By Jason Horowitz

Oct. 21, 2020Updated 6:05 p.m. ET

Leer en español

ROME — Pope Francis expressed support for same-sex civil unions in remarks revealed in a documentary film that premiered on Wednesday, a significant break from his predecessors that staked out new ground for the church in its recognition of gay people.

The remarks, coming from the leader of the Roman Catholic Church, had the potential to shift debates about the legal status of same-sex couples in nations around the globe and unsettle bishops worried that the unions threaten what the church considers traditional marriage — between one man and one woman.

“What we have to create is a civil union law. That way they are legally covered,” Francis said in the documentary, ‘‘Francesco,’’ which debuted at the Rome Film Festival, reiterating his view that gay people are children of God. “I stood up for that.”

Many gay Catholics and their allies outside the church welcomed the pope’s remarks, though Francis’ opposition to gay marriage within the church remained absolute.

His conservative critics within the church hierarchy, and especially in the conservative wing of the church in the United States, who have for years accused him of diluting church doctrine, saw the remarks as a reversal of church teaching.

“The pope’s statement clearly contradicts what has been the longstanding teaching of the church about same-sex unions,” said Bishop Thomas Tobin of Providence, R.I., adding that the remarks needed to be clarified.

We never marry all the women in the world finish, na man them wan begin to dey marry now. Madness is being personified in this generation. Just imagine the madness.

Okay

Dreal1247:
We never marry all the women in the world finish, na man them wan begin to dey marry now. Madness is being personified in this generation. Just imagine the madness.

How does that affect you? Just mind your business, live your life, and let others live theirs as well.

The pope did the right thing. To all the butt-hurt Christians that want the pope to side with your hatred, I'm sorry but the pope is a lot wiser than you, and not as close-minded.

While you're still mentally bounded by your stone-age concepts of immorality, the world is slowly waking up and gradually agreeing unanimously that people shouldn't be discriminated against based on their sexual orientation.