According to biographer Austen Ivereigh, the future pope backed civil unions for gay couples while he was still the archbishop of Buenos Aires and known as Jorge Bergoglio. But while Francis has previously spoken about same-sex unions, he has always voiced opposition to gay marriage, saying that marriage should only be between a man and woman. "The novelty today is that he defends as Pope a law for civil unions." "When I met Pope Francis he told me he was very sorry about what happened. By contrast, in 2014 the secretary-general of an important synod (gathering of bishops) Bruno Forte called for gay couples to enjoy legal recognition.

Source: Philippine Star October 22, 2020 01:52 UTC