20 HILARIOUS memes about the pope's gay slur slip that prove Gay Twitter can reclaim ANYTHING

Pope Francis on Tuesday apologized for using a homophobic slur that has caused the internet to roast him in hilariously creative ways.

In a closed-door meeting with Italian bishops, the pope was quoted as opposing gay men studying for the priesthood, saying that there is already too much “fociaggine” in seminaries today, The Washington Post reports. “Frociaggine” is a Roman Italian word meaning “f—ggotness.”

Who could have guessed that the pope isn’t very progressive? Color us shocked.

“The Pope never intended to offend or express himself in homophobic terms, and he extends his apologies to those who felt offended by the use of a term, as reported by others,” the Vatican said in a statement released yesterday, emphasizing that the pope believes “in the Church there is room for everyone, for everyone! Nobody is useless, nobody is superfluous, there is room for everyone. Just as we are, all of us.”

An anonymous source close to the pope told CNN he may have also used the word to mean that there is a “gay climate” in seminaries. This only seems marginally better, though, and since there is no official transcript of the meeting, it is hard to know exactly what was intended.

Although Francis has endorsed blessings for same-sex couples, supported trans godparents, welcomed transgender women to the Vatican, and said that “being homosexual is not a crime,” he also told Italian bishops not to accept gay men into the priesthood.

While it may be disappointing that the Pope would use homophobic language, it has led to so many funny memes and comments that now we can’t stop laughing. One of the best memes features a play on Jennifer Coolidge’s infamous White Lotus line. “These frociaggine, they’re trying to murder me,” it reads. Comedian and podcaster Matt Bellassai took to X (formerly Twitter) to write, “the pope wakes up every morning and puts on a cunty little dress, i think he’s allowed to throw out a f*ggot every once and a while.” Another person wrote, “People mad at the pope for saying “frociaggine” while he and his guards wear this gay shit,” alongside photos of the pope and his guards in their flamboyant traditional uniforms that could easily pass for drag looks.

So it’s a mixed bag. On the one hand, it sounds like the pope is pretty homophobic behind closed doors. On the other hand, we haven’t laughed this hard in ages.

Keep scrolling to see the funniest memes and reactions!