Pope Francis says he thinks same-sex couples should be allowed to have "civil unions".
In a new documentary, which has been shown at the Rome Film Festival, he says homosexual people have a right to be in a family and he stands up for their right to be in a civil union.
Observers says the remarks are his clearest public statement yet on gay relationships.
He said: “Homosexual people have the right to be in a family. They are children of God. What we have to have is a civil union law; that way they are legally covered.”
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Pope Francis’s conservative opponents are reportedly infuriated by statements that regard as part of an effort to shift the church towards progressive values. Some have publicly attacked him, even accusing him of heresy.
