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.
With the Scripps National Spelling Bee canceled, many top spellers who would have been on the bee stage this week are instead competing online. The SpellPundit National Online Spelling Bee was launched by two teenage ex-spellers to fill the void left by Scripps' decision.
Wheel of Fortune's Vanna White joins Lion Brand's Stitch Around The World efforts. The group looks to bring crafters around the world together.
Visitation to National Park Service sites has seen a boom in recent years. For five years in a row, the park service has tallied over 300 million visitors per year. It’s an unprecedented spike, and the reason why this is happening now goes deeper than social media alone. While the threat of COVID-19 will likely change those numbers this year, the park service is still figuring out how to regain the balance between preservation and visitation. Cheddar explains the history of crowding in America’s national parks, and the impacts we are seeing from that today.
Officials from SeaWorld and Disney World say they hope to open their theme parks in Orlando, Florida, in June and July. A city task force approved the plans on Wednesday.
NASA is rolling out the International Space Station's red carpet for Tom Cruise.
President Donald Trump is threatening social media companies with new regulation or even closure after Twitter added fact checks to two of his tweets.
Only about half of Americans say they would get a COVID-19 vaccine if the scientists working furiously to create one succeed.
While much of the U.S. remains shuttered, state and local leaders in waterfront communities are beginning to allow beaches, boardwalks, and coastal businesses to open on a limited basis.
While the choice to get out this Memorial Day is ultimately a calculated personal risk, many are hoping to find a way to see friends and family for the first time in months.
Backyard grilling is an American institution. But have you ever wondered where it came from? You might be surprised to learn that the history of your weekend barbecue twists and turns back through the earliest years of America’s past.
