Friday, March 29, 2024

Pope Francis embraces civil unions for gay couples

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Pope Francis became the first pontiff to endorse same-sex civil unions in comments for a documentary that premiered Wednesday, sparking cheers from gay Catholics and demands for clarification from conservatives, given the Vatican’s official teaching on the issue.The papal thumbs-up came midway through the feature-length documentary “Francesco,” which premiered at the Rome Film Festival. The film, which features fresh interviews with the pope, delves into issues Francis cares about most, including the environment, poverty, migration, racial and income inequality, and the people most affected by discrimination.

“Homosexual people have the right to be in a family. They are children of God,” Francis said in one of his sit-down interviews for the film. “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 serving as archbishop of Buenos Aires, Francis endorsed civil unions for gay couples as an alternative to same-sex marriages. However, he had never come out publicly in favor of civil unions as pope, and no pontiff before him had, either.

Later Wednesday, questions arose about when Francis first made the remarks. The scene of his interview is identical to one from 2019 with Mexican broadcaster Televisa, but his comments about the need for legal protections for civil unions apparently never aired until the documentary.

The Rev. James Martin, a Jesuit who has sought to build bridges with gay Catholics, praised the comments 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, the conservative bishop of Providence, Rhode Island, Thomas Tobin, immediately called for clarification. “The pope’s statement clearly contradicts what has been the long-standing teaching of the church about same-sex unions,” Tobin said in a statement. “The church cannot support the acceptance of objectively immoral relationships.”

And Ed Mechmann, director of public policy at the Archdiocese of New York, said in a blog post that the pope had simply “made a serious mistake.”

Catholic teaching holds that gays must be treated with dignity and respect but that homosexual acts are “intrinsically disordered.” 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 to legal recognition of homosexual unions.”

Doing so, the Vatican reasoned, would not only condone “deviant behavior,” but create an equivalence to marriage, which the church holds is an indissoluble union between man and woman.

That document was signed by the then-prefect of the office, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the future Pope Benedict XVI and Francis’ predecessor.

Director Evgeny Afineevsky, who is gay, expressed surprise after the premiere Wednesday that the pope’s comments on civil unions had created such a firestorm, saying Francis wasn’t trying to change doctrine but was merely expressing his belief that gays should enjoy the same rights as heterosexuals.

“The world needs positivity right now, the world needs to care about climate change, care about refugees and migration, borders, walls, family separation,” Afineevsky said, urging attention be paid to the main issues covered by the film.

Source: Chicago Tribune

58 COMMENTS

  1. Okay!! That has been in he’s words for a very long time. But what scripture in the Bible has he gotten this motivation from. I think this whole thing is he’s personal perspective and I can simply say Catholics heard a different direction from that of every Christian

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  2. He didn’t say gay men can marry, he said same sex.
    Men is disgusting, mutombbana pa mpuuti pa maffi. But women yes, it is so romantic. Tasila made mistake of her life to marry that piece of … Just to impress society. She should have stayed with her girl, they could have got married at same catholic church, by PF priest Chilinda.
    Look at Iris and Dora, so romantic, I pray they get married this year.

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  3. And you dare call him the holy father , This is the antichrist , the son of perdition , may all the catholic brothers and sisters open their eyes , the papacy is corrupt , that’s what the entire system stands for , remember the same sex scandals that have rocked Catholicism , may the Lord help His people to come out of this apostate movement before it’s finally too late .

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  4. So is Zambia going to break diplomatic relationship with Vatican City because they support gay relationships? What are those Pentecostals saying? LMFAO!!!!!!!!

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  5. That is the Pope’s personal view and not the Catholic Church’s position. Except, it may be interpreted as the view of the Catholic Church, coming from the Head of the Catholic Church. This may raise issues of the infallibility of the Pope which is based on the understanding that what the Pope pronounces is agreed upon collectively with the collegiate of cardinals and hence the pope is less likely to err in his pronouncement. The question still remains that of whether what the Pope said is something agreed upon with the collegiate of cardinals. In addition, what implication does this have for the adoption of children by gay couples. Should they be allowed? The German constitutional court ruled a few years back that gay couples be allowed to adopt children as there was no evidence that…

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  6. …pointed to gay couples’ chosen sexual life having a negative influence on the lives of their adopted children. The question is, is today’s world and particularly African value system ready for this?

