The Gay Pride parade took place in Rome on Saturday and Pope Francis was also present at the event - not in person, however, but as a motif on posters or banners.
Several participants in the parade used their messages to criticise the head of the church's statement that there is too much "faggotry" in Italian seminaries, reported the magazine "National Catholic Reporter" on Sunday.
For example, posters with the face of the Pope and other seminarians in front of a rainbow and the sentence "I bless this faggotry" could be seen.
The following sentence could be read on another sign: "Today the whole of Rome is full of faggotry, not just the seminaries".
In addition, some people dressed up as the Pope in a white cassock and draped a flag of the queer community around their shoulders.
Many participants in the parade criticised Francis for his words, which could be interpreted as insulting.
Some invited the Pope to their parishes, pointing out that Francis was the guest there and that homosexual believers were naturally part of the parish.
In May, Pope Francis warned against accepting "active" homosexuals into the seminaries at a non-public meeting with around 200 Italian bishops.
The reason given by the head of the Church was that there was already "too much homosexuality" there.
This statement was passed on to the press and published at the end of May.
Francis is said to have used the Italian word "frociaggine", which has a strongly derogatory meaning but is often used in everyday colloquial language in Rome.
Following the media reports, the Pope distanced himself from the statement and stated that he had not intended to offend anyone.
Last week, however, there were further reports of similar statements made by Francis to priests in his diocese of Rome.
The Pope's words had led to great outrage in the Church and society in Italy and internationally.