Same-sex couples should be protected by civil union laws, Pope says

ROME • Pope Francis has said same-sex couples should be protected by civil union laws in the clearest language he has used on the rights of gay people, prompting praise from liberals and calls for urgent clarification from conservatives.

He made his comments in a new documentary Francesco, by Oscar-nominated director Evgeny Afineevsky, that was released on Wednesday.

"Homosexual people have a right to be in a family. They are children of God and have a right to a family. Nobody should be thrown out or be made miserable over it," he said. "What we have to create is a civil union law. That way they are legally covered. I stood up for that," he said.

The Pope appeared to be referring to when he was archbishop of Buenos Aires and opposed legislation to approve same-sex marriages but supported some kind of legal protection for gay couples' rights.

The Catholic Church teaches that homosexual tendencies are not sinful but homosexual acts are. It teaches that homosexuals should be treated with dignity but is opposed to gay marriage.

Papal biographer Austen Ivereigh told Reuters that the Pope's comments in the film were some of the clearest language the pontiff has used on the subject since his election in 2013.

"Pope Francis' clear and public support for same-sex civil unions marks a new stage in the Church's relationship with LGBTQ people," said Father James Martin, a Jesuit priest and author of Building A Bridge, a book about Catholic ministry to homosexuals. "It shows his overall pastoral approach to LGBTQ people, including those who are Catholic, and sends a clear message to those bishops and church leaders who have opposed such laws," Mr Martin told Reuters. LGBTQ stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer.

Conservatives have demanded a clarification. "The Pope's statement clearly contradicts what has been the longstanding teaching of the Church about same-sex unions. The Church cannot support the acceptance of objectively immoral relationships," Providence's Bishop Thomas Tobin said in a statement.

Meanwhile, the Vatican and China yesterday renewed a deal on the appointment of bishops in China and the Vatican promised to push the communist government to allow more freedom of religion.

The accord gives the Pope the final say over the appointment of Chinese bishops, and the Chinese government will allow all of them, including those hailing from a state-backed Church, to recognise the Pope's authority.

REUTERS

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on October 23, 2020, with the headline Same-sex couples should be protected by civil union laws, Pope says. Subscribe