Pope Francis expressed his clearest support for same-sex civil unions in the documentary film "Francesco" which premiered Wednesday at the Rome Film Festival.
In one of his sit-down interviews for the film, the Pope said that "Homosexual people have the right to be in a family" because they are children of God.
"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." the Pope added.
When Pope Francis was Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Argentina, he endorsed civil unions for gay couples as an alternative to same-sex marriages. However, he had never come out to favor this as a pope until now.
James Martin, a Jesuit Reverend who has sought to build bridges with gays in the church, praised the comments of the pontiff as "a major step forward in the church's support for LGBT people."
"The pope’s speaking positively about civil unions also sends a strong message to places where the church has opposed such laws," Martin said in a statement.
However, a Bishop of Providence, Rhode Island Bishop Thomas Joseph Tobin, called for clarification on the Pope's statement as it contradicts the Dogmas of the Catholic Church.
"The pope’s statement clearly contradicts what has been the long-standing teaching of the church about same-sex unions," he said in a statement.
He added that the church cannot support the acceptance of objectively immoral relationships.
A 2003 document from the Vatican’s doctrine office stated that the church’s respect for gays “cannot lead in any way to approval of homosexual behavior or legal recognition of homosexual unions.”
Words by Lattrel Ylaya and Lorille Antoinette Mata
Layout by Kiziah Magbanua
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