Pope Francis made waves around the world and surprised any Vatican watchers for his comments endorsing same-sex civil unions, and Bay Area archdioceses have now responded.
Francis’ comments aired in the documentary “Francesco” and premiered Wednesday at the Rome Film Festival. In the movie, Francis said gay people are “children of God” and have the right to be in a family.
The comments have sparked a firestorm, with progressives hailing Francis but concerning conservatives.
In a statement on Thursday, San Jose Bishop Oscar Cantú emphasized that Francis’ comments do not change the Catholic Church’s “teaching that marriage, as willed by God and revealed in in Sacred Scripture and the Tradition of the Church, is between one man and one woman.”
Cantú’s statement goes on to say that the Catholic Church “teaches and upholds the irrevocable dignity of every human person,” which includes those who identify as homosexual or choose to live with their same-sex partners. He added that Francis’ comments were not made in a formal setting, and that he seemed to be reacting to the violations of “human dignity.”
On Wednesday, Archbishop Savatore J. Cordileone of San Francisco brought up his visit to the Francis at the Vatican last January, in which they discussed the difference between marriage and the mutual benefits of a civil arrangement, saying that the two situations could “in no way be equated.”
Cordileone added that a civil union “should be as inclusive as possible, and not be restricted to two people of the same sex in a presumed sexual relationship,” saying that there is “no reason” that a brother and a sister should not have access to those mutual benefits, as well.
He concluded his statement by defining marriage in the Catholic Church, which he said does not change.
“The sexual relationship that marriage is presumed to involve is the only kind by which children are naturally made,” Cordileone said. “The nature of marriage, the place of sex within a virtuous life, these great teachings of the Church come to us from God, are illuminated by reason, and do not change.”