Pope Francis’ puzzling comment of civil unions

By Don Aguiar

Mumbai: Questions swirled October 22 about the origins of Pope Francis’ comments endorsing same-sex civil unions, with all evidence suggesting he made them in a 2019 interview that was never broadcast in its entirety.

The Vatican refused to comment on whether it cut the remarks from its broadcast or if the Mexican broadcaster that conducted the interview did. And it didn’t respond to questions about why it allowed the comments to be aired now in the documentary “Francesco,” which premiered Wednesday.

In the movie, which was shown at the Rome Film Festival, Pope Francis said gay people have the right to be in a family since they are “children of God.”

“You can’t kick someone out of a family, nor make their life miserable for this,” the Pope said. “What we have to have is a civil union law; that way they are legally covered.”

Those comments caused a firestorm, thrilling progressives and alarming conservatives, given official Vatican teaching prohibits any such endorsement of homosexual unions.

While serving as archbishop of Buenos Aires, Pope Francis had endorsed civil unions for gay couples as an alternative to same-sex marriages. However, he had never come out publicly in favour of legal protections for civil unions as pope, and no pontiff before him had, either.

It’s pretty funny to watch the hullabaloo over Pope Francis saying that gay folks are, like, you know, regular people who should be allowed to live together in recognized relationships.

Of course, almost as soon as news of the pope’s perfectly reasonable if belated comments in a documentary called “Francesco” became public, a few of the Roman Catholic laity — weighed in with a homophobic screed.

Quoting extensively from their sanctimonious statement about how gay people getting hitched is terrible and, following their logic, will result in them burning in eternal damnation. They claim that such relationships are “objectively immoral.”

Despite having the benefit of a substantial education, they don’t appreciate the difference between the terms objective and subjective. Having a problem with gay people loving each other and having sexual relationships is subjectively immoral only to an increasingly shrinking group of troglodytes. What is objectively immoral is bishops protecting priests who rape children. It is believed by progressives that gay people have the natural right to be married and be as miserable as the rest of us. (Just kidding!)

But, seriously, the Catholic Church’s centuries-old obsession with the sexual habits of ordinary people, as opposed to its own abusive priests, is bewildering. Its hemorrhaging of church-going members in countries where people aren’t desperately poor is entirely predictable. Let’s keep things in perspective. Many priests and nuns do much good work.

Pope Francis’s endorsement of same-sex civil unions is likely to be among the most remembered moments of his papacy. But a day after his landmark comment surfaced in a documentary premiere, there was growing intrigue about when and to whom the pontiff made the statement, and whether the Vatican wanted it made public.

Initially, the origin of the pope’s comment appeared clear-cut: Filmmaker Evgeny Afineevsky told several news outlets that he had conducted the interview in which the pope advocated for “a civil union law.”

But Internet sleuths and journalists then realized the comments instead appeared to come from a 2019 interview with a Mexican broadcaster.

The civil unions comment wasn’t part of the Televisa broadcast or a Vatican transcript released at the time. However, the scene shown in the documentary, “Francesco,” looks identical to the 2019 footage: same lighting, same chair in the background, same placement of the small microphone on the pope’s vestments.

The debate over the comment’s origins doesn’t change the significance of what the pope said, but it does introduce questions about the filmmaker’s methods.

It also raises questions about whether the Vatican had initially been uncomfortable with the remarks or asked the Mexican channel to cut them at the time. Pope Francis is known for making news while speaking off the cuff, sometimes leaving his media handlers to do damage control.

This was not the first time that the pope addressed the issue of the union between people of the same sex. However the quote in the documentary, though, is the first clear statement of support from Pope Francis that has become public during his papacy.

The Vatican frequently edits the pope in official transcripts and videos, especially when he speaks on sensitive issues.

The Vatican transcript shows another comment in the documentary was pulled from the same 2019 session — with heavy editing.

“Homosexuals have a right to be a part of the family,” Pope Francis is shown saying in the documentary. “They’re children of God and have a right to a family. Nobody should be thrown out, or be made miserable because of it.”

In the transcript, those lines are not spoken consecutively, and it is clear the pope was referring to children, not couples, when saying, “They’re children of God and have a right to a family.”

Pope Francis’s endorsement made major waves for the world’s Catholics, including LGBTQ members who have felt shunned by the faith’s official teachings.

Mostly lost in the shuffle of the pope’s words about recognizing the legitimacy and humanity of gay couples are his words about something just as important:

Human Rights Watch said the pontiff’s stance had the potential to bolster the LGBTQ legal fight, especially in predominantly Catholic countries, where “same-sex couples lack basic recognition. The pope’s comment caused blowback from hardliners.

One Cardinal frequently critical of Pope Francis, Raymond Burke, on Thursday said that the pope’s remarks were contrary to the “Sacred Scripture” and would “generate great bewilderment and cause confusion” among the faithful.