Pope says homosexuals should be covered by civil union laws
By Philip Pullella
ROME (Reuters) - Pope Francis says in a new film released on Wednesday that homosexuals should be protected by civil union laws, in some of the clearest language he has used on the rights of gay people.
“Homosexual people have a right to be in a family. They are children of God and have a right to a family. Nobody should be thrown out or be made miserable over it,” he says in the documentary “Francesco” by Oscar-nominated director Evgeny Afineevsky.
“What we have to create is a civil union law. That way they are legally covered. I stood up for that,” he said.
The pope appeared to be referring to when he was archbishop of Buenos Aires and opposed legislation to approve same sex marriages but supported some kind of legal protection for the rights of gay couples.
According to papal biographer Austen Ivereigh, his comments in the film released on Wednesday were some of the clearest language the pope has used on the subject since his election in 2013.
The pope spoke in a section of the film about Andrea Rubera, a gay man who with his partner adopted three children.
Rubera says in the film that he went to a morning Mass the pope said in his Vatican residence and gave him a letter explaining his situation.
He told the pope that he and his partner wanted to bring the children up as Catholics in the local parish but did not know how they would be received. It was not clear in which country Rubera lives.
Rubera said the pope telephoned him several days later, telling him he was moved by the letter and urging the couple to introduce their children to the parish but to be ready for opposition.
The film shows Rubera giving the letter to the pope. He says he and his partner took the pope’s advice and are happy they did.
Reporting By Philip Pullella; Editing by Gareth Jones and Giles Elgood
By Philip Pullella
ROME (Reuters) - After tackling war in Syria, Oscar-nominated Evgeny Afineevsky wanted his next documentary to send a message of hope, so he chose as its subject the only world leader he believes capable of uniting humanity: Pope Francis.
Afineevsky, a Russia-born Jew, depicts Francis as the great connector, and “Francesco”, which premiered at the Rome Film Festival on Wednesday, places the pope at the heart of a narrative that casts a wide net over some of the world’s most pressing problems.
“The main thread of this movie is more about us as human beings, who are creating disasters every day. And he (the pope) is the one who is connecting us through these threads,” Afineevsky, now a U.S. citizen, said in an interview.
Using the coronavirus as a launch pad, the two-hour film starts with footage of a deserted, rain slicked St. Peter’s Square on the evening of March 27, when Francis led a surreal and solitary prayer service for relief from the rapidly spreading pandemic.
It then cuts to empty streets the world over to drive home the pope’s message that “we are all in the same boat”.
Afineevsky was nominated for an Oscar in 2016 for “Winter on Fire”, about the popular uprising in Ukraine. After “Cries from Syria”, a subsequent film on the civil war there, “brought me to the darkest side of humanity,” he felt compelled to produce something uplifting.
“Just like Pope Francis brings attention to the horrible situation that we as humanity have created, I wanted to find hope, light and love and give this hope to people. Through his (the pope’s) actions, I found this,” he said.
“It’s the story of us, and him helping us, understand these things.”
The film tackles other topical issues such as the growing rich-poor gap, racism, climate change, sexual abuse, migration, human trafficking, political polarisation and relations between Christians, Moslems and Jews.
The viewer sees them through the pope’s eyes, his pronouncements, his writings, his Tweets, his trips, and newspaper headlines. It also features Afineevsky’s interviews with Francis and appearances by Catholic Church experts, refugees, sex abuse victims, a homosexual couple, a Holocaust survivor, rabbis and Moslems.
Footage of bombs in Syria, migrant boats sinking in the Mediterranean, typhoons in the Philippines, melting ice caps, the separation of families at the U.S. Mexican border, a refugee camp in Greece, and blacks killed by police in the United States, are interspersed with papal comments.
While positive in its overall evaluation, the film avoids the overt hagiography of documentaries of Francis made by religious groups.
It highlights the fact that he completely misjudged the scale and severity of the Church’s sexual abuse crisis, and that he later publicly recognised his mistake and apologised.
“It is beautiful to see a leader in his position, and just a humble human being, who is able to say: ‘I am sorry, I am wrong,’” Afineevsky said.
