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.
President Joe Biden says his administration will help improve public safety and justice for Native American communities.
The UK government has increased the terror level to severe, meaning an attack is highly likely. The decision follows a taxi explosion in Liverpool on Sunday that killed a man.
Jill and Carlo cover the latest with the infrastructure bill, the growing state rebellion over boosters, Trump's dereliction of duty on the pandemic, Taylor Swift's reign of cultural domination and more.
Britney is free. A Los Angeles judge on Friday ended the conservatorship that has controlled Britney Spears’ life and money for nearly 14 years.
Babylist, an online baby registry for expecting and new parents, recently raised $40 million a Series C round, bringing the company's total funding to $50 million. Babylist also operates as an e-commerce and content platform. The company says it aims to be a one-stop solution for first-time parents who don't know what they need to buy for their new child. Babylist also says it wants to expand to address the needs of the entire family. Babylist founder and CEO Natalie Gordon joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
The pandemic hit movie theater chains like the Alamo Drafthouse hard. Cheddar Senior Reporter Michelle Castillo talks to CEO Tim League about the reopening and a slow return to normalcy.
A jam-packed Freitag pod with Carlo and Baker: new Covid hotspots, Kyle Rittenhouse trial, Belarus making trouble for Europe, red-hot housing market, and how to manage a PR crisis the right way.
A 22-year-old college senior who was critically injured at the Astroworld festival in Houston has died.
A new monument in Virginia is honoring three veterans of the Union's United States Colored Troops (USCT) who were captured and executed in 1864 just 300 feet away.
Cheddar recs "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings," "Tiger King," "How to Get Away With Murder," and "Seinfeld
