Paris, April 10
The Vatican reportedly refused to accept the nomination of the new French ambassador because he is gay, a media report said on Friday.

Laurent Stefanini, a senior diplomat and French President FranÃ§ois Hollandeâ€™s chief of protocol, was nominated in January, officials said.

Normally a new ambassadorâ€™s credentials are accepted within a month-and-half, The Local news portal reported.

The Vatican does not usually explicitly refuse an envoyâ€™s credentials, but a prolonged silence after a nomination is interpreted as a rejection.

The Vatican declined to comment when asked if Stefanini, who is openly gay, was being rejected and if this was due to his sexuality.

A French presidential aide said that the choice of Stefanini to represent France at the Vatican resulted from â€œa wish by the president and a cabinet decisionâ€.

French media widely reported that the apparent rejection by the Vatican was because of Stefaniniâ€™s homosexuality.

French daily Le Journal du Dimanche quoted a Vatican source as saying that the rejection was due to \"a decision taken by the Pope himself\".

Vatican refuses to accept new gay French ambassador