting from gossip site Dagospia.

Italian is not FrancisB次元官网网址� mother tongue language, and the Argentine pope has made linguistic gaffes in the past that raised eyebrows. The 87-year-old Argentine pope often speaks informally, jokes using slang and even curses in private.

He has been known for his outreach to LGBTQ+ Catholics, however, starting from his famous B次元官网网址淲ho am I to judgeB次元官网网址� comment in 2013 about a priest who purportedly had a gay lover in his past.

Nicole Winfield, The Associated Press