Fiasco over pope's cut civil union quote intensifies impact [View all]
Source: Associated Press
Fiasco over popes cut civil union quote intensifies impact
By NICOLE WINFIELD
October 23, 2020
ROME (AP) The world premiere of a documentary on Pope Francis was supposed to have been a bright spot for a papacy locked down by a pandemic and besieged by a corruption scandal, recalling Francis glory days traveling the world to bless the oppressed.
But the red carpet rollout of Francesco has been anything but bright, with evidence that the Vatican censored the pope last year by deleting his endorsement of same-sex civil unions from an interview, only to have the footage resurface in the new film.
Aside from the firestorm the remarks created, the Francesco fiasco has highlighted the Vaticans often self-inflicted communications wounds and Francis willingness to push his own agenda, even at the expense of fueling pushback from conservative Catholics.
That pushback was swift and came from predictable corners: Cardinal Raymond Burke, Francis frequent nemesis on matters of doctrine, said the popes comments were devoid of any magisterial weight. But in a statement, Burke expressed concern that such personal opinions coming from the pope generate great bewilderment and cause confusion and error among Catholic faithful.
The kerfuffle began Wednesday with the world premiere of Francesco, a feature-length film on Francis and the issues he cares most about: climate change, refugees and social inequality. Midway through, Francis delivers the bombshell quote that gays deserve to be part of the family and that he supported civil unions, or a ley de convivencia civil as he said in Spanish to give them legal protections.
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