Divided reactions in US as pope backs same-sex civil unions
LGBTQ Catholics and their allies in the U.S. welcomed Pope Francis’ endorsement of same-sex civil unions, the first time he’s done so as pontiff, while some prominent members including a bishop said Wednesday that he was blatantly contradicting church teaching.
Bishop Thomas Tobin of Providence, Rhode Island, was one of the first conservative Catholic leaders to go public with criticism.
“The Pope’s statement clearly contradicts what has been the long-standing teaching of the Church about same-sex unions,” Tobin said in a statement. “The Church cannot support the acceptance of objectively immoral relationships.”
In contrast, Francis DeBernardo of New Ways Ministry, which represents LGBTQ Catholics, hailed the pope's comments as a “historic” shift for a church that has a record of persecuting gays.
“It is no overstatement to say that with this statement not only has the pope protected LGBTQ couples and families, but he also will save many LGBTQ lives,” DeBernardo said.
The pope’s comments came midway through a feature-length documentary, “Francesco,” that premiered Wednesday at the Rome Film Festival.
“Homosexual people have the right to be in a family. They are children of God,” Francis says in 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.”
The comment came in the final lap of a U.S. election campaign in which both President Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden have avidly courted Catholic voters. It’s not yet clear whether it could indirectly benefit Biden, whose team has run ads spotlighting his lifelong Catholicism, but some liberal-leaning faith advocates saw plenty of shared values to...