Pope Francis calls for same-sex civil unions laws, adds "They are children of God"

During an interview for a feature-length documentary called ’Francesco’, Pope Francis endorsed same-sex civil unions for the first time. The documentary first premiered at the Rome Film Festival on Wednesday, October 21. The film in addition to speaking about the Vatican's stance on same-sex unions also discussed various other topics that the Pope cares about like the environment, poverty, migration, racial and income inequality, and the people most affected by discrimination.

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'Children of God'

During the interview, Pope Francis called those in same-sex relations ‘Children of God’ and also added that there is a need for a civil union law for same-sex people.

The Pope said, "Homosexual people have the right to be in a family. They are children of God.... What we have to have is a civil union law; that way they are legally covered."

In the past, while serving as the archbishop of Buenos Aires, Francis had spoken in favour of civil union for same-sex couples as an alternate to marriages, but this is the first time that he has spoken in favour of them since becoming the Pope.

As per reports, Reverend James Martin, a Jesuit priest who has been on the frontline in the attempts to find common ground between same-sex couples and the Church said that the Pope’s words were a positive step towards “the church’s support for LGBT people”. Unlike other biopics, the documentary ‘Francesco’ is an overview of the world’s tragedies and tribulations with Pope Francis talking about them in the background and also providing possible ways the world could effectively tackle them, as reported.

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Earlier this month, Pope Francis called for urgent action to tackle the climate crisis on the Earth and added that people should not continue to “squeeze it like an orange”. He also added that “We are living during a historic moment marked by difficult challenges, as we all know...The world is shaken by the crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, which highlights yet an even bigger challenge, the socio-environmental crisis”.

During the pre-recorded video message that was played during a TED conference, the pontiff also provided possible solutions based on scientific data and an ethical approach. The Pope also harped on the fact that humanity only has a “few years” that scientists have calculated are less than 30, the pontiff called for a reduction in the emission of greenhouse gasses.

(With AP input, Image AP)

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