KUALA LUMPUR – In a new documentary, Pope Francis endorsed same sex civil unions for the first time as pontiff, according to a report in the Associated Press.
“Homosexual people have the right to be in a family. They are children of God,” Francis said in one of his sit-down interviews for the film, titled Francesco.
“You can’t kick someone out of a family, nor make their life miserable for this. What we have to have is a civil union law; that way they are legally covered.”
While serving as archbishop of Buenos Aires, Francis endorsed civil unions for gay couples as an alternative to same-sex marriages. However, this would be the first time he had publicly voiced his support for the measure since assuming the papacy.
Previous popes were outright hostile towards softening the church's position on homosexuality, running contrary to popular opinion in Western countries. Pope Benedict, Francis' immediate predecessor compared same-sex marriage to the Anti-Christ.
Francis meanwhile, famously said “Who am I to judge” when asked about a gay priest during a news conference in 2013. – The Vibes, October 21, 2020
