What Pope Francis Said About Gay Marriages and How Indian Church Views it

According to the reports on Wednesday, Pope Francis, in a documentary that premiered in Rome, appeared to endorse civil unions for same-sex couples and was hailed as the first pontiff to endorse same-sex civil unions.

How did it start?

The comments sparked cheers from gay rights activists and demands for clarification from conservatives, due to the Vatican’s official teaching on the issue. The feature-length documentary 'Francesco', which premiered at the Rome Film Festival, had interviews with the Pope, deals with issues such as environment, poverty, migration, racial and income inequality, and the people most affected by discrimination.

What Pope Francis said in the interview?

“Homosexual people have the right to be in a family. They are children of God. 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 said.

Did he actually say that?

Pope Francis had a detailed interview of one hour and 20 minutes with a Mexican journalist at his Vatican residence in 2019 when he was asked if he had changed since his time as archbishop of Argentina when he vehemently opposed gay marriage.

Pope responded that he had always defended the church’s teaching on marriage, then began to delve into the question of legalizing same-sex relationships when suddenly the video skipped forward. “One changes in life,” he said.

But the clip also became the subject of sudden interest as when and where the pope made the remarks, and why they were only now being made public.

According to a report in New York Times, the comment from the pope: “What we have to create is a civil union law. That way they are legally covered,” was missing in an interview with the Vatican correspondent for the Mexican broadcaster Televisa.

How the Indian Catholic Church views it?

Kerala Catholic Bishops’ Council (KCBC) said there is no change in the Church teachings on homosexuality and said that the Catholic Church has not changed its stand on family life and homosexuality.

What is KCBC?

The KCBC is an organization of Catholic bishops in Kerala belonging to the Syro-Malabar, Latin, and Syro-Malankara rites of the Catholic Church.

What is KCB saying?

In an official communication, KCBC announced that there is no change in the teachings of the Catholic Church regarding homosexuality and family life. Reports that Pope Francis, in a documentary film directed by Evgeny Afineevsky, justified the validity of same-sex marriages is misleading and against facts, stated the KCBC.

"It is not through documentaries that the Church shares its religious teachings about marriage and family life. In the past too, Pope Francis has taught that people belonging to the LGBT communities are also children of God and they deserve the same care, concern, and affection as any other people. The Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in its 1975 document Persona Humana (Declaration of Certain Questions Concerning Sexual Ethics), had adopted a similar stance. The Church is of the stand that same-sex inclinations and same-sex acts should be seen as two distinct things.

Media reports claiming that the Pope exhorted to give same-sex couples the same legal protections as given to families are wrong. The Catholic Church does not see the living together of same-sex lovers as marriage, even though some countries have recognized it as ‘civil union’. Making pastoral services available for people living in same-sex relationships is a serious consideration in the Church. The Joy of Love (Amoris Laetitia), the doctrine released by the Church after the Synod of the Family contains the pastoral orientation that is the Pope’s official stand. There has been no change in the Pope’s stand on this issue. The Pope has not made any changes to this stance, reiterated Bishop Joseph Pamplany, the chairman of KCBC media commission.

KCBC said that Pope Francis has not adopted any stance that counters the official teachings of the Church regarding sexual morality and ethics, and exhorted the believers not to be misguided by fake news.