In the new documentary “Francesco,” which premiered at the Rome Film Festival near the end of October, Pope Francis is seen seemingly endorsing same-sex civil-unions publicly for the first time during his papacy.
During a press conference in 2013, Francis, responding to a question about whether there was “gay lobby” in the Vatican, said, “If someone is gay and is searching for the Lord and has a good will, then who am I to judge him?” This quote, coming only four months into his pontiff, was received as somewhat progressive in comparison to Francis’ predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, who, in a 2005 document, said men with “deep-rooted homosexual tendencies” shouldn’t be priests. Francis has instead taken the stance that gay clergymen should be forgiven, and their “sins” forgotten.
Jorge Mario Bergoglio, before becoming Pope Francis, served as Archbishop Buenos Aries where he publicly urged other bishops to lobby for same-sex civil-unions.
Now, Francis has again made seemingly supportive comments about same-sex civil-unions, this time in the form of a 2019 interview clip seen in the new documentary “Francesco,” a film following people whose lives have been directly impacted by the Pope. “Homosexual people have a right to be in the family. They are children of God,” said Francis. “They have a right to a family. Nobody should be thrown out of the family or made miserable over this. What we have to make is a law of civil coexistence, for they have the right to be legally covered. I stood up for that.”
Francis’ statements were received fairly positively, but based on his history, that was to be expected. “It’s pretty consistent though with how he’s been since he’s been elected. He’s very much fronting and bringing to the front what I would argue is one of the essential parts of Christianity and that’s that God loves us just the way they are,” Thomas Bolin, a St. Norbert Theology and Religion professor, told Fox 11 News.
In a post to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence website Thomas Tobin, a conservative bishop of Providence, Rhode Island, indicated that he feels Francis’ statement needs clarification. “The Pope’s statement clearly contradicts what has been the long-standing teaching of the Church about same-sex unions,” said Tobin. “The Church cannot support the acceptance of objectively immoral relationships.”
Despite denying gay people the acceptance of basic human rights, Tobin has a point. Francis’ quote is fairly unclear. Reportedly, the footage used in the documentary was from a 2019 Televisa interview which aired without the portion of the interview where Francis speaks on civil-unions, according to Paul Elie of the New Yorker. However, it is important to note that there is a sentence left out of the interview where Francis, after endorsing civil-unions, says, “That does not mean approving of homosexual acts, not in the least.”
That cut sentence is incredibly important because it shows that despite Francis’ position on same-sex civil-unions being one of acceptance, he, and the Catholic church, continue to view the way same-sex couples show affection in a negative light. This sentiment feels as if it undercuts his entire previous statement. While it’s absolutely imperative for same-sex couples to continue to have their unions normalized by the world and church alike, approving only of their celibate union and not how they prefer to express their love is hardly close to anything resembling equality.
Hopefully Pope Francis’ recent comments will help continue to normalize same-sex unions throughout the Catholic church and world, but there is still a long way to go in terms of fully gaining acceptance.
Photo by Gwen Manten