  7. That is why the Book of Scriptures encourages us to only trust in God. Men will always disappoint you but not God.

    Look at the Pope now, he is lost together with his sheep.

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  8. Hosea 4:6. My people perish because of lack of knowledge.

    God help us… Open our eyes of understanding so that we can comprehend your inspired word which is beneficial for reproof, teaching, correction in all righteousness.

    Your death Lord Jesus Christ on the cross was not in vein!!

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  9. My understanding is that the Pope doesn’t want the continued persecution of these types of people, he hasn’t supported their sex orientation. There are some families that have disowned their own children because of their sex orientation. What the Pope has advised is that these people be allowed to live among us, in the community and in families. As humans they deserve to have a life even if we don’t agree with their sex orientation. It’s only God that can judge among us. Some gay people can even rule the country better than Edgar Lungu. So the term civil union doesn’t mean conjugal relationships. We need to be civil in manner that we relate with these kind of people. I think that’s the correct interpretation.

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  10. A lot of MPs are gay, ask the guards at Parliament motel and they will tell you that many young gay men visit MPs at night.

  11. To those who are Catholic, Choose today whom you shall follow or serve. The teaching of your denomination(pope), in this case the Roman Catholic or the Words of Yahweh, God Almighty. Men’s teachings change with time but God’s Word remains the SAME, it does not change. You may change today and choose what to obey about God’s Word but that won’t change what God says. If you believe in the true and living God, you must disassociate yourself from these human teachings of the Roman Catholic as represented by the pope.

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    • Lassie Kakuta its important to understand how the catholic church functions and teaches. Please always remember that the pope can not give a teaching in a film, documentary or even in an interview. To change the stance of the church on gaysim and other issues such as abortion and marriage the council of cardinals in the catholic church must approve and as far as these stand the catholic church can never advocate for same sex marriage…it is based on the teaching of Christ including on issues of forgiveness and human dignity.

    • Francis Mutale Mukosa As far has this endorsement is concerned explanations will not change anything, that’s why I agree that they won’t do anything. He is the head of the catholic and he has spoken. Spin cannot change anything.

  12. An organization that does not allow their priests to marry find it easy to support same sex marriages in their congregation? The very marriage God ordained is not allowed for the priests, what a irony.

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  13. Whichever way one looks at it, same sex unions will NEVER be right. No matter how strong the feelings are. Even if the rest of the world embraces homosexual relationships Zambia will NEVER.

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  14. Now you all know that these churches arent from God but are created by men. If you are looking for answers look inside the man not in some scripture that tells you about instructions passed via some holy person.

  15. Jesus said love your neighbor as you love yourself. Pope is not God, follow Jesus teachings let Him live in your heart and spread the word of God. Period.

  16. If we have integrity at all, we may as well consider deregistration of the Catholic church in Zambia. When you consider the way our Government reacted to Mr Foot – USA ambassador’s timely reminder to us to fight corruption with same vigour as we hate Homosexuality.
    We shall wait !!!

  17. The beauty of religious scripts is how it influences differently enlightened folk. The literalists who never studied a word in the original languages of the Bible (Greek and Hebrew — the entire New Testament is Greek) believe the English translations which are very approximate; the mildly enlightened shrug and make sure they selectively reveal the shocks they learn; and the very wise realize how most of what they see is a hoax and paradoxically powerful and agnostic at the same time. So it is time to use some of it to keep some parts of the world under their yoke! Go figure!

  18. wake up sunday worshipers the catholic church calls it self mother church because it has the children churches all those who keep sunday follow what the catholic church have done

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  19. When the Pope speaks he often does so with Magisterial imprimatur!
    Now let us hear from these small bishops!

  20. A man is just a man. Fear God alone and serve only him. Stand firm and don’t be misled by the pope. He will also have to give account before the Almighty for defending sodomy when the scripture is very clear that it is AN ABOMINATION for a man to lie with another man (Leviticus 18:22.)

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  21. HAS POPE FRANCIS SUPPORTED HOMOSEXUAL MARRIAGES?

    By Fr Tatah Mbuy, Coordinator, Catholic Communications, National Episcopal Conference of Cameroon (NECC).

