Pope 'rejects gay ambassador as payback for France legalising same-sex marriage'

• By Don Mackay

A Vatican insider said that while Pope Francis I is more tolerant than his predecessors, he still strongly opposes gay marriage

Rejected: Pope Francis and Laurent Stefanini

The Pope has rejected a gay ambassador to the Vatican in revenge for France legalising same-sex marriages in 2012, it was claimed.
A Vatican insider said the snub of top French diplomat Laurent Stefanini, 55, was “by the Pope himself”.
Pope Francis is sympathetic to homosexuals but has criticised gay marriage.
Satirical paper Canard Enchaine called the snub “payment” for legalisation.
Stefanini’s backing for it, not his being gay, was the difficulty, said Italy’s La Stampa.
Senior diplomat Stefanini, a close ally of French President Francois Hollande, was nominated for the post on January 5.

Pope Francis

Protocol dictates that a new ambassador’s credentials are accepted within 45 days.
Bu silence from the Vatican for more than three months is being seen as a rejection by the French government.
Cabinet spokesman Stephane Le Foll said: “France has chosen its ambassador to the Vatican. This choice was Stefanini and that remains the French proposal.”
A presidential aide also said that the choice of the 55-year-old to represent France at the Vatican resulted from “ a cabinet decision” and the president regards him as “one of our best diplomats.”
Former Pope Benedict also never responded to the nomination of gay diplomat Jean-Loup Kuhn-Delforgea as French ambassador in 2007.
Paris never received a reply, and it eventually put forward another nominee.
Pope Francis has been widely seen as being far less judgemental on homosexuality than his predecessor.
The Pontiff said two years ago: “If a person is gay and seeks God and has good will, who am I to judge?”
He also said that gay people should not be marginalised but integrated into society.
But Francis has also criticised gay marriage and is opposed to adoption rights for gay couples, both of which became legal in France in 2013 amid widespread protests from the country’s Catholic community.