Pope Francis' authorized biographer and
an Argentine gay rights activist claim the new pope once supported
civil unions.
In 2010, as Argentina debated a gay
marriage bill, Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, now Pope Francis,
publicly condemned the measure, calling it the “Devil's handiwork”
and “a destructive attack on God's plan.”
But biographer Sergio Rubin told The
New York Times on Wednesday that Bergoglio wanted the Roman
Catholic church to back civil unions as a “lesser of two evils”
compromise.
However, Bergoglio's compromise was
shot down by a majority of bishops.
Marcelo Marquez, a gay rights leader
and a former theology professor at a Catholic seminary, said he
reached out to Bergoglio and what the cardinal told him left him in
shock.
“He told me. … 'I'm in favor of gay
rights and in any case, I also favor civil unions for homosexuals,
but I believe that Argentina is not yet ready for a gay marriage
law,” Marquez said.
Appearing
on CNN, Father Edward Beck, the host of The Sunday Mass,
said Bergoglio “wanted to respect human rights. That's the real
surprise here, that people say, 'He's anti-gay.' You can be anti-gay
marriage and not be anti-gay. … He's really moderate in this issue
it seems.”