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.
Geoffrey Zakarian, a former Iron Chef and host of the show "Big Restaurant Bet," and Margaret Zakarian, the president of Zakarian Hospitality and a featured judge on the series, joined Cheddar News to discuss the project for the Food Network. "The reason why the show is named 'Big Restaurant Bet' is because running any restaurant is a gamble. It really is. It's the hardest thing in good times. When everything's great it's hard," said Geoffrey.
American gas stations are massive and only getting bigger. That's because most chains like Wawa, Sheetz, and Buc-ee's sell way more than just gas. So when and why did gas stations change from single-pump service garages to supersized, all-in-one travel hubs?
Nina Gilden Seavey, Founding Director, The Documentary Center Research at George Washington University, joins Cheddar to dissect the evolution of documentaries in the streaming age.
Andrea Swift, Chair of NYFA Documentary Department, joins Cheddar Reveals to discuss the documentary filmmaking process and why they remain so important in 2022.
Ye, more commonly known as Kanye West, has announced that he is removing himself from the lineup for Coachella. The rapper was a highly anticipated headliner for the last day of the music festival.
As Yellowstone National Park celebrates its 150th anniversary year, the park's fundraising arm is seeking $1,500 donations in exchange for an annual entry pass that can be used by carloads of the donor's descendants to visit the park in 150 years.
Catching you up on what you need to know on April 5, 2022, with Biden's call for a war crimes trial for Putin, another arrest made in the Sacramento mass shooting, NYC rolling out a campaign against Florida’s "Don’t Say Gay" bill, an aluminum shortage potentially affecting beer and cat food cans, and more.
Biden is ready to put more sanctions on Russia, Kansas is the March Madness champ, and the artist known as Kanye bails from Coachella. Here is all the news you Need2Know for Tuesday, April 5, 2022.
After a devastating mass shooting in Sacramento over the weekend that killed six people and wounded a dozen more, arguments about gun reform are also resurfacing. David Pucino, deputy chief counsel at Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, joined Cheddar News to talk about efforts to curb gun violence such as community intervention programs — and the more that needs to be done by lawmakers. "One thing that would be really important is at the federal level closing the loopholes that allow for private sales to go forward without a background check," he noted.
