Pope Francis endorses civil unions, says same-sex couples 'have the right to be in a family'. Pope Francis endorsed same-sex civil unions for the first time as pope while being interviewed in the documentary “Francesco,” which premiered at the Rome Film Festival on Wednesday. "Homosexual people have the right to be in a family. They are children of God," Francis said. "What we have to have is a civil union law; that way they are legally covered." Ref. USAToday.
The Vatican says Catholic clergy can't bless same-sex unions: 'God cannot bless sin'. The Vatican's orthodoxy office issued a formal response Monday to a question about whether Catholic clergy can bless gay unions. The answer, contained in a two-page statement published in seven languages and approved by Pope Francis, was "Negative." Ref. USAToday.