Reporting By Philip Pullella; editing by John Stonestreet
By Philip Pullella
ROME (Reuters) - Pope Francis says in a new film released on Wednesday that homosexuals should be protected by civil union laws, in some of the clearest language he has used on the rights of gay people.
“Homosexual people have a right to be in a family. They are children of God and have a right to a family. Nobody should be thrown out or be made miserable over it,” he says in the documentary “Francesco” by Oscar-nominated director Evgeny Afineevsky.
“What we have to create is a civil union law. That way they are legally covered. I stood up for that,” he said.
The pope appeared to be referring to when he was archbishop of Buenos Aires and opposed legislation to approve same sex marriages but supported some kind of legal protection for the rights of gay couples.
According to papal biographer Austen Ivereigh, his comments in the film released on Wednesday were some of the clearest language the pope has used on the subject since his election in 2013.
The pope spoke in a section of the film about Andrea Rubera, a gay man who with his partner adopted three children.
Rubera says in the film that he went to a morning Mass the pope said in his Vatican residence and gave him a letter explaining his situation.
He told the pope that he and his partner wanted to bring the children up as Catholics in the local parish but did not know how they would be received. It was not clear in which country Rubera lives.
Rubera said the pope telephoned him several days later, telling him he was moved by the letter and urging the couple to introduce their children to the parish but to be ready for opposition.
The film shows Rubera giving the letter to the pope. He says he and his partner took the pope’s advice and are happy they did.
Reporting By Philip Pullella; Editing by Gareth Jones and Giles Elgood
Jewish director sends message of hope in Pope Francis film
By Philip Pullella
ROME (Reuters) - After tackling war in Syria, Oscar-nominated Evgeny Afineevsky wanted his next documentary to send a message of hope, so he chose as its subject the only world leader he believes capable of uniting humanity: Pope Francis.
Afineevsky, a Russia-born Jew, depicts Francis as the great connector, and “Francesco”, which premiered at the Rome Film Festival on Wednesday, places the pope at the heart of a narrative that casts a wide net over some of the world’s most pressing problems.
“The main thread of this movie is more about us as human beings, who are creating disasters every day. And he (the pope) is the one who is connecting us through these threads,” Afineevsky, now a U.S. citizen, said in an interview.
Using the coronavirus as a launch pad, the two-hour film starts with footage of a deserted, rain slicked St. Peter’s Square on the evening of March 27, when Francis led a surreal and solitary prayer service for relief from the rapidly spreading pandemic.
It then cuts to empty streets the world over to drive home the pope’s message that “we are all in the same boat”.
Afineevsky was nominated for an Oscar in 2016 for “Winter on Fire”, about the popular uprising in Ukraine. After “Cries from Syria”, a subsequent film on the civil war there, “brought me to the darkest side of humanity,” he felt compelled to produce something uplifting.
“Just like Pope Francis brings attention to the horrible situation that we as humanity have created, I wanted to find hope, light and love and give this hope to people. Through his (the pope’s) actions, I found this,” he said.
“It’s the story of us, and him helping us, understand these things.”
The film tackles other topical issues such as the growing rich-poor gap, racism, climate change, sexual abuse, migration, human trafficking, political polarisation and relations between Christians, Moslems and Jews.
The viewer sees them through the pope’s eyes, his pronouncements, his writings, his Tweets, his trips, and newspaper headlines. It also features Afineevsky’s interviews with Francis and appearances by Catholic Church experts, refugees, sex abuse victims, a homosexual couple, a Holocaust survivor, rabbis and Moslems.
Footage of bombs in Syria, migrant boats sinking in the Mediterranean, typhoons in the Philippines, melting ice caps, the separation of families at the U.S. Mexican border, a refugee camp in Greece, and blacks killed by police in the United States, are interspersed with papal comments.
While positive in its overall evaluation, the film avoids the overt hagiography of documentaries of Francis made by religious groups.
It highlights the fact that he completely misjudged the scale and severity of the Church’s sexual abuse crisis, and that he later publicly recognised his mistake and apologised.
“It is beautiful to see a leader in his position, and just a humble human being, who is able to say: ‘I am sorry, I am wrong,’” Afineevsky said.
Reporting By Philip Pullella; editing by John Stonestreet
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