Pope Francis ‘sorry' for homophobic slur. Pontiff said there was too much ‘faggotry' in seminaries, Italian newspapers reported

During a meeting with more than 250 bishops last week, the 87-year-old pontiff was said to have used an offensive term while expressing his opposition to homosexual men joining training colleges for priests, even if they committed to celibacy.

According to two Italian newspapers, Francis said there was already too much “frociaggine” in seminaries, using an offensive Roman term which translates as “faggotry”.

The reports made headlines around the world and drew dismay from both LGTBQ groups and Catholics.

Some commentators suggested the Argentine Pope did not know what he was saying.

The Vatican statement did not confirm that he used the word but referenced newspaper articles.

“As he had the opportunity to state on several occasions: ‘In the Church there is room for everyone, everyone! Nobody is useless, nobody is superfluous, there is space for everyone. Just as we are, all of us',” it said.

John Allen, *vaticanist and author, said the pope was known for having a “salty tongue”, using “off-colour, occasionally vulgar language”.

Francis once said Catholics need not “breed like rabbits” and in 2015 drew criticism for seeming to defend the use of violence to defend one's faith, saying that “if a good friend speaks badly of my mother, he can expect to get punched”.

A Vermont university has bestowed the honorary degree of “doctor of litter-ature” on Max the cat, a beloved member of its community, ahead of students’ graduation on Saturday.

Vermont State University’s Castleton campus is honoring the feline not for his mousing or napping, but for his friendliness.

“Max the Cat has been an affectionate member of the Castleton family for years,” the school said in a Facebook post.

The popular tabby lives in a house with his human family on the street that leads to the main entrance to campus.

“So he decided that he would go up on campus, and he just started hanging out with the college students, and they love him,” owner Ashley Dow said Thursday.

He’s been socializing on campus for about four years, and students get excited when they see him. They pick him up and take selfies with him, and he even likes to go on tours with prospective students that meet at a building across from the family’s house, she said.

“I don’t even know how he knows to go, but he does,” Dow said. “And then he’ll follow them on their tour.”

The students refer to Dow as Max’s mom, and graduates who return to town sometimes ask her how Max is doing.

Max won’t be participating in the graduation, though. His degree will be delivered to Dow later.