Pope Francis met with 55-year-old Laurent Stéfanini over the weekend where he reportedly told France's nominee that he wasn't the right candidate for the job, citing the controversial 2013 gay marriage law in France as part of his reason for the decision
However, a French government spokesman confirmed the meeting had taken place, but denied Mr Stéfanini's appointment has been vetoed by the Pope: "Nothing has changed: France has proposed a candidate and for the time being we are waiting for the Vatican's reply after the usual discussions and review of his candidacy," Stephane Le Foll told reporters.
Pope Francis also allegedly said he did not appreciate the manner in which France had tried to put pressure on the Vatican by nominating Laurent Stéfanini, who French officials knew would be controversial given the church's views on homosexuality.
"What we do know is that in February the nuncio in France appears to have asked him to withdraw and mention the fact that he was homosexual, but last Saturday Laurent Stefanini, was in Rome and met the Pope for a while,"
said Vatican Correspondent for America Magazine Gerard O'Connell on Premier's News Hour.
It's very unclear ..... the French government is insisting that he becomes the Ambassador. The Vatican is not saying no but it's not saying yes."
There's a lot of things we don't know here, but the one fact is that this is an unresolved situation and how long it's going to go on for remains unknown," he added.