ROME (ITALY) – In a movie released on Wednesday, supreme head of the Roman Catholic Church Pope Francis said that homosexuals should be given the protection of civil union laws.
“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 says in the documentary “Francesco” by Oscar-nominated director Evgeny Afineevsky.
“What we have to create is a civil union law. That way they are legally covered. I stood up for that,” he said.
When he used to be the archbishop of Buenos Aires, Francis had opposed legislation to approve same-sex marriages, but he supported some kind of legal cover to protect the rights of gay couples.
According to papal biographer Austen Ivereigh, his comments in the movie were the clearest rhetoric he has used so far on the subject of same sex unions since he came to power in 2013.
In a section of the movie, the pope spoke about Andrea Rubera, a gay man who adopted three children with his partner.
In the documentary, Rubera says that he went to a morning Mass the pope said in his residence and handed him a letter explaining his situation.
He told Pope Francis that he and his partner wished to bring up the kids as Catholics in the local parish without causing any trauma to the children.
He said the pope telephoned him several days later telling him that he thought the letter was beautiful and urged them to introduce the children to the local parish, warning him to be ready to face opposition.
“His message and his advice was really useful because we did exactly what he told us. It’s the third year that they (the children) are on a spiritual path in the parish,” Rubera says in the film.
“He didn’t mention what was his opinion about my family so (I think) he is following the doctrine on this point but the attitude towards people has massively changed,” he said.