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.
Jill and Carlo discuss the optimist's case for the pandemic -- it's not all bad news! Plus, Prime Day, iPhone announcement, a major shift by Disney and more.
Facebook says it is banning posts that deny or distort the Holocaust and will start directing people to authoritative sources if they search for information about the Nazi genocide.
With three weeks until the election, a battle for the Supreme Court kicks off, the president gets back on the trail -- all as COVID cases keep rising. Plus, the Lakers and NBA show how it's done.
Singer Ricky Martin and music engineer, Michael Seaberg, joined Cheddar to discuss the launch of a new digital entertainment company. The company is focusing on "orbital audio" technology that enhances the listening experience.
A 67 million-year-old Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton sold at Christie's Auction House for a record-shattering $31.8 million. Cheddar's Chloe Aiello takes a look into the sale of the massive complete fossil and Christie's virtual auction process.
We made it to Friday in another wild news week. The latest on the plot to kidnap the Michigan governor, the status of the next debate, a major hurricane landfall and more.
The World Food Program won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for its efforts to combat hunger in regions facing conflict and hardship and at a time when the coronavirus pandemic has driven millions more people to the brink of starvation.
Jill and Carlo talk takeaways from the relatively normal veep debate, the growing sense that we're entering the so-called second wave, and more.
This year, New York Comic Con is taking a new look in light of the coronavirus pandemic. Kristina Rogers, event director for Metaverse and New York Comic Con, joined Cheddar to give us the inside scoop.
Grammy-winning singer Mary J. Blige, and Linda Goler Blount, CEO of the Black Women's Health Imperative, joined Cheddar to discuss a new Breast Cancer Month initiative encouraging Black women to get mammogram screenings.
