Bishop Zubik comments on Pope Francis' endorsement of same-sex civil unions

Bishop David Zubik of the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh said Pope Francis’ tacit endorsement of civil unions between same-sex couples is a reflection of his call for all people to be treated with dignity and love.

In a statement released Wednesday, Zubik said Pope Francis’ recent comments “reflect his pastoral approach to persons who may be on the peripheries of society.”

The pope’s remarks were made as part of the documentary “Francesco,” about the leader of the Catholic Church, which premiered at the Rome Film Festival.

Zubik didn’t feel the comments signaled a departure from the Catholic Church’s existing stance on marriage or homosexuality.

He referenced Francis’ 2016 apostolic exhortation, “Amoris Laetitia,” in which the Pope wrote, “We need to acknowledge the great variety of family situations that can offer a certain stability, but defacto or same sex unions, for example, may not simply be equated with marriage. No union that is temporary or closed to the transmission of life can ensure the future of society.”

Zubik said the Pope was not promoting a change in the moral or sacramental teachings of the church.

“He has simply called for all people to be treated with the dignity and love, which is their due by being created in God’s image and likeness and being children of the Heavenly Father,” Zubik said.

Heather Broman, secretary for the Pittsburgh Equality Center, a nonprofit advocacy group for Western Pennsylvania’s LGBTQIA+ community, said she’s encouraged by the Pope’s comments.

“I think it’s very positive overall,” Broman said. “My father is a pastor, and my own pastor accepted me for who I was when I came out. It’s a big deal.”

Broman said Catholics she knows who are members of the LGBT community “often just kind of meet and form their own groups. It would be nice for them to walk into the Catholic church they grew up in and feel accepted.”