Gerard Swan, chair of Quest, an LGBTI Catholic group, told i: “We celebrate what the pope has said because of its recognition of the Catholic Church’s teaching on the fundamental dignity that LGBT+ people share with all human beings and are entitled to in civil society and that means in civil law. I stood up for that.”. “What we have to create is a civil union law. Pope Francis has given his backing to same-sex civil unions for the first time, in a major break from Catholic teachings. The feature-length film, directed by Evgeny Afineevsky, charts Francis’s papacy over the past seven years, including his handling of numerous sexual abuse scandals that have engulfed the church. The following year it was reported that Pope Francis had expressed support for civil unions for same-sex partners in an interview, but the Holy See's press office denied this. The important thing has been the achievement of legal guarantees for stable living. This will evidently create waves in countries where homosexuality is illegal, as well as causing heartache to conservative Americans who have sought legal exemption from the employment of same-sex couples who have entered into civil unions. Responding to his the remarks, the pro-LGBT+ Jesuit priest Rev. Given a very gay and very closeted episcopate in many countries, for whom serene and adult conversation about these things has, until recently, been almost impossible, the question has largely been: how long would it take for the basic good sense of the majority of Catholic people and what they have learned about human sexuality to percolate upwards so that senior clergy needn’t be frightened of it? Pope Francis has called for same-sex relationships to be recognised under law, in what appears to be a major shift in the Vatican’s position on gay rights. If you believed those things you would seek to break up such couples, not stabilise them. He clearly isn’t frightened of the issue. “He didn’t mention what was his opinion on my family. In 2019, the Vatican released a document claiming that “gender ideology” is a “move away from nature”. Some commentators have been quick to point to the distinction between same-sex civil unions and marriage, saying that the one is possible for Catholics while the other never will be. The comments are a significant break from his own past comments as well as the position of the church, which has long deployed its lobbying influence to oppose any legal recognition of same-sex relationships. Francis once called me, a gay man, to affirm my priesthood. “He didn’t mention what was his opinion on my family. When friends yesterday started to bombard me with news links to the story that Pope Francis had stated his support for same-sex civil unions, I experienced both surprise and surprise at the surprise. Probably he’s following the doctrine on this point,” one of the men said. If the latter, then becoming who you are starts from who you find yourself to be, including your sexual orientation, and the appropriate humanisation of your sexual desire will be worked out in appropriate relationships over time. As a priest who has been privileged to be a witness at several same-sex ceremonies, where on each occasion the couple gave their own title to what they were doing, I would say this: let the cake rise before you put on the icing. © 2020 Associated Newspapers Limited. App Featured, The documentary also features two Italian men in a same-sex relationship who say they received encouragement for their family from the Argentinian cleric. I had no advance knowledge either of Evgeny Afineevsky’s documentary, Francesco, or the interview in it that contains Pope Francis’ new formulation of his earlier position on same-sex civil unions. Do you understand? I give you the power of the keys.”. This was apparent to me when he called me by phone to affirm me in my priesthood, nullifying an attempt that had been made to remove my clerical status because I’m an openly gay man. Soon after becoming pope, he said of gay priests: “Who am I to judge?”. That was at the time a very brave position: the Vatican had specifically and publicly forbidden Catholics from supporting any form of recognition of same-sex relationships, even as a “lesser evil” to supporting same-sex marriage. “What the pope is clear about is the dignity of all persons and we as LGBT+ people have the same dignity as any human being and that’s unshakable”. All rights reserved. The discussion about the shape and colour of the icing will no doubt be all that and more. Catholic, If the former, then “giving in” to being gay or lesbian is to follow the path of your objective disorder, and ultimately to exclude yourself from grace. And second, because he affirms the rightness of same-sex couples forming a family and being part of the family of the church. As noted by the Catholic News Agency, in his 2013 book On Heaven and Earth Pope Francis condemned laws “assimilating” homosexual relationships to marriage as “an anthropological regression”. Pope Francis has called for same-sex relationships to be recognised under law, in what appears to be a major shift in the Vatican’s position on gay rights. © 2020 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. The comments are likely to stir controversy among conservatives in the church, which has opposed any form of legal recognition for the relationships of LGBT people. Anyone with any pastoral experience knows that in dealing with an individual’s personhood, you start from where they are. He also told a survivor of sexual abuse, who features in the documentary, that it “does not matter” he is gay. The pontiff said: “Homosexuals have a right to be a part of the family. And here I want to express my surprise at the surprise. There are still countless cases of Catholic schools firing teachers for being gay, and Catholic adoption agencies have fought for the right to exclude same-sex parents. That we have the cake, and the Pope’s affirmation that we should have it, is wonderful. Pope Francis has given his backing to same-sex civil unions for the first time, in