RELIGION
Pope Francis Endorses Same-Sex Civil Unions
Catholic Church leader sends shockwaves through religious world with bold comment
BY MATT TRACY
In a major departure from
the Catholic Church’s position
on same-sex relationships,
Pope Francis has
endorsed civil unions as a way to
provide legal protections for LGBTQ
couples.
The pope made the explosive
new comments in an interview for
a documentary, “Francesco,” that
documents his own life journey.
The fi lm fi rst premiered in Rome
on October 21.
“Homosexuals have a right to be
a part of the family,” Francis said
in the documentary, according to
the Catholic News Agency. “They’re
children of God and have a right to
a family. Nobody should be thrown
out, or be made miserable because
of it.”
He added, “What we have to create
is a civil union law. That way
they are legally covered. I stood up
for that.”
The wording of his fi nal point in
the past tense suggests that Francis,
at some point in the past, already
advocated for civil unions,
even if it may have been in private.
In 2010, during his tenure as archbishop
of Buenos Aires, the future
pope stood in opposition to the
marriage equality push that swept
through Argentina that year and
culminated in the legalization of
same-sex marriage.
According to the Catholic News
Agency, however, his biographer,
Sergio Rubin, indicated that Francis
was, at the time, in favor of civil
unions as a compromise and to
prevent adoption rights for samesex
REUTERS/ GUGLIELMO MANGIAPANE
Pope Francis said LGBTQ folks have a right to family and should be able to form civil union partnerships.
PHOTO DONNA ACETO
Freedom to Marry founder Evan Wolfson said Pope Francis’ comments were “heartening.”
couples.
Signifi cantly, while Argentina
was a leader on marriage equality,
Italy, home to the Vatican, lags
behind other Western European
democracies. It does not recognize
marriage equality and adopted civil
unions only in 2016.
While the comments represent
Francis’ most explicit endorsement
of civil unions, it is not the fi rst time
he has publicly opened up about
such unions for same-sex couples.
New Ways Ministry, a national LGBTQ
Catholic organization, noted
that Francis already spoke about
civil unions for same-sex couples
in 2017 for a book entitled “Politics
and Society.”
“Marriage between people of the
same sex? ‘Marriage’ is an historical
word,” Pope Francis said three
years ago, according to that book.
“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. This is how they are. Let’s
call them ‘civil unions.’ Lets not
play with the truth. It’s true that
behind it there is a gender ideology.
In books also, children are learning
that they can choose their own
sex. Why is sex, being a woman or
a man, a choice and not a fact of
nature? This favors this mistake.
But let’s say things as they are:
Marriage is between a man and a
woman. This is the precise term.
Lets call unions between the same
sex ‘civil unions.’”
That statement is indicative of
Francis’ continued resistance to
transgender rights, even as he has
evolved on gay and lesbian people.
LGBTQ Catholics and allies
welcomed Francis’ comments immediately
after they surfaced on
October 21, though some offered
mixed responses.
Calling it “an historic moment,”
New Ways Ministry executive director
Francis DeBernardo told
Gay City News that his organization
“gratefully welcomes Pope
Francis’ latest support for civil
unions for same-gender couples”
and noted that his comments are
a signal that the Church is moving
forward on LGBTQ issues.
“At the same time, we urge Pope
Francis to apply the same kind of
reasoning to recognize and bless
these same unions of love and support
within the Catholic Church,
too,” DeBernardo said in a written
statement. “Since the pope framed
his support for civil unions by saying
that same-gender couples are
‘right to be a part of the family,’ it
➤ POPE FRANCIS, continued on p.25
October 22 - November 4,24 2020 | GayCityNews.com
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