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Francis Becomes First Pope to Endorse Same-Sex Civil Unions
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The papal thumbs-up came midway through the feature-length documentary “Francesco,” which premiered at the Rome Film Festival. The film, which features fresh interviews with the pope, delves into issues Francis 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.
“You can’t kick someone out of a family, nor make their life miserable for this. 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, and no pontiff before him had, either.
The Rev. James Martin, a Jesuit who has sought to build bridges with gay Catholics, praised the comments as “a major step forward in the church’s support for LGBT people.”
“The pope’s speaking positively about civil unions also sends a strong message to places where the church has opposed such laws,” Martin said in a statement.
However, conservative Bishop Thomas Tobin of Providence, Rhode Island, called for clarification. “The pope’s statement clearly contradicts what has been the long-standing teaching of the church about same-sex unions,” he said in a statement. “The church cannot support the acceptance of objectively immoral relationships.”
And Ed Mechmann, director of public policy at the Archdiocese of New York, said in a blog post that the pope had simply “made a serious mistake.”
Catholic teaching holds that gay people must be treated with dignity and respect but that homosexual acts are “intrinsically disordered.” A 2003 document from the Vatican’s doctrine office stated the church’s respect for gay people “cannot lead in any way to approval of homosexual behavior or to legal recognition of homosexual unions.”
Doing so, the Vatican reasoned, would not only condone “deviant behavior,” but create an equivalence to marriage, which the church holds is an indissoluble union between man and woman.
That document was signed by the then-prefect of the office, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the future Pope Benedict XVI and Francis’ predecessor.
Later Wednesday, questions arose about when Francis first made the remarks. The scene of his interview is identical to one from 2019 with Mexican broadcaster Televisa, but his comments about the need for legal protections for civil unions apparently never aired until the documentary.
Director Evgeny Afineevsky, who is gay, expressed surprise after the premiere that the pope’s comments had created such a firestorm, saying Francis wasn’t trying to change doctrine but was merely expressing his belief gay people should enjoy the same rights as heterosexuals. He insisted the pope made the comments to him directly, through a translator, but declined to say when.
“The world needs positivity right now, the world needs to care about climate change, care about refugees and migration, borders, walls, family separation,” Afineevsky said, urging attention to the main issues covered by the film.
One main character in the documentary is Juan Carlos Cruz, the Chilean survivor of clergy sexual abuse whom Francis initially discredited during a 2018 visit to Chile.
Cruz, who is gay, said that during his first meetings with the pope in May 2018 after they patched things up, Francis assured him that God made Cruz gay. Cruz tells his own story throughout the film, chronicling both Francis’ evolution on understanding sexual abuse as well as to document the pope’s views on gay people.
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 well-connected Argentines in Rome.
“Listen, when you are in the Vatican, the only way to achieve something is to break the rule and then to say, ‘I’m sorry,’” Afineevsky said in an interview.
The director worked official and unofficial channels starting in 2018, and ended up so close to Francis by the end of the project that he showed him the movie on his iPad in August. The two recently exchanged Yom Kippur greetings; Afineevsky is a Russian-born, Israeli-raised Jew now based in Los Angeles. On Wednesday, Afineevsky’s 48th birthday, the director said Francis presented him with a birthday cake at the Vatican.
But “Francesco” is more than a biopic about the pope. Wim Wenders did that in the 2018 film “Pope Francis: A Man of His Word.”
“Francesco,” is more a visual survey of the world’s crises and tragedies, with audio from the pope providing possible solutions.
Afineevsky, who was nominated for an Oscar for his 2015 documentary “Winter on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight for Freedom,” traveled the world to document the film: at Cox’s Bazaar in Bangladesh, where Myanmar’s Rohingya sought refuge; the U.S.-Mexico border; and Francis’ native Argentina.
“The film tells the story of the pope by reversing the cameras,” said Vatican communications director Paolo Ruffini, one of Afineevsky’s closest Vatican-based collaborators.
Ruffini said that when Afineevsky approached him about a documentary, he tried to tamp down his hopes for interviewing the pope. “I told him it wasn’t going to be easy,” he said.
