‘Same-Sex Civil Unions’ Endorsed by Pope Francis

‘Same-Sex civil unions’ were officially endorsed by Pope Francis in the new Francisco documentary.

On October 21, it was revealed that same-sex civil unions (in our parlance, same-gender) are endorsed by Pope Francis. The Rome Film Festival held a worldwide premiere of Francesco, a new documentary about Pope Francis. The documentary, which was directed by Evgeny Afineevsky, revealed exclusive and intimate interviews with the Pope. He discusses important issues such as the environment, race relations, and same-gender civil unions.

Pope Francis’ opinions on same-gender relationships revealed an endorsement, but not for same-gender marriage. Instead, he specifically expressed support for same-gender civil unions.

“Homosexual people have the right to be in a family. They are children of God,” Francis explained, “What we have to have is a civil union law; that way, they are legally covered.”

An Argentinian and as Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Francis has advocated for same-gender civil unions as an alternative belief system for Catholics just as Argentina is discussing whether to legalize same-gender marriage.

NewNowNext reported in 2017 that Pope Francis has addressed the topic previously. However, while Francis has suggested that he is not against civil unions, this is the first time as Pope that he has directly come out in favor of them.

Pope Francis previously addressed the same-gender civil unions within 12 pages worth of printed conversations in the book Politics and Society. Even then, Pope Francis avoided expressing support for same-gender “marriage” as the best thing for same-gender couples.

“’ Marriage’ is a historical word. Always in humanity, and not only within the Church, it’s between a man and a woman … we cannot change that. This is the nature of things,” Francis expressed, “Let’s call them ’civil unions.’ Let’s not play with the truth.”

For many LGBTQ Catholics, this endorsement was enough and was met with positivity and cheers. And people who’ve sought to build bridges between the LGBTQ community and the Church praised Pope Francis’ comments. Rev. James Martin viewed the words as “a major step forward in the church’s support for LGBT people.”

Martin continued in his statement, “The pope’s speaking positively about civil unions also sends a strong message to places where the church has opposed such laws,”

People in opposition to Pope Francis’ endorsement included conservatives such as Bishop Thomas Tobin of Providence, Rhode Island.

“The pope’s statement clearly contradicts what has been the long-standing teaching of the Church about same-sex unions,” Bishop Tobin explained, “The Church cannot support the acceptance of objectively immoral relationships.”

The Francesco documentary will premiere in the United States on October 25 at the Savannah Film Festival.