Vatican: Pope’s call for same-sex civil unions taken out of context

The Vatican on Monday denied Pope Francis had endorsed civil partnerships for gay couples after reports that the pontiff had said “we have to create … a civil union law.”

The remarks, which Francis made in a documentary that premiered at the Rome Film Festival last month, were taken out of context, the Vatican’s secretariat of state said in an “explanatory note” to ambassadors, according to Reuters.

In the note, the secretariat said the clip involves the splicing of two separate quotes and the removal of questions that provide context.

In the documentary clip, Francis said gay people are “children of God and have a right to a family. Nobody should be thrown out, or be made miserable because of it,” and that “what we have to create is a civil union law. That way they are legally covered.”

The Vatican claims a portion of the remarks was cut in which Francis affirms the church’s continued opposition to equal marriage rights for same-sex couples and says “it is an incongruence to speak of homosexual marriage.”

“It is clear that Pope Francis was referring to certain state provisions and certainly not the doctrine of the Church, which he has reaffirmed numerous times over the years,” the note said, according to Reuters.

The Vatican said the “right to a family” remarks referred to the right of LGBTQ people to be accepted by their family members.

The initially reported remarks drew praise from LGBTQ rights groups, including the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD).

“This news should send an undeniable message to Catholic families with LGBTQ people that all family members are deserving of acceptance and support,” GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis said in October. “Pope Francis’ public approval is a fundamental step forward at a time when LGBTQ acceptance around the world and across religions is expanding and rightfully becoming the norm.”