But Ruffini suggested Afineevsky find the people who had been impacted by the pope, even after just a brief meeting: refugees, prisoners and gay people to whom he has ministered.
“I told him that many of those encounters had certainly been filmed by the Vatican cameras, and that there he would find a veritable gold mine of stories that told a story,” Ruffini said. “He would be able to tell story of the pope through the eyes of all and not just his own.”
Francis’ outreach dates to his first foreign trip in 2013, when he uttered the now-famous words “Who am I to judge,” when asked during an airborne news conference returning from Rio de Janiero about a purportedly gay priest.
Since then, he has ministered to gays and transsexual prostitutes, and welcomed people in gay partnerships into his inner circle. One of them was his former student, Yayo Grassi, who along with his partner visited Francis at the Vatican Embassy in Washington D.C., during a 2015 visit to the U.S.
The Vatican publicized that encounter, making video and photos of it available, after Francis was ambushed during that same visit by his then-ambassador, Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, who invited the Kentucky anti-gay marriage activist Kim Davis to meet with the pope.
News of the Davis audience made headlines and was viewed by conservatives as a papal stamp of approval for Davis, who was jailed for refusing to issue same-sex marriage licenses. The Vatican vigorously sought to downplay it, with a spokesman saying the meeting by no means indicated Francis’ support for her or her position on gay marriage.
Francis, the former Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, was fervently opposed to gay marriage when he was archbishop of Buenos Aires. Then, he launched what gay activists remember as a “war of God” against Argentina’s move to approve same-sex marriage.
The pope’s authorized biographer, Sergio Rubin, said at the time of his 2013 election that Bergoglio was politically wise enough to know the church couldn’t win a fight against gay marriage. Instead, Rubin said, Bergoglio urged his fellow bishops to lobby for gay civil unions.
It wasn’t until Bergoglio’s proposal was shot down by the conservative bishops’ conference that he publicly declared his opposition, and the church lost the issue altogether.
In the documentary, Francis essentially confirms Rubin’s account of what transpired. Of his belief in the need for legislation to protect gay couples in civil relationships, he said: “I stood up for that.”
Francis DeBernardo, executive director of New Ways Ministry, an organization of LGBT Catholics, praised Francis’ comments as a “historic” shift for a church that has a record of persecuting gays.
“At the same time, we urge Pope Francis to apply the same kind of reasoning to recognize and bless these same unions of love and support within the Catholic Church, too,” he said in a statement.
More conservative commentators sought to play down Francis’ words and said that while secular civil unions are one thing, a church blessing of them is quite another.
In a tweet, conservative U.S. author and commentator Ryan Anderson noted that he and some colleagues had gone on record a decade ago saying they would support federal civil unions for any two adults who commit to sharing domestic responsibilities. Such an arrangement, Anderson said, would leave churches the option of refusing to recognize these unions as marriage.
AbcNews
President Bola Tinubu has directed that all cleared and unencumbered looted funds recovered by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) be channeled to the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFund) to strengthen the financing of tertiary education.
The President also directed that funds in the Unclaimed Dividends Trust Fund and the Dormant Accounts Trust Fund be mobilised for NELFund, subject to compliance with the laws establishing the two funds.
The Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, disclosed this on Wednesday while briefing journalists at the State House, Abuja, after the fourth Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting of the year, presided over by President Tinubu.
Alausa, who described the decisions as a major boost for Nigerian students, clarified that the directive concerning EFCC recoveries applies strictly to liquid funds that have been legally recovered and are no longer subject to litigation.
He stressed that seized properties, assets, or funds still encumbered by court cases would not be transferred to NELFund.
According to him, the President directed the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Minister of Finance, Ministry of Education, the Debt Management Office and other relevant agencies to work out the legal and operational frameworks for transferring the affected funds.
The Attorney-General, he added, would also work with the EFCC Chairman to identify recovered funds that are legally available for transfer.
“The President was very clear: not seized properties, all recovered looted funds, liquid funds recovered by the EFCC will now be transferred to NELFUND”, the minister said.
Alausa explained that the government would similarly examine the existing legislation governing the Unclaimed Dividends Trust Fund and Dormant Accounts Trust Fund to determine the appropriate legal steps required to make the resources available to NELFund.
