Dissension emerges between France and Vatican over gay ambassador

"Who am I to judge?" Pope Francis responded two years ago when asked about an alleged gay lobby at the Vatican. It was a humble-sounding remark that nevertheless raised hopes of a historic shift in the Catholic church's attitude towards homosexuality.

But with the Vatican dragging its heels over the approval of a gay French diplomat, the 78-year-old Argentine pontiff is now facing questions about his commitment to liberalising church teaching.

Critics view the delay in approving Laurent Stefanini as France's ambassador to the Holy See as evidence of lingering discrimination against homosexuals even as the Pope presses ahead with other reforms.

Mr Stefanini, who had already served in the French embassy to the Holy See between 2001 and 2005, was picked by Francois Hollande for the top post in January, and for the past three months his nomination has languished.

"We are still waiting for a response from the Vatican," a government official close to Mr Hollande said on Monday. "We have made this appointment because Mr Stefanini is one of the best French diplomats," the official added.

The Vatican will not say what is to blame for the delay - and Pope Francis has not spoken publicly about the affair. But insiders believe that Mr Stefanini's sexual orientation is the crucial factor and that some Church officials saw his appointment as a provocation by Mr Hollande to boost his political standing at home.

The Vatican's diplomatic apparatus does not typically like to give the green light to ambassadors who promote positions that run counter to the Church's teachings.

In 2007, the Vatican, under Pope Benedict XVI, forced the withdrawal of another French pick for Villa Bonaparte - where the French embassy to the Holy See is based in Rome - who was also openly gay.

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Still, the stand-off is turning into a big diplomatic row between France and the Vatican that is bound to draw attention to the Pope - since there are no signs of an easy resolution.

It is also giving a more nuanced picture of a Pope who has been praised for his reforming zeal. Pope Francis has moved full-speed ahead in his attempts to clean up the Vatican's finances, shake up its stodgy establishment and be more assertive on the world stage - including angering Turkey over the weekend with his mention of the 1915 Armenian slaughter as "genocide". Yet he is still treading cautiously when it comes to contentious social issues.

Michael Brinkschroeder, a Catholic theologian and co-president of the European Forum of LGBT Christian groups, said the Vatican's "non-reaction" to Mr Stefanini's nomination dealt a "blow" to Pope Francis's "intention to let the Church be more merciful and pastoral". "I guess a conservative faction within the Catholic church is playing a power game by blocking him," said Mr Brinkschroeder, who is based in Munich.

Apart from the Stefanini affair, the Pope is also on the defensive across the Atlantic Ocean, where Chilean Catholics are protesting against the appointment of Juan Barros as bishop of Osorno, in the south of the Latin American country.

Bishop Barros is alleged to have covered up sexual abuse by his mentor, but the Vatican has consistently defended him and the case has turned into a test for the Pope's commitment to confronting sexual abuse by members of the clergy.

Sexual abuse victims who are members of a panel created by Pope Francis to tackle the problem demanded an emergency meeting with the commission's leader, Cardinal Sean O'Malley of Boston, to press for Bishop Barros to be stripped of his job.

But Pope Francis is unlikely to relent and at least one of the victims' advocates, Peter Saunders, has threatened to resign from the commission over the affair.

"That would be very damaging for the Pope," says Austen Ivereigh, who recently authored The Great Reformer, a biography of Pope Francis. "It's a very painful and problematic situation and I don't see how this ends well."

With Paris, too, there seems to be little scope for a compromise that does not involve the loss of face for either the Pope or Mr Hollande.

Pope Francis was already burnt once by pushing a more open stance towards homosexuals last year at a special gathering of Catholic bishops - or synod - after conservative cardinals mounted a fierce opposition to any change.

Perhaps fearing a new backlash, the Argentine pontiff seems to be standing his ground in opposition to Mr Stefanini, even if it means that Villa Bonaparte remains empty.

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