VOA慢速英语--教皇首次表态支持同性伴侣民事结合

Pope Francis has become the first leader of the Roman Catholic Church to support "civil union" laws for same-sex couples.

Speaking in a film documentary, the pope called for the creation of such laws. He said that "Homosexual people have the right to be in a family. They are children of God."

"What we have to create is a civil union law. That way they are legally covered," Francis said. "I stood up for that."

The statements represent a break from the Church's teachings and his strongest comments yet on the issue.

The comments came in "Francesco," a documentary about his life and the social issues that concern him. The film was shown for the first time in Rome on Wednesday.

The movie examines his support for migrants and refugees, the poor, and his work on the issue of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy¹. It also explores his ideas on the role of women in society, and the Church's relations with those who identify as LGBTQ.

While serving as Archbishop of Buenos Aires in 2010, the future pope opposed efforts to legalize same-sex marriage. But he supported the idea of civil unions as one way to prevent the approval of same-sex marriage in Argentina.

After being elected pope, Francis once said in 2013, "Who am I to judge?" while answering a reporter's question about homosexuals in the church. He has not publicly expressed support for civil unions until now.

The Reverend James Martin is an American clergyman who supports the Church's efforts to reach members of the gay community. He wrote on Twitter, "Pope Francis's support for same-sex civil unions is a major step forward in the church's support of LGBTQ people." Martin added that it "sends a strong signal to countries where the church has opposed such laws."

Filmmaker Evgeny Afineevsky told Catholic News Agency that the pope talked about civil union laws during an interview for the movie. The news agency says the Vatican's press office did not answer its questions on the pope's comments.

Another person interviewed for the film is Juan Carlos Cruz. He is a survivor³ of clergy sexual abuse whom Francis at first discredited⁴ during a 2018 visit to Chile.

Cruz, who is gay, said they have since repaired the relationship. In one of the meetings, Cruz said Francis told him that God made Cruz gay. The filmmaker used Cruz's story to document the pope's understanding of sexual abuse and changing ideas about gay people.

In 2003, under Pope John Paul II, the Vatican said that "respect for homosexual persons cannot lead in any way to approval of homosexual behavior or to legal recognition of homosexual unions." That statement was written by Cardinal⁵ Joseph Ratzinger of Germany. He became Pope Benedict XVI, the predecessor⁶ to Pope Francis.

Words in This Story

couple - n. two people who are married or who have a romantic or sexual relationship

homosexual - n. a person who is sexually attracted to a person of the same sex

migrant - n. a person who goes from one place to another especially to find work

role - n. the part that someone has in a society

LGBTQ - an acronym⁷ for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer or questioning. These terms are used to describe a person's sexual orientation⁹ or gender⁸ identity.

archbishop - n. the highest rank bishop² of an area

gay - adj. sexually attracted to a person of the same sex

predecessor - n. a person who had a job or position before someone else

1 clergy   

n.[总称]牧师，神职人员

参考例句：

• I could heartily wish that more of our country clergy would follow this example.我衷心希望，我国有更多的牧师效法这个榜样。
• All the local clergy attended the ceremony.当地所有的牧师出席了仪式。

2 bishop   

n.主教，（国际象棋）象

参考例句：

• He was a bishop who was held in reverence by all.他是一位被大家都尊敬的主教。
• Two years after his death the bishop was canonised.主教逝世两年后被正式封为圣者。

3 survivor   

n.生存者，残存者，幸存者

参考例句：

• The sole survivor of the crash was an infant.这次撞车的惟一幸存者是一个婴儿。
• There was only one survivor of the plane crash.这次飞机失事中只有一名幸存者。

4 discredited   

不足信的，不名誉的

参考例句：

• The reactionary authorities are between two fires and have been discredited. 反动当局弄得进退维谷，不得人心。
• Her honour was discredited in the newspapers. 她的名声被报纸败坏了。

5 cardinal   

n.(天主教的)红衣主教；adj.首要的，基本的

参考例句：

• This is a matter of cardinal significance.这是非常重要的事。
• The Cardinal coloured with vexation. 红衣主教感到恼火，脸涨得通红。

6 predecessor   

n.前辈，前任

参考例句：

• It will share the fate of its predecessor.它将遭受与前者同样的命运。
• The new ambassador is more mature than his predecessor.新大使比他的前任更成熟一些。

7 acronym   

n.首字母简略词，简称

参考例句：

• That's a mouthful of an acronym for a very simple technology.对于一项非常简单的技术来说，这是一个很绕口的缩写词。
• TSDF is an acronym for Treatment, Storage and Disposal Facilities.TSDF是处理，储存和处置设施的一个缩写。

8 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。

9 orientation   

n.方向，目标；熟悉，适应，情况介绍

参考例句：

• Children need some orientation when they go to school.小孩子上学时需要适应。
• The traveller found his orientation with the aid of a good map.旅行者借助一幅好地图得知自己的方向。