France’s gay ambassador-nominee poses challenge for pope

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis made history when he said, of being gay: “Who am I to judge?” Now, close Vatican-watchers say the pope is in a complex diplomatic spot in the case of a gay man whom France has nominated to be ambassador to the Holy See.

France nominated Laurent Stefanini in January, but so far the Vatican hasn’t accepted the appointment. European media has speculated that this is because Mr. Stefanini, a Catholic who worked for years in the French Embassy at the Vatican, is gay, though the French government officially is denying any problems.

Last week, a French government spokesman confirmed that Pope Francis and Mr. Stefanini met April 18, Reuters reported, calling it “extremely rare for the pope to get directly involved in the naming of ambassadors.” Another French-language media outlet covering the Vatican reported that the two men prayed together.

Vatican spokesmen declined to comment to The Washington Post, and the French government has said little, but experts on Vatican diplomacy said the possibility of what they believe would be the first openly gay Vatican ambassador is complicated.

Massimo Faggioli, a church historian at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minn., who focuses on the papacy, said France was “poking a finger in the eye of the Vatican” by appointing an openly gay man and then speaking — even off the record — when his appointment hadn’t clearly been approved.

Mr. Faggioli said he thought it was hypothetically feasible that the Vatican might accept a gay ambassador, but seeing the topic in public violates “the basic rules of diplomacy. Revealing why an ambassador has been rejected is not typical. … Once it came out, it became a matter of principle. Diplomacy is imminently the field of practical things.”

Another person very familiar with the Vatican diplomatic scene, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the person still works in the church, said the Stefanini case embodies the different forces at play in the Francis era when it comes to the place of gay people.

“This is what they are wrestling with. On the one hand, the church wants to be for the dignity of all human persons. And the church values freedom of religion and of conscience. In the Catholic intellectual world, [being gay] is a nonissue. The question is: Is he qualified to do the job? But those are not the questions that are being asked now. It’s: ‘If we accept this, are we condoning a certain lifestyle?’ And then the pope is seen as being too soft,” the source said.

The source said it’s not inconceivable, however, that Pope Francis could approve Mr. Stefanini.

“With this new pope, he has the best chance, because of the focus on compassion — and accepting human realities as they are, not as we may wish them to be,” he said. “This seems to be a serious question for all kinds of careers Catholics are involved in.”