This Gay Philippine Student Called Out Pope Francis For Using An Anti-LGBTQ Word On A Livestream

A gay student from the Philippines has called out Pope Francis on a livestream for using anti-LGBTQ language.

The moment happened during an interactive panel discussion between university students from different regions and the Pope that was livestreamed on YouTube and

It comes after Italian news outlets revealed that the Pope had used used the Italian word "frociaggine," which translates to "faggotness" or "faggotry," to describe the priests and the overall environment of the Vatican in a closed-door meeting in May.

After the report, the Vatican issued a rare apology, but the incident provoked outrage and tarnished the Pope's reputation as being progressive and LGBTQ-friendly.

During the panel titled "Building Bridges Across Asia Pacific" on Thursday, June 20th, Jack Lorenz Acebedo Rivero, a psychology student from Ateneo de Manila University in the Philippines, first told the Pope that he is "outcasted and bullied due to my bisexuality, my gayness, my identity, and being the son of a single parent."

Rivero, wearing a rainbow sash, then called on the Pope to “stop using offensive language against the LGBTQIA+ community.”

Rivero additionally urged the Pope to work towards making divorce, which is illegal, easier in the Philippines, which is predominantly Catholic.

Rivero also highlighted the systemic injustices and poverty that people in the Philippines suffer and appealed to the Pope and the Catholic Church to help in fighting discrimination against different religious identities, the LGBTQ community, women, as well as discrimination in general.

Pope Francis didn't explicitly address Rivero's concerns in his response, but he strongly condemned discrimination, particularly against women, adding that “women are the best people” despite society viewing them as below men.

He also indirectly advised Rivero to distinguish between real and false love, saying “always pick true love.”

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