A fuller picture of Pope Francis’ comments regarding same-sex unions has come to light following widespread reports he had come out in favor of civil unions.
In an October 21 report previously cited by them., the Associated Press claimed the 83-year-old pontiff endorsed relationship recognition for LGBTQ+ couples for the first time in an interview included in the documentary Francesco, which premiered at the Rome Film Festival. Francis was said to have told the filmmakers that LGBTQ+ people “have the right to be in a family.”
“They are children of God,” he said. “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.”
While those comments were widely received as a major shift for a religion that counts 1.3 million followers around the world, the comments were actually pulled from a 2019 interview conducted with the Spanish news broadcaster Televisa. As the Catholic News Service notes, the quotes were cut in its initial airing.
In that chat, the Pope was actually reiterating his previously expressed support of civil unions, which dates back to his days as a cardinal in Argentina. When the country legalized same-sex marriage in 2010, Francis said he was in favor of civil unions, as the Jesuit publication America magazine previously reported. While civil unions are considered a major step toward full legal recognition for same-sex couples, they often confer partial benefits.
The Pope has reaffirmed that support in 2014 and 2017, but America notes that neither statement was as “explicit” as the remarks captured in the new documentary. Meanwhile, the Vatican attempted to effectively redact his comments by saying they did not amount to an endorsement of civil unions.
And in what may be unwelcome news for LGBTQ+ people who celebrated the religious leader’s affirming remarks, the interview actually saw Francis reaffirm his opposition to marriage equality.
“It is a contradiction to speak of homosexual marriage,” he said at the time.
But while subsequent reports have revealed the Pope’s comments to be more complicated than initially perceived, they have nonetheless proven enormously impactful. After the remarks received worldwide attention, Dublin Archbishop Diarmuid Martin also came out in favor of civil unions and said the moment sends “a very strong message to the community in the Roman Catholic church that our attitude has to change.”
In a Thursday interview with RTÉ Radio 1, Martin also acknowledged that the Catholic Church’s doctrine, which teaches that homosexuality is a sin, had “made the life of LGBT people miserable.”
The official endorsement of civil unions — even a measured, flawed one — could also pave the path for LGBTQ+ relationship recognition in Venezuela. After news of the documentary initially broke, Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro called on his national legislature to take up the issue in the next term.
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