[ad_1]
Franziskus was the first pope to speak publicly in favor of same-sex civil unions. “Gay people have the right to be in a family. They are children of God, “he said in an interview for the documentary” Francesco, “which premiered at the Rome Film Festival on Wednesday. “You cannot kick someone out of a family or spoil your life for it. What we need is a registered company law; this means that they are legally protected. “
The Pope’s statements were celebrated by homosexual activists, while conservative clergymen demanded clarification because Francis thus contradicted the official Vatican position. The Catholic Catechism states that “homosexual acts are inherently wrong.” A 2003 document from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith emphasizes that legal recognition of same-sex relationships or their equality with marriage must be challenged.
The Pope expressed his own opinion
As Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Francisco had already spoken out in favor of same-sex couples as an alternative to same-sex marriages, despite these requirements. As Pope, however, he has yet to comment on this.
Jesuit James Martin, one of the advocates of better relations between homosexuals and the Church, welcomed the Pope’s statement “as an important step in the Church’s support for LGBT people.” LGBT is an abbreviation in English for homosexual, bisexual and transgender. If the Pope speaks positively about civil associations, it is a “strong message to the places where the Church has spoken out against such laws,” Martin said.
Conservative Bishop Thomas Tobin, however, said the Church could not accept such “objectively immoral relationships.” The Pope should explain himself.
The director of “Francesco”, Yevgeny Afineevsky, who is also gay, said after the premiere that he was surprised by the stir the pope’s remarks caused. Francis did not seek to change the doctrine of the church, but simply expressed his opinion that homosexuals should have the same rights as heterosexuals. “The world needs positivity now,” Afineevsky said. “The world has to worry about climate change, about refugees and migration, borders, walls, the separation of families.” These are all topics that are close to Francisco’s heart and that were also discussed in the film.
Through official and unofficial channels
One of its protagonists, Juan Carlos Cruz, is the victim of an abuse scandal in the Catholic Church in Chile, which Francisco initially did not believe during his visit to the country in 2018. Cruz, who is homosexual, reports that Francisco later assured him in a meeting in May 2018 that God created him that way. Cruz tells his own story in excerpts alongside interviews in which the Pope speaks on issues that are important to him: the environment, poverty, migration, inequalities and discrimination.
For documentation, director Afinejewski was able to access the Vatican television archive, the cardinals and the Pope himself. With perseverance he made it to the top, Afinejewski reported. Through Argentines who are well connected in the Vatican, he sent the Pope, for example, Argentine mate and alfajores cookies.
He has been using official and unofficial channels for the documentary since 2018 and finally got so close to the Pope that he was able to show Francis the film on his tablet in August. In the Vatican you can only achieve something if you break the rules and then apologize, Afinejewski said in an interview before the film’s premiere.
A “real gold mine”
“Francesco” is not alone, like Wim Wenders “Pope Francis – A man of his word” of 2018, a cinematic portrait. Afinejewski traveled the world to film global crises and tragedies, such as the Rohingya refugees who were expelled from Myanmar to Bangladesh, the US-Mexico border and Francisco’s home country Argentina.
“The film tells the story of the Pope turning the cameras,” says Vatican communications director Paolo Ruffini. He gave Afinejewski the names of the refugees Francis met while traveling and the prisoners he blessed, as well as some homosexuals he cared for.
He told Afinejewski that many of these encounters were filmed by Vatican cameras; they could be a “gold mine” of documents “that tell a story,” Ruffini explained. “He (the director) could tell the Pope’s story through the eyes of everyone, not just his own.”
