Pope Francis Says He Understands Need For Gay Civil Unions

Pope Francis suggested that he understands the modern need for civil unions—but he isn’t budging on the Catholic Church’s stance against gay marriage. As he nears the anniversary of his election on March 13, Francis wrangled over a number of controversial topics during a wide-ranging interview with Italy’s Corriere della Sera that was published Wednesday. He played down the notion that he is a “Superman” who will make sweeping changes to centuries-old doctrine, like the church’s stance on homosexuality.

Asked whether the church can understand legalizing same-sex unions, Francis said that governments used civil unions to give cohabitating couples economic security and access to important services such as health care.

Secular states “justify civil unions to regulate different situations of cohabitation,” he said in a translation provided by the National Catholic Register