Pope in call for civil gay unions

ROME: Pope Francis has voiced support for same-sex couples, calling them “children of God” and saying they should be allowed to have legally recognised civil unions, in a shift from previous pontiffs.

The Pope, whose opposition to gay marriage remains unchanged, said in a documentary film that premiered at the Rome Film Festival: “These are children of God; they have the right to a family.

“What we have to create is a law of civil union. They have the right to be legally protected. I have defended that,” he says in Evgeny Afineevsky’s documentary, titled Francesco.

According to biographer Austen Ivereigh, the future Pope backed civil unions for gay couples while he was still the archbishop of Buenos Aires and known as Jorge Bergoglio.

But while Francis (pictured) has previously spoken about same-sex unions, he has always voiced opposition to gay marriage, saying that it should be only between a man and woman.

“Marriage is a historic word,” he told French sociologist Dominique Wolton in a 2017 book of interviews.

“Always among human beings, and not only in the Church, it has been between a man and a woman. You can’t just change that like that.”

Vatican expert Vania de Luca said: “Since the beginning of the pontificate, the Pope has spoken of respect for homosexuals and has been against their discrimination.

“The novelty today is that he defends, as Pope, a law for civil unions.”

After becoming Pope in 2013, Francis took an unprecedentedly welcoming tone towards LGBTQ individuals, launching his famous phrase, “Who am I to judge?” and welcoming gay couples to the Vatican on several occasions.

He has regularly said gay people should be accepted in their parishes and told parents not to reject their gay children.

The two-hour documentary, which was screened on Wednesday (local time), traces the seven years of his pontificate and his travels.