Pope Francis Declares Support For Same Sex Relationships

Pope Francis has endorsed civil unions for same-sex couples, saying in a new documentary that “homosexuals have a right to be a part of the family.”

Pope Francis made the endorsement of same-sex civil unions while being interviewed for the feature-length documentary “Francesco,” which premiered Wednesday at the Rome Film Festival.

“Homosexual people have the right to be in a family. They are children of God,” Francis said in one of his sit-down interviews for the film. “You can’t kick someone out of a family, nor make their life miserable for this. What we have to have is a civil union law; that way they are legally covered.”

Francis had earlier on endorsed civil unions for gay couples as an alternative to same-sex marriages while serving as archbishop. However, he had never come out publicly in favor of civil unions as pope, and no pontiff before him had, either.

During the interview, Pope Francis also delved into other issues he cares about most, including the environment, poverty, migration, racial and income inequality, and the people most affected by discrimination.

The Rev. James Martin, a Jesuit who has sought to build bridges with gay Catholics, praised the comments as “a major step forward in the church’s support for LGBT people.”

“The pope’s speaking positively about civil unions also sends a strong message to places where the church has opposed such laws,” Martin said in a statement.

More About LGBT In America

For starters, LGBT stands for, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (often used to encompass any sexual orientations or gender identities that do not correspond to heterosexual norms).

According to sources, The United States has witnessed a remarkable shift in LGBTQ rights and visibility in the 50 years since the Stonewall uprising, and in just the last few years, LGBTQ people won the right to marry.

Additionally, over the last half a century, the US. Supreme Court first denied and then affirmed that LGBTQ people have the right to consensual sex, and then the right to marry whom they choose.

USA Today said, earlier this month, two Supreme Court Justices vehemently condemned same-sex marriage in a rebuke of Obergefell v. Hodges.

Both the plaintiff and defendant in that case condemned the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett, who has repeatedly been criticized by LGBTQ rights groups as hostile in her dealing with issues pertaining to gay marriage and protections of transgender people.