Archdiocese of Cebu awaits clarification on Pope Francis ‘support’ for same sex unions

CEBU CITY, Philippines—The Archdiocese of Cebu urges the faithful to wait for the official statement of the Roman Catholic Church regarding its stand on same-sex unions. 

This after Pope Francis said 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 gays. 

Read: Pope says homosexuals should be covered by civil union laws

“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,” the Pope said in the documentary “Francesco.”

This has caused a division in opinion among Catholic faithful online, with some Catholics agreeing to the Pope and others questioning the statement’s alignment with the long withstanding teaching of the Church against homosexual unions. 

The Archdiocese of Cebu said it does not take the statement of the Pope in his own capacity as the stand of the Church. 

“The Vatican has yet to clarify this ‘documentary’ on the issue of civil union for same sex couple. To date, the Church has not yet made such a pronouncement — let us wait for further developments on the matter,” said Monsignor Joseph Tan, the spokesperson of the Archdiocese. 

The Archdiocese trusts that the faithful can maintain healthy discussion amid opposing opinions on the matter as it waits for the Vatican to release the Church’s stand on the pressing issue of same-sex unions. 

In the documentary, Pope Francis said that he does not oppose legal civil unions so that they will be covered legally. 

“What we have to create is a civil union law. That way they are legally covered. I stood up for that,” the pope said. 

The remarks come in Francesco, a documentary on the life and ministry of Pope Francis, which premiered October 21, 2020. /With reports from Agence France-Presse

/bmjo