VATICAN CITY (CWN) — Pope Francis reportedly confirmed the existence of a “gay lobby” within the Roman Curia, in a candid conversation with visiting religious from Latin America.

During a meeting with representatives of the Latin American and Caribbean Confederation of Religious (CLAR), the Pope spoke frankly about the need for reform in the Church and particularly in the Vatican bureaucracy. A report on the Pope’s remarks, furnished by one of the CLAR representatives who spoke with the Pontiff, has appeared on a Chilean web site, Reflexion y Liberacion.

The Pope’s remarks, according to the CLAR correspondent, included an admission that “there is also a current of corruption” within the Roman Curia. “There is talk about a ‘gay lobby,’ and it’s true, that exists,” the Pope continued.

Pope Francis said that before the conclave that elected him, many cardinals—including himself—had pushed for reforms at the Vatican. But he said that he could not accomplish all the necessary reforms by himself. “I am very disorganized,” he confessed. He said that he would rely on his cardinal-advisers for help, and asked for prayers that he would make the right decisions.

The Vatican did not make public any account of the Pope’s conversation with the CLAR group. Father Federico Lombardi, the director of the Vatican press office, said that because the meeting was private, it would be inappropriate for him to comment on the accuracy of the CLAR report. The quotations attributed to the Pope on the Reflexion y Liberacion site are evidently taken from the memory of one of the religious involved in the conversation.

During his conversation with the CLAR representatives, the Pope reportedly said that he was troubled by two different currents within the Church: a Pelagian tendency, which he saw in some traditionalist groups, and Gnostic or pantheist trends that he had seen in some women’s religious communities. He also expressed concern that some religious orders have been unable to attract new vocations—perhaps suggesting that “the Holy Spirit does not want them to keep going.”