Pope ‘personally’ rejects France’s gay ambassador to the Vatican

[cleanhippie]

The Pope has personally met with France’s proposed ambassador to the Vatican – to tell him his appointment will be blocked because he is gay.

The French government has refused to back down after selecting openly gay diplomat Laurent Stefanini to head to the home of the Catholic Church – which remains actively opposed to LGBT rights.

However, the Vatican has snubbed the country’s selection of ambassador – refusing to answer the nomination in a bid to get it withdrawn.

Pope Francis, who as the head of the Catholic Church is the sovereign of Vatican City, met with Mr Stefanini this week to personally reject him.

According to Reuters, the Pontiff met with the diplomat to tell him that he will not be allowed to become the country’s diplomat, because of his sexuality. Mr Stefanini is single, but the Pope also reportedly raised concerns about same-sex marriage.

http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2015/04/24/pope-personally-rejects-frances-gay-ambassador-to-the-vatican/

Wonder Pope! The bestest and most progressive Pope ever!

[skepticscott]

1. I'm sure his champions here will applaud this

as "baby steps". And will be "cautiously optimistic" that he will transform the church into a decent, non-bigoted organization some time in this millennium. Or respond with 17 irrelevant Google search results. Or post 5 more articles slamming atheists. Or argue that people who aren't directly affected have no right or reason to complain about this. Or deflect the whole issue by regaling us with plans for their summer Italian holiday. It wouldn't even be above some posters here to just call atheists "assholes" (or should I say "arseholes"?) for daring to make an issue of this.

[bvf]

3. How judgmental

and accurate and well researched you are.

[bvf]

2. Go get 'em, Frank!

Meet with the guy in person so you can spit in his face!

Is religion great, or what?

[Arugula Latte]

4. Hey, give PopeAwesome some credit!

At least he didn't burn him at the stake in Saint Peter's Square. The Church is really evolving!

[bvf]

5. Baby steps, right?

At this rate, we'll be seeing the RCC's LGBT acceptance by about the year 4000.

Call me a cock-eyed optimist.

[Arugula Latte]

6. Who knows, maybe it will happen in 3000.

I mean, look at the lightning speed at which the Church issued an apology to Galileo. That only took 450 years.

[Kelvin Mace]

7. France should now severe all relations with the Vatican

There need to be consequences for irrational bigotry.

[cleanhippie]

8. The Catholic Laity needs to sever relations.

But we both know that's not gonna happen.

[skepticscott]

15. No, because people here and elsewhere

keep stumping for the "change from within" bullshit, which only supports and perpetuates this kind of fundamental bigotry.

But..Soup Kitchens!! And Dawkins is a meanie!!

[cleanhippie]

19. They ignored the nins at their own peril!

That was a PR nightmare. Those nuns really made waves and caused change. Or something.

[mike_c]

9. that went well the last time they tried it, LOL....

14th century.

[bvf]

13. Absolutely right.

I've said elsewhere that other countries should play the same gambit and expose this homophobic monolith for what it is.

[TlalocW]

10. Why have an ambassador to a small city-state

That doesn't produce anything except excuses for how their priests behave?

TlalocW

[bvf]

11. Because it's rich as all fucking get-out

and still represents a significant (though declining, from all reports) portion of the population?

[trotsky]

12. Yay Wonderpope Frank! Who is he to judge, indeed!

He can judge EVERYONE!

Fucking BIGOT.

[rug]

14. Here's the Reuters report, the source of the OP.

Pope met French Vatican envoy nominee at center of gay speculation


(Reuters) - Pope Francis has held a private meeting with France's nominee as ambassador to the Holy See, the French government said on Wednesday in the latest twist in a months-long stand-off over the Vatican's failure to confirm his posting.

Paris nominated the government's head of protocol, Laurent Stefanini, for the post on Jan. 5 but has still not heard back from the Vatican - a delay that French and Italian media have said is due to his homosexuality.

"There was a meeting between the Pope and Mr Stefanini," government spokesman Stephane Le Foll told a regular briefing, confirming a report by satirical weekly Le Canard Enchaine but dismissing the newspaper's assertion that his candidacy had been finally rejected during the April 18 meeting.

"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."

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/04/22/us-pope-france-idUSKBN0ND1I620150422

[struggle4progress]

16. The Holy See signed the Vienna Convention in April 1961

... Article 4 ... #2. The receiving State is not obliged to give reasons to the sending State for a refusal of agrément ... Article 9 #1. The receiving State may at any time and without having to explain its decision, notify the sending State that the head of the mission or any member of the diplomatic staff of the mission is persona non grata or that any other member of the staff of the mission is not acceptable ...

[struggle4progress]

17. Pope Francis meets with gay French ambassador nominee

By Andrea Gagliarducci

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 ... 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 ... 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 ...

http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/pope-francis-meets-with-gay-french-ambassador-nominee-72369/

[locks]

18. The more important question is

why does France (or the USA and 180 other states) have diplomatic relations and send ambassadors to Vatican City but not to Mecca, Jerusalem, or any other "religious" city?
From C.P.G.Grey Vatican City Explained: "The King of Vatican City (the Pope) has absolute unchecked power within the country's borders and his presence makes Vatican City one of only six remaining absolute monarchies in the world. The King's absolute power is one reason why Vatican City cannot join the European Union because only democracies are allowed." C.P.G. Grey, Vatican City Explained.
The Holy See was made a nonmember permanent observer of the United Nations in 1964 and given full rights of membership except voting in 2004. The only other "nonmember" is the State of Palestine. Israel is not considered "a Jewish state."

The Center for Reproductive Law and Policy: "..the status of the Holy See as a nonmember permanent observer to the UN is questionable. Moreover, there are doubts about whether in 1964 the UN is creating a precedent for similar claims by other religions. To ensure that the UN does not promote one particular religious view religious entities such as the Roman Catholic Church should not be permitted to participate in that body as nonmember states."

We can only hope France will tell the Vatican it is not interested in sending an ambassador and 180 other states will follow.

[cleanhippie]

20. Never gonna happen. Too many defend and carry water for the RCC. Just look upthread.

The usual suspects with the usual responses defending the usual shit.

[rug]

22. Replying to the usual broadbrushes posting the usual shit.

[beam me up scottie]

21. Glad to see he's quit stalling and showed his true colours.

But according to the usual apologist we can't know for sure that it's because he's gay since the Vienna Convention allows the state to "reject the request for accreditation of an ambassador, without giving any explanation about the reasons why".

And Frank didn't come right out and say he's a homophobic bigot.

So there.

[edhopper]

23. it's like clockwork.

Isn't it?

[beam me up scottie]

24. And the cut-and-paste excerpts allow them to hide behind other's bigotry.

"Horror of Horrors! The Pope thinks marriage is a good thing!"

It's not me that's saying these things, it's the pope/church/website.

Clever.