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.
Jessi Gold, director of wellness, engagement, and outreach in the Department of Psychiatry at Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis, joins Cheddar News to discuss workplace burnout and what signs to look out for.
Former Saturday Night Live writer John Mulaney hosted the show for the fifth time, joining the club of “five-timers” that includes Steve Martin, Paul Rudd, Candice Bergin, and Tina Fey. The exclusive members joined together in a sketch to celebrate.
The new show "Million Dollar Wheels" takes Discovery+ viewers behind the scenes of what it takes to be a luxury car dealer to the stars. The star, CEO, and founder of Wires Only, a full-service luxury automotive, aviation, and entertainment company, joined Cheddar News to talk about what to expect from the series. "The thing about this show is we've got crazy deals with the craziest clients. I'm talking Kim Kardashian, Tom Holland, Jamie Foxx, the list goes on. And they're the craziest requests you could ever imagine," he said. "And me and my team are trying to make the impossible possible, running all over the place, doing whatever it takes to close these deals."
Joel Rubin, president of the Washington Strategy Group and former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, joins Cheddar News to discuss the Russia-Ukraine tensions and the new sanctions President Biden placed on Russia.
Jason Schuchman, actor and licensed real estate salesperson of the Filipacchi Foussard team at Brown Harris Stevens, joins Cheddar News to talk about playing a real estate commercial agent in Netflix's 'Inventing Anna.'
Actor Tom Holland has been dominating the movie scene lately with two of the top three films in the box office this past month. The star drew in the ticket sales with his roles in "Spider-Man: No Way Home" and "Uncharted."
The National Museum of African American History and Culture marked its fifth anniversary in Washington, DC, and it celebrated Black History Month with a contemporary exhibit on social justice called "Reckoning" as well as unveiling a digital option for online visitors. "When we launched the searchable museum, which is a digital humanities platform, it's an opportunity for our audience to experience the museum itself and not just through the exhibitions, but through different experiences that kind of illuminate the exhibitions' stories," said curator Mary Elliot. Cheddar's Arielle Hixson reports.
Authorities have seized nearly $3 million worth of methamphetamine, hidden among a shipment of onions, during a tractor-trailer’s inspection at federal facility in San Diego.
