‘There is an air of fa*****ess in the room’ – These are the words spoken by Pope Francis when he met some Vatican priests on Tuesday behind closed doors.

He has already come under criticism for using the gay slur last month for which he apologised.

The Pope said the word ‘frociaggine’, a vulgar Italian term roughly translating as ‘fa*****ess’.

He told the priests it was better that young men with a homosexual tendency not be allowed to enter the seminary.