{"id":2255971,"date":"2024-05-30T16:41:02","date_gmt":"2024-05-30T20:41:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/former-democrat-senator-resigns-from-vatican-position-shortly-after-pope-francis-gay-joke-backlash\/"},"modified":"2024-05-30T16:42:31","modified_gmt":"2024-05-30T20:42:31","slug":"former-democrat-senator-resigns-from-vatican-position-shortly-after-pope-francis-gay-joke-backlash","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/former-democrat-senator-resigns-from-vatican-position-shortly-after-pope-francis-gay-joke-backlash\/","title":{"rendered":"Ex-Democrat Senator Steps Down from Vatican Role Post Pope Francis&#8217; Gay Joke Controversy"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fformer-democrat-senator-resigns-from-vatican-position-shortly-after-pope-francis-gay-joke-backlash%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2255971&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The commentary by\u200d George \u200bC. Upper III on May 30, 2024, discusses Pope Francis joking about gay men and \u200busing an offensive slang term. The Pope&#8217;s\u2062 choice of words led to \u2064U.S. Ambassador\u2062 Joe Donnelly resigning from his\u200d position at the Vatican. Despite the controversy,\u2064 some argue that the Pope may not\u200d have been aware of \u2062the term&#8217;s offensiveness due to \u2063language\u200d differences. The article also touches on\u2064 Biblical views on homosexuality and Pope \u200cFrancis&#8217; alignment with scripture in this matter.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<header> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/commentary\/\">  Commentary <\/a>   <span> <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/author\/georgeupper\/\">  <\/a> <\/p>\n<p> <span>   By <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/author\/georgeupper\/%20\"><span>George C. Upper III<\/span><\/a> <\/span> <span>   May 30, 2024 at 11:54am <\/span> <\/span>  <\/header>\n<section>\n<p>Look, I get it. Who hasn\u2019t made a joke or two that they didn\u2019t later regret?<\/p>\n<p>So when Pope Francis made a joke about gay men and used a slang term that many <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/we-have-a-diversity-bureaucracy-in-the-wake-of-yale-law-brouhaha-prominent-scholars-say-we-need-a-free-speech-bureaucracy-too\/\" title=\"We Have a Diversity Bureaucracy. In the Wake of Yale Law Brouhaha, Prominent Scholars Say We Need A Free Speech Bureaucracy Too\">people find offensive<\/a> to describe them, I\u2019m inclined to cut him some slack.<\/p>\n<p>It would be one thing if we had media reports of him doing it daily, but that\u2019s not the case here. Every dog, as someone smarter than me once wrote, gets one bite.<\/p>\n<p>Besides, he <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/pope-used-anti-gay-slur-joking-italian-bishops-report\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">was reportedly using<\/a> an Italian word \u2014 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.barrons.com\/news\/pope-used-gay-slur-in-meeting-with-italian-bishops-media-4a370677\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Barron\u2019s<\/a> called \u201cfrociaggine\u201d a \u201cRoman term\u201d that \u201ctranslates loosely as the offensive English words \u2018f*****s\u2019 or \u2018poofs.&#8217;\u201d And Italian is not Francis\u2019 first language.<\/p>\n<p>One has to wonder, given the timing, whether it was Francis\u2019 wording that led to U.S. Ambassador Joe Donnelly resigning his position at the Vatican after saying last year, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/minutes\/congress\/06-13-2023\/donnelly-staying-put\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Politico<\/a>, that he planned to stay in place through the end of 2024.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">New: Ambassador Joe Donnelly tells me he will step down from his post at the Vatican on July 8 and return to Indiana.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s been an amazing privilege to serve the Country and the President,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Adam Wren (@adamwren) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/adamwren\/status\/1796212535655379131?\">May 30, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Politico\u2019s Adam Wren <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2024\/05\/30\/vatican-ambassador-joe-donnelly-00160677\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">scooped<\/a> the news of Donnelly\u2019s departure, receiving a text message from the former Democratic senator from Indiana on Thursday.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s been an amazing privilege to serve the Country and the President,\u201d Donnelly told Wren in the text.<\/p>\n<div id=\"firefly-poll-container\">\n<p>Do you think this was a good move?<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Asked for comment, the White House reportedly sent Wren to the State Department, and the State Department didn\u2019t respond.<\/p>\n<p>Wren noted that a spokesperson for Rep. Nancy Pelosi, also nominally a Catholic, tried to get ahead of the rumor mill by posting a simple \u201cno\u201d to social media with regard to the idea that Pelosi might want to \u201cend her career by serving Biden at the Vatican.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Francis used the ill-advised term about seminaries, repeating his opposition to gay men training to become Catholic priests by joking that some seminaries contained \u201calready too many frociaggine,\u201d Barron\u2019s reported.