https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2020/10/21/pope-francis-gay-civil-union-documentary Pope Francis declares support for same-sex civil unions for the first time as pope Gay couples deserve legal protections for their relationships, Pope Francis said in a new documentary. Also in the film, which premiered in Rome on Oct. 21, less than two weeks before the U.S. presidential election, the pope condemns the Trump administration’s child separation policy at the U.S.-Mexico border, which he calls “cruelty of the highest form.” The filmmaker, Evgeny Afineevsky, asked Pope Francis during an interview for the documentary about the place of L.G.B.T. Catholics in the church. Francis reemphasized his belief that L.G.B.T. people should be made to feel welcome in the church. “Homosexuals have a right to be a part of the family,” the pope said. “They’re children of God and have a right to a family. Nobody should be thrown out or be made miserable because of it.” Gay couples deserve legal protections for their relationships, Pope Francis said in a new documentary. But Francis said for the first time as pope that gay couples deserve legal recognition for their relationships. “What we have to create is a civil union law,” he said. “That way they are legally covered. I stood up for that.” Before he was elected pope, Francis served as archbishop of Buenos Aires, and in that role, he advocated for same-sex civil unions in an attempt to block a same-sex marriage law. Argentina legalized same-sex marriagein 2010, which then-Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio called a “destructive attack on God’s plan.” But in meetings with other Argentine bishops, Cardinal Bergoglio urged them to support civil unions as a way to keep marriage distinctly heterosexual. Bishops rejected the idea, but an L.G.B.T. activist in Argentina said the cardinal called him to say he personally supported the idea of civil unions. The comments in this new documentary represent his most public declaration of support for same-sex unions since becoming pope. “Homosexuals have a right to be a part of the family,” the pope said. “They’re children of God and have a right to a family.” As pope, Francis has urged a more welcoming church for L.G.B.T. people, beginning with his response to a question in 2013 about gay priests, “Who am I to judge?” He has met with L.G.B.T. Catholics throughout his pontificate, and though he has issued repeated warnings against what he calls “gender ideology,” Pope Francis has urged Catholics to focus on the humanity of L.G.B.T. people. Juan Carlos Cruz, a survivor of clergy sexual abuse who clashed with church leaders over the pope’s handling of sexual abuse in Chile, has developed a friendship with Francis. In the documentary, Mr. Cruz says he has discussed his sexuality with the pope, who told him, “God made you gay. God loves you like you are and you have to love yourself.” [Podcast: Meet Juan Carlos Cruz, the survivor who changed the pope’s mind on sex abuse.] The film, “Francesco,” also focuses heavily on human rights, an issue Mr. Afineevsky covered in his previous films, including the 2017 documentary “Cries from Syria” about the country’s devastating civil war. In a section on the rights of migrants, Pope Francis condemns the Trump administration policy of separating families trying to enter the United States illegally. “It’s cruelty, and separating kids from parents goes against natural rights,” the pope says. “It’s something a Christian cannot do.” Also in the film, the pope condemns the Trump administration’s child separation policy at the U.S.-Mexico border, which he calls “cruelty of the highest form.” The tension between Pope Francis and President Trump dates back to the 2016 election, when the pope took issue with Mr. Trump’s plan to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. “Francesco” chronicles the seven-year reign of Francis by focusing on issues championed by the pope, including combating climate change, rights for migrants and an increased role for women in the church. Mr. Afineevsky told America creating his film about the civil war in Syria felt like a “journey into the darkest side of today's humanity” and that he wanted his next project to focus on love and light. A friend suggested he profile Pope Francis, and though he is Jewish, Mr. Afineevsky was intrigued by the idea, drawn by the pope’s interfaith outreach. “Pope Francis embraces humanity,” Mr. Afineevsky said. “That’s what this movie teaches, the importance of being united, of being kind, of spreading love.
“...[the CDF] taught that “respect for homosexual persons cannot lead in any way to approval of homosexual behaviour or to legal recognition of homosexual unions. The common good requires that laws recognize, promote and protect marriage as the basis of the family, the primary unit of society.” “Legal recognition of homosexual unions or placing them on the same level as marriage would mean not only the approval of deviant behaviour, with the consequence of making it a model in present-day society, but would also obscure basic values which belong to the common inheritance of humanity. The Church cannot fail to defend these values, for the good of men and women and for the good of society itself,” the CDF added, calling support for such unions from politicians “gravely immoral.” https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/pope-francis-calls-for-civil-union-law-for-same-sex-couples-in-shift-from-vatican-stance-12462
I'm incredibly sad. Was just telling my husband something that Sr. Lucia of Fatima said; that the Final Confrontation will be over marriage and the family. We're seeing it starkly now. The devil has infiltrated to the top. I can't believe I'm writing this because I always tried to give Pope Francis the benefit of the doubt and not post anything negative. Appalling.
What chances he will go for a change in the Catechism on homosexuality in the same way he manipulated Capital Punishment?
Truly, we are living in the Book of Revelation. Terrible...terrible...just awful. God have MERCY on us.
Persistent and manifest grave heresy. And all that entails. Notice he’s picking the issues to which the majority of small “c” catholics already dissent? He’s picking off the easy ones first. What comes next is anyone’s guess.
I think his way of doing this is not to make a direct change in the catechism but to give the bishops more power to decide; see the case of the synod of Germany in 2022 that is trying to change the doctrine on homosexuality, as the synod of 2022 in Rome will be about synodality the German bishops are likely to use the Pope's final word to initiate a rupture.
I am so sickened by this announcement. I feel betrayed, and I am deeply concerned about what is to come.
Bergoglio does this because he is not, and never was, the Vicar of Christ. Pray for the restoration of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. Pray for Pope Benedict XVI. +
Duh. When he came out and said "who am I to judge" that opened the flood gates to gay marriage worldwide. PF is the false prophet spoken about in the bible.
He is not, and never was, the Vicar of Christ. I cannot agree with that. Pope Francis is, at the moment, the only pope we have. If out of respect for the office if nothing else, I do not think he should be called "Bergoglio." Pope Benedict remains emeritus. I worry about the line between justified anger--certainly justified in this case, if this is a true report-- and schism. .
