Pope Francis reportedly made comments during a private meeting with Latin American Catholic clerics where he acknowledged there is a “gay lobby” in the Vatican and that there is a “stream of corruption” present.
According to the BBC, the Latin American Clerics who met with the Pope wrote a report of their meeting, which later appeared on the Chilean website Reflection and Liberation.
ABC News reports that CLAR, the Spanish acronym for The Latin American and Caribbean Confederation of Religious, were “distressed” that their report was published and apologized to the Pope.
The report showed that during his meeting with the clerics, Pope Francis was very “open” in his discussions. He also reportedly said that while there are good, holy men in the administration, there is also corruption.
The report goes on to quote the Pope as saying the Vatican would have to "see what we can do" about the "gay lobby" operating in the bureaucracy, and that "It is true, it is there.”
The Pope’s comments that reportedly confirm a “gay lobby” come as, what ABC News says, is an apparent reference to allegations in the Italian media that blackmail was taking place within the Vatican against high-ranking prelates who are gay.
In a statement, CLAR said no recording had been made of Francis' remarks but that the members of its leadership team, comprising of six men and women, summarized the Pope’s points he had made for their own personal use.
"It's clear that based on this one cannot attribute with certainty to the Holy Father singular expressions in the text, but just the general sense," the statement said.
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