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.
Fans have pushed the Fisher-Price Corn Popper into the National Toy Hall of Fame, elevating it from perpetual finalist to 2023 inductee, alongside baseball cards, Cabbage Patch Kids and NERF foam toys, the Hall of Fame announced Friday.
During an interview with an elephant keeper in South Africa, the keeper was talking about the baby elephant he looks after whose name is Chavo, who immediately runs over to the keeper once he hears his name and starts playing with him.
Trained service dogs can help military veterans deal with mental health struggles. Cole Lyle, a veteran and founder of Kaya's K9s, joined Cheddar News to explain why service dogs are important for veterans and how he is helping to give veterans the resources for service dogs.
A jury awarded more than $1.2 million to Robert De Niro’s former personal assistant Thursday, finding one of his companies responsible for subjecting her to a toxic work environment.