    The media world in general, and Social Media in particular, seems to be bubbling with all kinds of reactions emanating from at least three statements which Pope Francis is quoted as having said: “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 MADE MISERABLE OVER IT.” and “What we have to create is a civil union law. That way they are legally covered.” These comments come from a FILM (Documentary) shot in June 2020 entitled “Francesco” made by Evgeny Affineevsky, a Russian born film director and cinematographer who lives in the USA.

    Three important clarifications are necessary here to make sure no-one of good will is misled. The teachings of a Pope DO NOT COME TO US FROM FILMS (even when they claim to be from a documentary). In 1970 the Rock Opera by Andrew Lloyd Webber shot a film called “JESUS THE SUPERSTAR” which was meant to tell people among other things, about the hidden sexual life of Jesus. In 1984, it was David Yallop who came out with “IN GOD’S NAME” to show that Pope John Paul I (Albino Luciano) was killed in the Vatican. So the Catholic Church is used to all kinds of sensational media works meant to influence public opinion about the Church. But the Church is custodian of the deposit of Faith and the Truth which is eternal and cannot be twisted. The stand of the Catholic Church about homosexuality was very clearly stated during the 14th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops (4-25 October 2015) on the Family. The Church has not gone against what was officially said then.

    Secondly, the comments of Pope Francis cited above in NO WAY show that the Pope has changed that official stand. Every human being, sinner or saint, remains a child of God, who loves each and everyone of us unconditionally. If God were to count our inequity, who of us would survive? SO GOD LOVES THE SINNER BUT HATES THE SIN! That is why Saul of Tarsus, the Persecutor of the Church was invited to become its fearless preacher; that is why Mary of Magdala, a harlot, is today a saint; and that is why the bandit crucified on the cross with Jesus was offered a place in heaven. Mutatis mutandis, THE CHURCH WILL NEVER HATE A HOMOSEXUAL MUCH AS SHE REJECTS HOMOSEXUALITY.. Finally, those who are acquainted with the language of the Church will understand that in the quotation above, Pope Francis spoke about a civil union which is quite different from a MARRIAGE understood by the Church as a Covenant! There is a world of difference between a UNION and a COVENANT. No one is allowed to discriminate or stereotype another, even if such is a homosexual.

    THEREFORE POPE FRANCIS HAS NOT IN ANYWAY DRIFTED FROM THE OFFICIAL TEACHING OF THE CHURCH, much less has the Supreme Pontiff supported Homosexual Marriages, as news headlines want to make us think. In a world of sensational and citizen journalism, one must be alert to manipulations and falsehood. And the Catholic Church as Mother and Teacher (Mater et Magistra) will continue to proclaim the TRUTH, in and out of season, accepted or rejected.

  22. Condemning same-sex relationships is harmful to the LGBT community. Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount that good trees bear good fruit, while bad trees bear bad fruit. The church’s rejection of same-sex relationships has caused tremendous, needless suffering to the LGBT community—bad fruit. Those harmful consequences should make Christians open to reconsidering the church’s traditional teaching.

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  23. @Francis Mutale Mukisa: HAVE YOU NOTED THAT YOU HAVE NOT QUOTED ANY SCRIPTURE FROM THE BIBLE. ALL YOU HAVE DONE IS TO DEFEND THE POPE YOUR CHURCH AND REFERED TO SOME SYNOD MEETING. THAT IS THE MISTAKE. THE POPE IS HUMAN AND A SINNER LIKE ALL OF US. THE POPE CAN ERR. AND AS LONG AS SINNERS ARE IN CHURCH, THE CHURCH CAN ALSO GO ASTRAY. FROM THE BIBLE, MARRIAGE OCCURS BETWEEN A MAN AND A WOMAN. GOD NEVER CREATED JOHN FOR ADAM. HE CREATED EVE. THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS CIVIL UNION IN THE BIBLE. ITS MARRIAGE THAT GOD EXPECTS. THE CHURCH SHOULD PROTECT US FROM THIS WORLDLINESS OF SUGAR-COATING SIN IN ORDER TO APPEAR MODERN.

  24. ”Jesus’s intimacy with John suggested he was gay”
    The Gospel of John makes references to the disciple whom Jesus loved (John 13:23)
    Now there was leaning on Jesus’ bosom one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved.

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  25. That’s we why it is called a beast. It is an organisation masquerading as a Church of Christ yet it so vile. No wonder John in Rev. 18 he asks those trapped on it to “come put”

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