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VATICAN, KOMPAS.com – Pope Francis said he believes that same-sex couples should be allowed to have “civil unity.”
Pope Francis made the comments in a documentary directed by Evgeny Afineevsky, which observers say is the most outspoken on gay relationships.
“Homosexuals have the right to have a family,” he said in the film, which was released on Wednesday (10/21/2020).
“They are children of God and they have the right to have a family. Nothing should be thrown away or made miserable because of it,” he said.
“What we have to do is a civil union law. That way they are protected by the law,” he explained quoted from BBC on Thursday (10/22/2020).
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He added that he was “defending” him, referring to the time he was archbishop of Buenos Aires. Although you are legally against same-sex marriage, you support some legal protections for same-sex couples.
Francesco’s film, on the life and work of Pope Francis, premiered as part of the Rome Film Festival.
Aside from the Pope’s comments on civil unions, the movie also shows him encouraging 2 gay men to attend church with their 3 children.
Pope Francis’ biographer Austen Ivereigh said BBC that he was “not surprised” by the Pope’s recent comments.
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“This is your position as Archbishop of Buenos Aires,” Ivereigh said.
“He has always been against marriage for same-sex couples. However, he believes that the church should advocate for a civil union law for gay couples that gives them legal protection,” he said.
According to current Catholic doctrine, homosexual relationships are called “deviant behavior.”
In 2003, the doctrinal body of the Vatican, Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, said that “respect for homosexuals cannot lead to approval of homosexual behavior or legal recognition of homosexual union.”
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What did you say about homosexuality in the past?
The Pope’s comments on Francesco’s film are the latest in a series of opinions he has expressed on LGBT rights, expressing some support, but not full support.
In 2013, in his book On Heaven and Earth, the Pope said that legally equating same-sex relationships with heterosexual marriage would be an “anthropological regression.”
He also said that if same-sex couples are allowed to adopt, “there may be children who are affected … everyone needs a father, son and mother to help shape their identity.”
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That same year, he reaffirmed the Church’s position that homosexual acts are a sin, but homosexual orientation is not a sin.
“If someone is gay and seeks God and has good intentions, who am I to judge?” he said.
In 2014 it was reported that Pope Francis had expressed his support for a civil union for same-sex couples in an interview but at the press office. Holy See denied.
Later in 2018, Pope Francis said he was “concerned” about homosexuality among the clergy and that it was a “serious problem.”
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