Pope Francis issued an apology on Tuesday after he reportedly used a homophobic slur in a private meeting last week when discussing the church’s policy barring gay priests.

The Italian newspapers Corriere della Sera and La Repubblica reported Monday that the pontiff jokingly said there is an air of “frociaggine,” which translates in English to “faggotness,” in some seminaries. 

“The pope never intended to offend or express himself in homophobic terms, and he extends his apologies to those who were offended by the use of a term that was reported by others,” Vatican spokesperson Matteo Bruni said Tuesday.

Francis was discussing an unpublished set of proposed seminary guidelines that reportedly sought to open some wiggle room in the Vatican’s absolute ban on homosexual priests.

The Vatican ban on gay priests was made official in 2005 and upheld by Francis in 2016.

Italian is not Francis’s native language, and the Argentine pope has made linguistic gaffes in the past that have raised eyebrows. The 87-year-old often speaks informally, jokes using slang and even curses in private.

He has been known for his outreach to LGBTQ+ Catholics, however, starting from his famous “Who am I to judge?” comment in 2013 about a priest who purportedly had a gay lover in his past.

The Associated Press contributed.