Pope supports civil unions for gay couples

ROME: Pope Francis defended the right of gay couples to enter into legally recognised civil unions in a documentary that premiered at the Rome Film Festival on Wednesday.

In the film, "Francesco" by Evgeny Afineevsky, the Argentine pope says that gays have "the right to be in a family."

"These are children of God, they have the right to a family," Francis says in the film, speaking in Spanish.

"What we have to create is a law of civil union, they have the right to be legally protected. I have defended that," said Francis.

But the former Jorge Bergoglio has always voiced opposition to gay marriage, saying that marriage should only be between a man and woman. "Since the beginning of the pontificate the Pope has spoken of respect for homosexuals and has been against their discrimination," Vatican expert Vania de Luca told Rainews. "The novelty today is that he defends as pope a law for civil unions."