He said President Tinubu insisted that only funds free of legal encumbrances would be affected by the directive.
“Every single fund that is still subject to a legal challenge will not be part of the money that will be transferred to NELFUND. The funds that will be transferred will be all cleared funds, unencumbered funds that were looted, funds that legally belonged to Nigeria, to Nigerians,” he said.
The minister said the President considered education one of the most productive uses for recovered public funds, especially as the administration seeks to build the human capital required to drive its ambition of growing Nigeria into a $1 trillion economy.
According to him, the decision is intended to put NELFund on a sustainable financial footing as demand for the student loan scheme continues to expand.
Alausa said more than 1.2 million Nigerian students are currently benefiting from NELFund, adding that the agency has disbursed more than N93 billion as upkeep allowances to students in Federal and State-owned public institutions.
He said more than N250 billion had also been disbursed as institutional fees to public tertiary institutions across the country.
“The education of our children cannot wait; it is of utmost importance to him, and he will do anything and everything to protect the future of every single Nigerian child, every single Nigerian student”, Alausa said of the President.
He described the student loan programme as fulfilment of one of Tinubu’s campaign promises to broaden access to tertiary education irrespective of students’ financial backgrounds.
The minister also addressed complaints about institutions withholding refunds from students who had already paid school fees before NELFund subsequently remitted their institutional charges.
He said the government had established a framework requiring institutions to refund affected students within a stipulated period, saying the widespread difficulties reported during the early stages of the scheme had been resolved.
According to him, any outstanding individual case brought to the ministry’s attention would be investigated.
Meanwhile, the FEC approved an augmentation of about N118.31 billion to complete the long-abandoned National Library of Nigeria headquarters complex in Abuja, as well as about N37 billion to furnish it.
Alausa said the National Library project, which commenced on April 29, 2006 and was originally scheduled for completion within two years, had remained abandoned since work stopped in October 2008.
He said President Tinubu had directed the ministry to mobilise resources to revive the project, including funding sourced through the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund).
The minister also acknowledged the contribution of First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, who had requested that gifts for her birthday be directed toward completing the National Library.
According to him, the initiative raised about N25 billion towards the project.
“The council today approved the augmentation of the existing contract for the completion of the construction of the National Library of Nigeria headquarters building complex in Abuja”, he said, adding that the government hoped construction would resume within the next few months.
Alausa said FEC also approved the establishment of the Nigerian Academy for the Gifted and Talented, which would emerge from the transformation of the existing Suleja Academy.
He explained that Suleja Academy was established to identify and nurture exceptionally gifted Nigerian children but had, over the years, operated largely like one of the Federal Government Colleges, preventing it from fully achieving its original mandate.
Under the proposed arrangement, the institution would become an autonomous academy with its own governing structure and diversified funding sources, including federal appropriation, endowments, and gifts.
According to the minister, the academy would identify gifted children across the country and provide an environment in which their abilities could be developed for innovation and national development.
FEC consequently approved the preparation of an executive bill by the Attorney-General of the Federation for transmission to the National Assembly to give legal effect to the transformation.
“We have to look for every single genius in this country and bring them in, nurture them, and let them help create the Nigeria of tomorrow,” Alausa said.
Council also approved the deployment and implementation of an Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Business Incubation Certification programme in selected Nigerian universities.
Alausa described the initiative as a technology-driven programme designed to equip university students with entrepreneurship, innovation, business incubation, enterprise development and digital skills, backed by certification, mentorship and incubation support.
He said the programme, which had already been tested at the University of Lagos, was designed to change the orientation of graduates from merely seeking employment to becoming entrepreneurs, innovators and job creators.
According to him, the programme will begin this year in 14 federal universities before being expanded to other tertiary institutions.
The initial participating institutions are: Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria; Bayero University, Kano; Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka; Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife; University of Abuja; University of Benin; University of Ibadan; University of Ilorin; University of Jos; University of Lagos; University of Maiduguri; University of Nigeria, Nsukka; University of Port Harcourt; and Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto.
Alausa said the approvals reflected the administration’s determination to position education at the centre of Nigeria’s economic transformation and ensure that young Nigerians acquire both academic knowledge and practical capabilities required to participate in the emerging economy.
