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.
Lisa McKnight, global head of Barbie and dolls, spoke to Cheddar about how Mattel's success during COVID-19 rested on its classic toy brands like Barbie, Fisher-Price, and Hot Wheels.
Russell Westbrook led a $63 million fundraising round for Varo Bank and is looking to help underserved communities with financial literacy, according to Donnell Beverly, president of Russell Westbrook Enterprises, and Varo COO Wesley Wright.
Cheddar's Michelle Castillo talks to frontline workers in keeping New York City's sprawling subway system running and safe amid the COVID-19 pandemic that has taken the lives of at least 136 MTA colleagues.
The latest on Tiger Woods' condition following a serious car accident, a global vaccination drive begins, why college enrollment is down, and more.
Authorities say there's no immediate evidence that Tiger Woods was impaired in a car crash that seriously injured both of the golfer's legs.
The coronavirus pandemic offered people the opportunity to connect with pets, and the number of adoptions and fosters surged throughout the pandemic. Cheddar's Chloe Aiello reports.
Advertising analytics company DoubleVerify found in a report that there was a 21 percent increase in "inflammatory news and political content" on websites following January 6.
The chief of the Cherokee Nation says it's time for automaker Jeep to stop using the tribe's name on its Cherokee and Grand Cherokee models.
Jill and Carlo are talking vaccine reinforcements, Israel's progress (and that SNL joke), plus Spotify taps Bruce Springsteen and Barack Obama and Daft Punk calls it quits.
The COVID-19 death toll in the U.S. has topped 500,000, all but matching the number of Americans killed in World War II, Korea, and Vietnam combined.
