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.
New details surrounding the deadly shooting that took place on the production set of "Rust" have now emerged. According to sources close to the matter, hours before the set several crew members walked off set over safety concerns. Senior Editor at Variety and host of the "Just for Variety" podcast Marc Malkin along with Certified Firearms Instructor and Founder of The Reload Stephen Gutowski, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
Jill and Carlo cover the news out of Facebook's latest earnings, Tesla's monumental day, Dave Chappelle addresses controversy and the tragedy of the climate emergency.
Edtech startup ENTITY Academy raised $100 million in its latest round of funding. The company's platform offers tech training to women via online courses, in areas like data science and software development. The courses include mentoring and career coaching from people working in the tech industry. ENTITY Academy's founder and CEO Jennifer Schwab joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to talk more about the company and the funding.
LendingTree's latest survey found that parents and Gen Zers are the most likely to overspend on Halloween this year. Brianna Wright, a senior consumer research specialist at LendingTree, joined Cheddar to discuss what exactly consumers are splurging on this spooky season and how to carve out room in your budget to celebrate.
Connor Franta, YouTube star and author of 'House Fires,' joins Cheddar News to discuss his latest book which is a collection of essays, photos, and poems about dating, sex, relationships, mental health, and so much more.
Zaire Wade and Jalen Newsome, Co-founders and Co-CEOs of 'YNG DNA' join us to talk about their new NFT collection available Oct. 25 on WAX NFT blockchain.
According to new research by Twitter, the social media platform algorithm amplifies content from the "political right" rather than those on the left. The company says this data comes as the platform has been taking the time to research the implications of its algorithm and whether or not it has caused any "unknown harm". President and CEO of Media Matters for America Angelo Carusone, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
The tragedy on the set of the movie "Rust" is sparking calls for safer Hollywood film sets. Actor Alec Baldwin accidentally killed the film's director of photography and injured the director when he fired a prop gun while rehearsing a scene last week, unaware the weapon was loaded with live rounds. Tom Murray, entertainment editor of Insider, joined Cheddar to discuss how prop guns can still be very dangerous and why Hollywood has prioritized realism over safety, despite several on-set accidents over the decades.
Jill and Carlo cover the latest developments in the Alec Baldwin prop gun shooting, when vaccines for kids as young as 5 should be approved, new reporting on Facebook and more.