a major break from Catholic teachings. Now he’s expressing solidarity with gay people everywhere. “God made you like this and loves you like this and I don’t care. He added that “nobody should be thrown out, or be made miserable because of it” in remarks recorded before the coronavirus pandemic. There are no major points of doctrine at stake, nothing in the creeds, putting at risk the shape of our salvation. Pope Francis Said He Supports Civil Unions For Same-Sex Couples "If this a public recognition that same-sex couples deserve — and the church will no longer block — legal recognition of committed relationships, clearly that is an international game changer," said one member of a Catholic LGBTQ organization. • James Alison is a Catholic priest and theologian, Available for everyone, funded by readers. And it is here that Pope Francis has been so good. Soon the first generation of gay and lesbian kids for whom civil marriage was never an impossibility will reach marriageable age. Since becoming Pope, Francis had referred to his Buenos Aires position in interviews on a number of occasions, though not, as far as I’m aware, on camera. As the bill was discussed in 2014, high-ranking cardinal Angelo Bagnasco, president of the Italian Episcopal Conference, claimed: “It is irresponsible to weaken the family by creating new forms of unions… it only confuses people and has the effect of being a sort of Trojan horse, undermining culturally and socially the core of humanity.”, In 2003, under Pope John Paul II, the Vatican warned: “Legal recognition of homosexual unions or placing them on the same level as marriage would mean not only the approval of deviant behaviour, with the consequence of making it a model in present-day society, but would also obscure basic values which belong to the common inheritance of humanity.”. Pope Francis, “The issue of homosexuality is a very serious issue that must be adequately discerned from the beginning with the candidates,” he said of prospective priests two years ago. They are children of God,” he said in a new documentary, Francesco, which premiered in Rome on Wednesday. “Homosexual people have the right to be in a family. Celebs you didn’t know have an LGBT sibling. While Pope Francis has a track record of public comments in support of LGBT+ people’s individual freedoms, critics say he has done little on paper to end the church’s discriminatory practises and lobbying in opposition to equal rights. “Soy el Papa Francisco,” came the voice on the other end of the line, out of the blue, on a July afternoon in 2017. The pope loves you like this.”. Pope, Catholic opposition led to repeated defeats over a civil union law in Italy, before a watered-down version was finally approved in 2016 in the face of continued opposition from the church. The film recounts the story of two gay Italian men who say the leader encouraged them to raise their children with the Pope. Bishops have also led the defence of conversion therapy practises, which pro-LGBT+ voices in the church say is still commonplace in Catholicism. They’re children of God and have a right to a family. I think that’s a bit of a canard. Pope Francis holds his speech during an International Prayer Meeting for Peace (Vatican Pool/Getty Images). Religion, Enter your email to receive a daily roundup of the top LGBT+ news stories, in the face of continued opposition from the church, fought for the right to exclude same-sex parents, led the defence of conversion therapy practises, pro-LGBT+ Jesuit priest Rev. Director Evgeny Afineevsky received considerable access for the film Francesco, part of which addresses the leader’s outreach to LGBT+ people. The cake in question is our shared culture and knowledge concerning publicly lived and legal same-sex couplings. In 2013, he made global headlines when he called on the Catholic church to “show mercy, not condemnation” to gay people – representing a stark shift in tone from his predecessors. And I give you the power of the keys. Francis once called me, a gay man, to affirm my priesthood. archbishop Bergoglio had proposed same-sex civil unions. James Martin, comparing them to nuclear war and genetic manipulation. More: While only apparently a tiny shift with regards to the “lesser evil” view, Francis’s position is inconceivable for someone who believes same-sex acts to be mortal sins, leading those involved to go to hell. That way they are legally covered. He also warned that same-sex couples gaining the right to form unions and adopt could “affect children”, insisting: “Every person needs a male father and a female mother that can help them shape their identity.”. Nobody should be thrown out, or be made miserable because of it.”, He added: “What we have to create is a civil union law. James Martin said they were a “a major step forward in the church’s support for LGBT people.”, He said: “The Pope’s speaking positively about civil unions also sends a strong message to places where the church has opposed such laws.”. From which we can deduce that Pope Francis does not believe those things. While priests in some parts of the world bless same-sex marriage, that stance is a significant departure from official church teaching. I stood up for that,” he said, according to the Catholic News Agency. However the same year he said he was “worried” about homosexuality in the clergy, and that it was “a serious matter”. Meanwhile, he has been staunch in his opposition to trans identities, comparing them to nuclear war and genetic manipulation in 2015. But in 2019, he told a Spanish newspaper that parents who see signs of homosexuality in their children should “consult a professional” – a comment that was considered by many to endorse conversion therapy. The 83-year-old leader gave the nod to gay unions in an interview for the documentary Francesco, which premiered at the Rome Film Festival on Wednesday (October 21).

Carol Channing Net Worth, The Little Prince Fox Quotes, Windy Month In South Africa, Kkr Vs Rr 2012, Fox Sports West Channel, Decoy Fortnite, Worst Disasters In Uk History,