Vatican shutting out gay French ambassador
The Vatican is being accused of rejecting France’s nomination for ambassador to the Holy See, because the nominee is gay.
France submitted its application to the Vatican in January, with The Guardian reporting that there has been no response thus far.
Italian press have referred to France’s nominee — Laurent Stéfanini, who is chief of protocol in the French Government — as being a man of “exceptional culture.” Stéfanini is a practising Catholic, but that hasn’t helped his case. Both French and Italian papers believe that the lack of confirmation — an impolite form of rejection — is directly linked to Stéfanini’s sexuality.
In 2009, the Catholic News Service reported a Vatican source as saying: “For Catholic ambassadors, there is the question of their matrimonial situation. But outside of that, I don’t think there are other criteria.”
Indeed, France is no stranger to Vatican rejection based on sexuality. In 2008, France was rebuffed for suggesting an ambassador who was in a civil union with his male partner — the Vatican also rejected France’s follow-up nominee, who was divorced.
Image Credit: Diana Robinson / Flickr
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