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.
Jordan Mauriello, CEO of MoreYellow, talks about the evolving landscape of female gamers and why brands see Influencers as more valuable than their male counterparts.
Apple's Racial Equity and Justice Initiative is a $100 million program aimed at combating systemic racism while working to advance racial equity across the country. Alisha Johnson, director of the initiative, joined Cheddar at SXSW to discuss the work being done. "We focused on three critical areas. The first is education. The second is criminal justice reform, and the third is economic empowerment, really looking first in our own supply chain, how can we really increase our spend with Latinx, Hispanic, and indigenous-owned businesses," she said. "And then how can we go further to empower entrepreneurs who have been cut out of access to funding and capital and really help them to get the funding."
What you Need to Know on Thursday, March 17. Updates from Ukraine, President Biden refers to Putin as a ‘war criminal’ for the first time, Walmart has ambitious hiring targets for Q1, and Netflix takes steps to crack down on password sharing.
Residents were cleaning their homes Thursday after a 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Fukushima in northern Japan, smashing furniture, knocking out power and killing four people.
Biden calls Putin a "war criminal," HBCUs are getting grant money for security after dozens of bomb threats, and Cannes may hate red-carpet selfies, but this year they're partnering with TikTok. Here is all the news you Need2Know for Thursday, March 17, 2022.
A Peacock streaming show about a '90s one-hit-wonder girl group getting another chance at musical success, "Girls5Eva" drops its second season on the platform on May 5. Cheddar's Michelle Castillo sat down with creator Meredith Scardino and actor Paula Pell from South By Southwest in Austin, Texas, to talk about what fans can expect from the series in Season 2. "They're going to create their first studio album, which is really exciting," Scardino said. "So we're going to follow that journey as they as they get back in the studio."
Cheddar News senior reporter Michelle Castillo was joined by the cast of 'Lizzo's Watch Out for the Big Grrrls' during South by Southwest 2022. They talk all about the new series, which premieres March 25 on Prime Video.
