Cardinals from the Third World and the papal emphasis on related issues was nevertheless welcomed by many in Western Europe. The consistory of 1969 was the largest consistory since 1946 and would be surpassed later in 2001. In 1965, the theologian Romano Guardini declined an invitation by Paul VI to be inducted into the College of Cardinals. In 1967, he also intended to nominate Pietro Sigismondi, but he died a month before the consistory was held. Also in 1967, according to the memoirs of Louis Bouyer, Paul VI intended to name Bouyer to the cardinalate after the Second Vatican Council, however, Paul VI was forced to abandon the idea after realizing that the appointment would not be warmly received by the French episcopacy since Bouyer had been very critical of many of the positions taken by the French bishops. Other sources indicate that the pope intended to name his friend Jacques Maritain to the cardinalate in 1969. Not only did Maritain decline, but if he was elevated it would have made him the first lay cardinal since 1858. On 22 February 1969, Paul VI and Monsignor Hieronymus Menges discussed nominating Iuliu Hossu and Áron Márton to the cardinalate (Pius XII dropped an idea to name Márton to the cardinalate in 1946), however, Márton's potential elevation was not considered acceptable, hence, Hossu was named in pectore since the Romanians would not have accepted Hossu either. Final years and death Rumours of homosexuality and denial In 1976 Paul VI became the first pontiff in the modern era to deny the accusation of homosexuality. On 29 December 1975, the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith issued a document entitled Persona Humana: Declaration on Certain Questions concerning Sexual Ethics, that reaffirmed church teaching that pre- or extramarital sex, homosexual activity, and masturbation are sinful acts. In response, Roger Peyrefitte, who had already written in two of his books that Paul VI had a longtime homosexual relationship, repeated his charges in a magazine interview with a French gay magazine that, when reprinted in Italian, brought the rumours to a wider public and caused an uproar. He said that the pope was a hypocrite who had a longtime sexual relationship with an actor. Widespread rumours identified the actor as Paolo Carlini, who had a small part in the Audrey Hepburn film Roman Holiday (1953). In a brief address to a crowd of approximately 20,000