CNA Staff, Oct 28, 2020 / 16:00 pm
After remarks in a newly-released documentary from Pope Francis on civil unions, the archbishop emeritus of La Plata, Argentina, has offered his recollection of a 2010 debate on civil unions which took place within the Argentine bishops' conference, while the country's legislature was preparing to approve a same-sex marriage bill.
In comments sent to ACI Prensa, CNA's Spanish-language news partner, Archbishop Héctor Aguer noted that "the recent statement by the Supreme Pontiff promoting civil unions between people of the same sex caused a stir, in the Church and outside of it; i.e., proposing that they be granted a legal framework."
The archbishop referred to comments published in "Francesco," a documentary that premiered in Rome last week, in which Pope Francis was seen to call for civil unions legislation. The pope's previously unpublished remarks were found to have come from a 2019 interview conducted by Mexican television network Televisa.
It has since been widely reported that Pope Francis supported the idea of civil unions legislation while he was Archbishop of Buenos Aires, as a compromise during the 2010 debate in Argentina over same-sex marriage.