<\/p>\n<p>Some of those present argued that the pontiff wasn\u2019t aware of how offensive the term was, given that he is from Argentina and his first language is Spanish. (He also <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/pope-caves-lgbt-apologizes-homophobic-terms-comments-cause-outrage\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">apologized for it<\/a>.)<\/p>\n<p>Official Catholic doctrine, of course, is that same-sex acts are \u201cintrinsically disordered,\u2019 Barron\u2019s pointed out, even if Francis has taken steps to liberalize the church by welcoming LGBTQ participants and even making provision for the blessing of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/ap-pope-francis-allows-priests-bless-sex-unions-radical-policy-change\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">same-sex couples<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Personally, I\u2019ll take your \u201cintrinsically disordered\u201d and raise you a \u201cobviously sinful,\u201d based on passages in both the Old and New Testaments.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination,\u201d Moses wrote in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=Leviticus+18%3A19-23&#038;version=ESV\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Lev. 18:22<\/a> \u2014 a passage that describes a number of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/christian-student-punished-school-wearing-homosexuality-sin-t-shirt-wins-settlement-payment\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">sexual sins<\/a>, by the way, and not merely same-sex acts.<\/p>\n<p>Among many passages in the New Testament about homosexual practices is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=1+Cor+6%3A9-11&#038;version=ESV\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">1 Cor. 6:9,10<\/a>: \u201cOr do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>By the way, let me give you the footnote from the English Standard Version that appears after the word \u201chomosexuality\u201d at the end of verse 9: \u201cThe two Greek terms translated by this phrase refer to the passive and active partners in consensual homosexual acts.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Just in case you were wondering what exactly Paul was referring to, that ought to clear it up.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s what the Bible says about homosexuality; there are a lot of other verses that offer a similar message, but those two are enough to give anyone who <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/mike-pence-segment-goes-sideways-joy-behar-instantly-corrected-homosexuality-bible\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">hasn\u2019t read much Scripture<\/a> a good idea of what it says.<\/p>\n<p>Of course, homosexuals can be saved just like anyone else \u2014 read more of the context of that passage from 1 Corinthians and Paul makes that very plain. Sexual sin causes virtually all humans to stumble in one way or another; lust is lust and immorality is immorality, even if the objects of our sexual desires are very different.<\/p>\n<p>For my part, I\u2019m just happy to see Pope Francis making a statement that actually agrees with Scripture \u2014 which is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/pope-francis-denies-one-basic-tenets-christianity-60-minutes-interview\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">not always been his habit<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>I can\u2019t agree with the manner in which he expressed his opinion that gay men shouldn\u2019t be in seminary. But I surely agree with the substance of his opinion.<\/p>\n<p>Which, honestly, I find kind of refreshing.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<div>\n<p><b><i>A Note from Our Deputy Managing Editor:<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<p><i><span>\u201cWe don\u2019t even know if an election will be held in 2024.\u201d Those 12 words have been stuck in my head since I first read them. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span>Former Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn recently made that comment to Floyd Brown, founder of The Western Journal. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span>And if the leftists and the elites get their way, that\u2019s exactly what will happen \u2014 no real election, no real choice for the Electoral College, and no real say for the American people. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span>The Western Journal is fighting to keep that from happening, but we can\u2019t do it alone.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span>We work tirelessly to expose the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/watch-rep-anna-paulina-luna-scolds-dems-waving-ukrainian-flags-after-vote-put-those-damn-flags-away\/\" title=\"Video: Rep. Anna Paulina Luna Criticizes Democrats Waving Ukrainian Flags - 'Remove Those Flags!\">lying leftist media<\/a> and the corrupt America-hating elites.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span>But Big Tech\u2019s stranglehold is now so tight that <\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.paypal.com\/donate\/?hosted_button_id=BM6XAWRJ8NS7A&#038;utm_source=site&#038;utm_medium=westernjournalism&#038;utm_campaign=authorpitch\"><i><span>without help<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span>  from you, we will not be able to continue the fight. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span>The 2024 election is literally the most important election for every living American. We have to unite and fight for our country, otherwise we will lose it. And if we lose the America we love in 2024, we\u2019ll lose it for good. Can we <\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.paypal.com\/donate\/?hosted_button_id=BM6XAWRJ8NS7A&#038;utm_source=site&#038;utm_medium=westernjournalism&#038;utm_campaign=authorpitch\"><i><span>count on you<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span>  to help? