Pope Francis Endorsed Same-Sex Civil Union In An Interview

Pope Francis expressed support for same-sex civil unions in a documentary film that premiered on Wednesday. This is a huge shift from his predecessors that staked out new ground for the church in its recognition of gay people.

In the new documentary "Francesco," which was shown at the Rome Film Festival, Pope Francis said, “Homosexual people have a right to be in a family since they are “children of God."

“You can’t kick someone out of a family, nor make their life miserable for this, the Pope said. "What we have to have is a civil union law; that way they are legally covered.”

These comments has since raised a lot of questions because the Vatican teaching prohibits any such endorsement of homosexual unions.

The Vatican refused to comment on whether it cut the remarks from its own broadcast or if the Mexican broadcaster that conducted the interview did. And it didn’t respond to questions about why it allowed the comments to be aired.

Pope Francis

Though Rev. Antonio Spadaro, one of Pope Francis' top communications advisers, insisted that the pope's comments were old news, saying they were made during a May 2019 interview with Mexican broadcaster Televisa, those comments have caused a firestorm, thrilling progressives and alarming conservatives.

“I am really scandalized by his defense of homosexual union, which surely leads to immoral acts,” retired bishop Arturo Bastes of the Philippines said.

This will make Pope Francis the first to endorse same-sex civil union in the Catholic church’s 2,000-year history and faces a divided Catholic church.