The Pope keeps saying the f-slur

Modern Relics is a regular newsletter about religion, the internet and pop culture, especially when they all happen at once.

I’m back from my holiday! Thanks for holding tight while I frolicked around California.

Just FYI there are a handful of slurs used in this edition! I take the Guardian’s philosophy on printing profanity, which means I do it without censoring but not heaps. Also bear in mind I’m gay and can say it lmao. This is a really gay edition of the newsletter – happy Pride!

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The Pope is repeatedly and unapologetically saying the f-slur

Almost immediately after putting on my out of office and packing my bags ready for my holiday, the Pope said "frociaggine" ("faggotry"), igniting the internet with discourse exactly when I couldn't write about it. Thanks, Francis.

What happened? In a closed-door meeting, Pope Francis and about 200 Italian bishops were deciding whether to repeal a 2005 ban on seminaries admitting men who “practice homosexuality, present deep-seated homosexual tendencies or support the so-called gay culture”.

Francis wasn't in favour, saying "there is already enough faggotry" in Catholic seminaries. It was immediately leaked to the Italian press and reported widely.

The discourse about it all was pretty interesting. LGBT Catholic groups were understandably upset, but queer people online were… thrilled and amused? I do not speak Italian so I'm willing to take correction on this, but I'm led to believe that "frociaggine" is a niche word mostly used by queer Italians. Italian is not the Pope's first language. Why does this Spanish-speaking Argentine Pope know that word?

Tumblr user valarinde:

"everyone is focusing on the wrong aspect here. it’s not “the pope used homophobic language this is unacceptable”. it’s “someone has been teaching the pope italian gay slang” #YOU GUYS DON'T UNDERSTAND. WHO TAUGHT HIM THE WORD

The title of this section isn’t strictly true, because the Pope did kind of apologise for this. Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said, “The Pope never intended to offend or express himself in homophobic terms, and he apologises to those who felt offended by the use of a term reported by others.”

So it's 'Sorry if you were offended.' Not quite an apology but ok.

Then, just weeks later, he said it again. “There is an air of faggotry in the Vatican”, said Francis. The discourse redoubled.

The number of posts about this has been enormous, to the point where I'm having trouble including all my favourite ones in this edition. Despite the volume of material across multiple social media platforms, I've seen very few people sincerely outraged about it. Why?

For me, there are a few things going on here:

1. Despite being the head of a church that is famously traditional about sex, Pope Francis has a public image of a kindly old man who helps the poor and wouldn’t hurt anyone on purpose. To see him being so cartoonishly insensitive feels surprising, even though duh, he’s the Pope. Of course he thinks that.
2. Despite being a world leader, the Pope says off-the-wall stuff all the time and isn't afraid to crack (sometimes off-colour) jokes in public. Remember when after an illness he said "I'm still alive — though some wanted me dead"? Or when he called pet owners without children "selfish"? Or when he tweeted that "The earth, our home, is beginning to look more and more like an immense pile of filth"? Pope Francis' extemporaneous comments have drawn controversy since the beginning of his papacy and get interpreted in various ways. He's a little kooky. He's a funny guy. But he's not your weird uncle, he's the Pope, so people pay attention.
3. The church might think of itself as a bastion of traditional values, but it’s undeniable that Catholicism is… kind of gay. The robes. The pageantry. The smells and bells. The veneration of fabulous women. It’s giving Liberace. It’s giving razzmatazz. Gay men sometimes use the f-slur speaking to each other as in-group bonding and a sign of affection. As far as we know the Pope is not a homosexual, but that almost feels like what’s going on here. Go off queen.

Can the Pope say the f-slur? Well, no, but it’s extremely funny to me that he has. I'm not alone. In the National Catholic Reporter, "Pope Francis: The unintentional star of Rome's 2024 LGBTQ Pride parade".

"There is too much faggotry in this pride," read one sign in Italian. The poster was being carried by a man dressed in a white cassock, like that of the pope, except he was also draped in a pride flag and wearing a rainbow crucifix.

Parade-goers aren't happy the Pope used a slur, but they're protesting using the kind of serious irony that is common online and has been part of Queer culture as long as anyone can remember. Straight-up outrage gives the Pope more power than he really has. But costumes and meme formats are good at getting messages across, and besides – they're more fun.

Oh, one last thing to add to the list above: This is a good example of a meme that's impossible for brands to hijack. Normally the M&M's Twitter account would have jumped on a trending topic like this and ruined the fun for everyone, but can you imagine the Denny's Tumblr posting, "does this outfit serve cunt, francis?" No! But real people can and that's beautiful.

God first. Garfield in theaters everywhere

Chris Pratt keeps being the weirdest guy possible in the normiest possible way.

"Meet the queer Methodist who played 'HOT TO GO!' on church bells"

Found this via Sojourners News Editor Mitchell Atencio on Bluesky. Katelyn MacDonald is a volunteer bell ringer at Duke Memorial United Methodist Church in Durham, North Carolina and played Chappell Roan's hit song "HOT TO GO!" on the church bells for the first day of Pride Month.

Video of it went viral on TikTok and was reposted by Chappell Roan herself, who told Indy Week she was excited to hear the song played in a church.

From Indy Week:

"I haven’t been that shocked in…” she trailed off, “Probably ever. For the first time, it felt like my song was within the culture for the first time ever. Obsessed.”

The article is worth a read, and even gets into the tensions in the United Methodist Church around same-sex marriage in Durham and beyond. It's also worth reading Sojourners' write up about it, who go more in-depth with MacDonald and report that she got a free ticket to Chappell Roan's show in Raleigh. So cool!

I'm also using this as an excuse to make "HOT TO GO!" the 100th song on the Modern Relics Spotify playlist. Check it out.

A good post

"...and I said oooh trauma"

Lisa Barlow said happy Pride!

While I was in LA, Lisa Barlow, Real Housewives Mormon with a tequila company, reposted one of my Instagram stories posing with a bottle of her tequila.

Of course I said thank you mother!

Okay that's all from me for now! If you have posts you'd like me to cover, you can send them to me (just reply to this email!) or put them in the Modern Relics Discord.