Pope Francis called for the passage of civil union laws for same-sex couples in a documentary that aired in Rome on Wednesday, in a major departure from the position held by the Vatican’s doctrinal office.
via: Complex
“Homosexuals have a right to be part of the family,” he said in the film, according to NBC News. “They’re children of God and have a right to a family. Nobody should be thrown out, or be made miserable because of it.”
Pope Francis explains that “what we have to create is a civil union law,” adding that “that way, they are legally covered. I stood up for that.”
This is the first time that Pope Francis has endorsed same-sex civil unions as the pope. During his tenure as archbishop of Buenos Aires, Francis advocated for civil unions for gay couples as a proxy for same-sex marriages.
Francesco was directed by Oscar-nominated Evgeny Afineevsky, who characterizes the Pope as the great connector. The documentary covers a number of topics, including racism, climate change, sexual abuse, migration, human trafficking, politics, and relations between Christians, Muslims, and Jews. Afineevsky himself is a Russian-born Jew.
The doc also focuses on the Pope’s severe misunderstanding of the Church’s sexual abuse crisis, and his public apology regarding the matter.
Francesco also features the story of a gay man, Andrea Rubera, who adopted three children with his partner and hopes to raise them in the Church. Additionally, it highlights the story of Juan Carlos Cruz, a Chilean survivor of clergy sexual abuse, who says that during his first meetings with the Pope in 2018, Francis reassured him that God made him gay.
The Church is starting to catch up with the times, love to see it.
