Pope Francis waves to faithful at the end of the weekly general audience in the Paul VI hall at the Vatican, Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2020. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
By Nicole Winfield
Pope Francis endorsed same-sex civil unions for the first time as pope while being interviewed for the feature-length documentary “Francesco,” which had its premiere at the Rome Film Festival on Wednesday.
The papal thumbs up came midway through the film that delves into issues he cares about most, including the environment, poverty, migration, racial and income inequality, and the people most affected by discrimination.
“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. “What we have to have is a civil union law; that way they are legally covered.”
While serving as archbishop of Buenos Aires, Francis endorsed civil unions for gay couples as an alternative to same-sex marriages. However, he had never come out publicly in favor of civil unions as pope.
Director Evgeny Afineevsky had remarkable access to cardinals, the Vatican television archives, and the pope himself. He said he negotiated his way in through persistence, and deliveries of Argentine mate tea and Alfajores cookies that he got to the pope via some well-connected Argentines in Rome.
One of television's most successful writers made a big donation to the Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles to help underserved community members gain the skills to become health care professionals.
Cheddar News' correspondent Shannon LaNier speaks with Jamie and Fillip Hord, co-founders of Horderly, about how to best prepare for spring cleaning. The organization experts talk about maximizing storage and creating the first perfect "flow" in the kitchen.
'Mrs. Davis' show creators Damon Lindelof and Tara Hernandez joined Cheddar News' Trending Show to talk about the hot topic of artificial intelligence.
