Pope Francis, while re-iterating the Church’s opposition to same-sex marriage, added that civil unions under the state were “good and helpful to many.”
While on a trip to Hungary and Slovakia, the Pope asserted that “abortion is homicide” and that “marriage is a sacrament, between a man and a woman.”
Same-sex civil unions 'good and helpful to many', says Pope Francis https://t.co/9NrXcCFRtV
— euronews (@euronews) September 17, 2021
However, he stated that gay civil unions were “good and helpful to many,” saying that while the Church “doesn’t have the power to change a sacrament as it was instituted by the Lord,” he did support civil unions to help “those who have a diverse sexual orientation.”
“If a homosexual couple wants to lead a life together, the State has the possibility to give them safety, stability, inheritance; and not only to homosexuals but to all the people who want to live together (in a civil union),” he said.
“This does not at all mean that they have to be condemned: No, they are our brothers and sisters. But marriage is a sacrament, between a man and a woman.”
Earlier this year, Francis re-affirmed the church’s teaching on homosexuality after German Catholic bishops controversially made a public show of blessing gay unions in church, defying the Pope who said “the Church cannot bless sin.”
German priests defy Vatican to bless gay couples https://t.co/Uwz7XwqPf4
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) May 10, 2021
The Vatican’s orthodoxy office issued a formal response to a question about whether Catholic clergy can bless gay unions. The answer, contained in a two-page explanation published in seven languages and approved by Pope Francis, was “negative.” https://t.co/6EXdyJFNg7
— The Associated Press (@AP) March 15, 2021