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span>With you we will be able to field journalists, do more investigative work, expose more corruption, and get desperately needed truth to millions of Americans. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span>We can do this only with your help. Please don\u2019t wait one minute.<\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.paypal.com\/donate\/?hosted_button_id=BM6XAWRJ8NS7A&#038;utm_source=site&#038;utm_medium=westernjournalism&#038;utm_campaign=authorpitch\"><i><span>  Donate right now<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span>.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span>Thank you for reading,<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span>Josh Manning<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span>Deputy Managing Editor<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span>P.S. Please <\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.paypal.com\/donate\/?hosted_button_id=BM6XAWRJ8NS7A&#038;utm_source=site&#038;utm_medium=westernjournalism&#038;utm_campaign=authorpitch\"><i><span>stand with us<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span>  today.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"author-info-44802\">\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/author\/georgeupper\/\">  <\/a> <\/p>\n<div>\n<p><label for=\"summary-tab-radio-44802\">Summary<\/label><label for=\"more-info-tab-radio-44802\">More<span> Biographical Information<\/span><\/label><label for=\"posts-tab-radio-44802\">Recent<span> Posts<\/span><\/label><label for=\"contact-tab-radio-44802\" onclick=\"if( typeof grecaptcha=='undefined' ) { let cap_s=document.createElement( 'script' ); cap_s.src='https:\/\/www.google.com\/recaptcha\/api.js?render=6LeJFcsUAAAAAPsIEqvB1EebWbZfqRUe6ebMpGy7'; document.body.appendChild( cap_s ); }\">Contact<\/label><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>George Upper is the former Editor-in-Chief of The Western Journal and was a weekly co-host of &#8220;WJ Live,&#8221; powered by The Western Journal. He is currently a contributing editor in the areas of faith, politics and culture. A former U.S. Army special operator, teacher and consultant, he is a lifetime member of the NRA and an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/karine-jean-pierre-turns-into-stuttering-mess-when-questioned-about-bidens-involvement-with-hunters-business-deals\/\" title=\"Karine Jean-Pierre Turns Into Stuttering Mess When Questioned About Biden's Involvement with Hunter's Business Deals\">active volunteer leader<\/a> in his church. Born in Foxborough, Massachusetts, he has lived most of his life in central North Carolina.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>  George Upper, is the former editor-in-chief of The Western Journal and is now a contributing editor in the areas of faith, politics and culture. He currently serves as the connections pastor at Awestruck Church in Greensboro, North Carolina. He is a former U.S. Army special operator, teacher, manager and consultant. Born in Massachusetts, he graduated from Foxborough High School before joining the Army and spending most of the next three years at Fort Bragg. He holds bachelor&#8217;s and master&#8217;s degrees in English as well as a Master&#8217;s in Business Administration, all from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. He and his wife life only a short drive from his three children, their spouses and his grandchildren. He is a lifetime member of the NRA and in his spare time he shoots, reads a lot of Lawrence Block and John D. MacDonald, and watches Bruce Campbell movies. He is a fan of individual freedom, Tommy Bahama, fine-point G-2 pens and the Oxford comma. <\/p>\n<p>  Birthplace <\/p>\n<p>  Foxborough, Massachusetts <\/p>\n<p>  Nationality <\/p>\n<p>  American <\/p>\n<p>  Honors\/Awards <\/p>\n<p>  Beta Gamma Sigma <\/p>\n<p>  Education <\/p>\n<p>  B.A., English, UNCG; M.A., English, UNCG; MBA, UNCG <\/p>\n<p>  Location <\/p>\n<p>  North Carolina <\/p>\n<p>  Languages Spoken <\/p>\n<p>  English <\/p>\n<p>  Topics of Expertise <\/p>\n<p>  Faith, Business, Leadership and Management, Military, Politics <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Opinion Piece by George C. Upper III on May 30, 2024, 11:54 am: We all slip up with jokes, right? Pope Francis recently made a controversial comment about gay men using offensive slang. Let&#8217;s consider giving him some leeway for a momentary lapse<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2010,"featured_media":2255972,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Pope-Francis-and-Joe-Donnelly.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[548],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2255971","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-conservative-news-daily"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Pope-Francis-and-Joe-Donnelly.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2255971","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2010"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2255971"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2255971\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2255972"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2255971"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2255971"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2255971"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}