Pope Francis has openly voiced his support for civil unions between same-sex couples in a new film, BBC News reports.
In a film released on Wednesday (October 21), the Pope said that gay people, as children of God, deserve to be able to have their own family and be protected by the state.
"Homosexual people have a right to be in a family. They are children of God and have a right to a family. Nobody should be thrown out or be made miserable over it," he says in the brand new documentary Francesco, which has been created by Oscar-nominated director Evgeny Afineevsky.
"What we have to create is a civil union law. That way they are legally covered. I stood up for that," he said, which could refer to when he was Archbishop of Buenos Aires and he supported some legal protections for the rights of same-sex couples - despite opposing same-sex marriages in law.
Per Yahoo News, papal biographer Austen Ivereigh said the Pope's comments in the documentary used some of the clearest language on the topic since he was appointed back in 2013.
In one part of the documentary, the Pope spoke about Andrea Rubera, a gay man who adopted three children with his partner.
Rubera had gone to a morning Mass, where he gave the pope a letter sharing his concerns as a Catholic who hoped he and his family would be accepted by the church.
He told Pope Francis that he and his partner wanted to raise their children as Catholics in the local parish, but were worried that this would be frowned upon.
According to Rubera, the Pope called him some days later, explaining how moved he was by the letter. He also encouraged the couple to bring their children to the parish - but be prepared for potential hostility.
In the documentary, Rubera can be seen giving the letter to the Pope.
Per Yahoo News, he and his partner did take the pope's advice to introduce their children to the parish and are pleased with their decision.
This comes a month after the pope met with an Italian LGBTQ+ Christian support group to tell parents of LGBTQ+ children that God loves them regardless of their sexuality or gender identity.
The pope told them, per Pink News: "God loves your children as they are. The church loves your children as they are because they are the children of God."