The Vatican has been dragging its feet on the approval of France’s ambassador to the Holy See, raising suspicions that it has effectively rejected the nomination of Laurent Stéfanini because he is gay, reports The Guardian.
The Vatican declined to comment on speculation about the delay.
Stéfanini, a 55-year-old practising Catholic, has been described in the Italian press as an exemplary candidate and a man of “exceptional culture”. He is a senior diplomat and chief of protocol in the French government of François Hollande.
His nomination was put forward in January but the Vatican has not responded, usually an indication that the potential ambassador has been rejected. Reports in both the French and Italian press suggested the decision was clearly connected to Stéfanini being gay.
The controversy could tarnish Pope Francis’s image as being more tolerant than his predecessors over gay rights. When asked by a reporter in 2013 about the existence of a “gay lobby” within the Vatican, he responded: “Who am I to judge?”. His words have been interpreted as a sign of some acceptance of gay people in a church that regards homosexual acts as a sin.
But on a trip to the Philippines earlier this year, the Argentinean pontiff decried efforts to “redefine family” and the institution of marriage, comments that were seen as an attack on marriage equality for gay men and lesbians.
The appointment of Stéfanini was blessed by the archbishop of Paris, Cardinal André Vingt-Trois, according to a report in Out magazine. The French embassy to the Holy See declined to comment.
If Stéfanini has been rejected because he is gay, it would not be the first time the Vatican has turned down a candidate for controversial reasons.