Head of the Catholic Church Pope Francis has issued an apology after referring to gay men as “frociaggine,” an offensive slang term used for gay men during a private meeting with 250 Italian bishops last week.

According to the New York Times, Pope Francis had been taking questions from Italian bishops in what was meant to be a private annual assembly on a number of issues, including allowing gay men into seminaries or priesthood colleges.

It was during the meeting Pope Francis said a firm no to the idea of allowing gay men into service in the church, saying seminaries are already too full of “frociaggine,” a claim that several people who attended the meeting confirmed anonymously to Italian media.

“Pope Francis is aware of articles that recently came out about a conversation behind closed doors,” said Matteo Bruni, the press office director for the Holy See. 

He reiterated that “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 reported by others.”

Recently, Pope Francis relaxed the church’s doctrine to make it more welcoming to members of the LGBTQ community. Last year, he made a huge change by allowing priests to bless same-sex couples.

“If a person is gay and seeks God and has good will, who am I to judge?” Pope Francis queried.