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AGF s.r.l/REX
World News

France abandons attempt for appoint gay Vatican ambassador

by Hannah Tooley

The country had been waiting to hear back regarding the appointment of ambassador Laurent Stefanini (pictured) to the Vatican City.

CC

But following months of delay it has now given up, usually a new ambassador is accepted or rejected with a month and a half.

French President Francois Hollande had initially nominated Stefanini as ambassador to the Holy See last year, but the Vatican failed to respond for months - a move that some French media put down to Stefanini's sexuality, according to the International Business Times.

In the Vatican a prolonged official silence following a nomination is usually interpreted as a rejection.

At present Laurent Stefanini is President Holland's chief of protocol and he had the backing of Cardinal Andre Vingt-Trois, the archbishop of Paris for his nomination in January 2015 as France's envoy to the Vatican.

He had also served in the French embassy at Vatican City from 2001 to 2005.

It is not yet clear whether Paris will nominate another person for the position, but in 2016 French newspaper, Liberation, claimed that the government is unlikely to do so before the next French presidential election in 2017.

Pope Francis is seen to be more open than pope's before him, famously quotes as saying "who am I to judge?", however he maintains the Catholic Church's teaching on homosexuality.

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