He said President Tinubu has given the education ministry a clear mandate to ensure that every Nigerian child has access to education of a quality comparable with standards obtainable elsewhere in the world.
A United States Congressman, Rep Riley Moore, has reiterated why America cannot lift Nigeria from its Country of Particular Concern (CPC) designation.
In a Tuesday post on his verified X handle, Moore insisted that Christians are being slaughtered across the Middle Belt of Nigeria with impunity.
His remark stemmed from the recent attack in Plateau State, where at least 23 persons were brutally killed after gunmen invaded a community in the state.
“This is exactly why the US Department of State cannot lift Nigeria’s CPC designation. Christians are being slaughtered across the Middle Belt with impunity.
“There may be progress in the north, but nothing has changed in the Middle Belt, where most attacks against Christians occur.
“We cannot make the same mistake the Biden administration made. Biden removed the CPC designation from Nigeria after President Trump’s first term and all hell broke loose on Christians. We must stop the genocide,” he tweeted.
The United States last year declared Nigeria a Country of Particular Concern due to the persistent killing of Christians in the country.
Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Joash Amupitan, has assured political parties and Nigerians that the commission will not favour any candidate in the 2027 general elections.
Prof. Joash Amupitan gave the assurance on Tuesday at the formal signing of the First National Peace Accord to commit candidates and political parties to issue-based campaigns for the 2027 general election.
The event was organised by the National Peace Committee in partnership with The Kukah Centre.
Amupitan said INEC has no interest in determining who wins or loses the election, stressing that its responsibility was to provide a transparent, credible and level playing field for all contestants.
“Let me state unequivocally that INEC has no interest in who wins or loses any election. The Commission does not have a candidate, nor does it favour any political platform.
“Our only interest is a lawful, transparent, credible, and inclusive process. We will act as an uncompromising, impartial umpire, ensuring a level playing field for all contestants,” Amupitan said.
He pledged that the commission would remain an “uncompromising, impartial umpire,” committed to ensuring a lawful, transparent, credible and inclusive electoral process.
The INEC chairman also urged political parties and candidates to ensure that the 2027 campaigns focused on issues affecting Nigerians rather than personal attacks, character assassination and inflammatory rhetoric.
He said the signing of the Peace Accord was particularly significant as campaigns for the presidential and National Assembly elections are scheduled to commence on Wednesday, August 19, 2026.
Amupitan said the timing of the accord provided an opportunity for political actors to establish the ethical boundaries of the electoral contest before campaigns officially begin.
He described electoral contests in a constitutional democracy as “competitive job interviews before the electorate,” stressing that Nigerians deserved substantive debates on the country’s challenges.
He urged candidates to present clear and measurable programmes on economic growth, national security, infrastructure, healthcare, education and social inclusion.
Amupitan also warned political parties against the spread of misinformation and disinformation, particularly through their digital media teams, spokespersons and online supporters.
He said unverified and premature declarations of election results could trigger panic and undermine public confidence in the electoral process.
The INEC chairman warned against incitement, identity-based provocation and the deployment of private armed groups, saying such actions could compromise the electoral process even before Election Day.
He said the commission’s preparations for the 2027 elections were progressing, noting that INEC was scaling up its logistics to manage about 1.4 million ad-hoc personnel across more than 176,000 polling units nationwide.
According to him, the commission had spent the past eight months refining its technology, improving logistics and training personnel, with lessons from recent elections in Anambra, the FCT, Ekiti and Osun states contributing to its preparations.
Amupitan stressed that INEC could not deliver a credible election alone.
“As I have often said, INEC cannot deliver a perfect election alone. An election is a multi-stakeholder venture. We provide the pitch and the refereeing, but the quality of the game depends on the players,” he said.
Amupitan also disclosed that the commission was introducing further transparency measures in the result-management process to improve the credibility of the 2027 elections.
He called on political actors to compete vigorously but peacefully, warning that no candidate or party would truly win if Nigeria emerged weakened from the electoral process.
“Peace is not the absence of competition; it is the presence of rules and the willingness to abide by them. Let us compete vigorously, but let us compete decently. Let us remember that at the end of this exercise, there will be no winners if Nigeria is the loser,” he said.
