The screening was organized by the Laudato Si' Foundation and the director of the film, Evgeny Afineevsky. Mr Afineevsky personally addressed the audience, recalling his own family's migration from Russia to Israel and then to the United States.

The film examines the pope's engagement with the world's most pressing moral and ethical problems, including immigration and refugees. It also covers the pope's interest in "climate change, peace and religious tolerance, LGBTQ rights, gender and identity justice, health, and economic equality."

According to a statement by Matteo Bruni, the Director of the Holy See Press Office, the Holy Father arrived at the atrium of the Paul VI Hall, where he spoke to those gathered for the viewing.

Among those present were 20 people who had recently arrived from Afghanistan. The Pope "addressed words of affection and comfort," the statement noted.

"When the movie finished, he was downstairs waiting for them," Afineevsky told Deadline following the screening.

"He wanted to meet everybody and greet everybody. Francis is a human being who cherishes being close to the people, cherishes the moment. He can spread love, joy in their lives-not easy lives. And he always remembers that he can be in their place [as a refugee]. He said it many, many times, ‘It can be you or me.'"

Among the Afghan refugees who met Pope Francis were four siblings who arrived in Italy thanks to the support of the Community of Sant' Egidio. The siblings have had to leave their parents behind in refugee camps in Iran. They are being cared for by an uncle.

The 84-year-old pontiff was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, to a mother and father whose families had both emigrated from Italy.

Afineevsky, too, can identify with people who have been uprooted, through whatever circumstance, from their native countries.

"I emigrated from the former Soviet Union to Israel and then came to America. So, for me, this subject is close to my heart," Afineevsky noted.

"To see people who just arrived-we had 20 people from Afghanistan that 10 days ago arrived in Italy. To see their happiness, they came to me afterwards, and they were shaking my hand and thanking me. I think that's the biggest treasure for any filmmaker to feel this kind of feeling."

Released in late October 2020, ‘Francesco' included a 20-second clip in which Francis said that homosexual individuals "have the right to be in a family. They are children of God."

The comments indicated that Pope Francis had become the first pope in history to endorse same-sex civil unions. But doubts arose about the origin of the clip.

It was eventually established that the pope's remarks were not made in a new interview given for the Francesco film, as Afineevsky had claimed. The clip was taken from an interview the pope had given to Mexican journalist Valentina Alazraki in 2019. It was then spliced together in a way that seemed like Francis was pushing for same-sex civil unions.

Sources

Vatican News

Deadline

Crux

It said Francis did not question the Catholic dogma of marriage being between a man and a woman.

"It's clear that Pope Francis was referring to certain arrangements by states, certainly not to Church doctrine, which has often been reaffirmed over the years," the Secretariat of State wrote in a note sent to papal ambassadors late last week

A recent film, "Francesco", which premiered last month, spliced together parts of an old interview with a new one.

The Vatican secretariat of state says in the film Francis's comments on gay marriage refer to his position on gay marriage in 2010.

At the time he strongly opposed allowing same-sex marriage but favoured extending legal protections to gay couples under a civil union law.

While Francis was known to have taken that position privately, he had never articulated his support while as pope.

His private views are contrary to Catholic doctrine.

The pope's comments made headlines, primarily because the Vatican issued a document prohibiting such endorsement in 2003.

The document says the church's support for gay people "cannot lead in any way to approval of homosexual behaviour or to legal recognition of homosexual unions."

The uproar following the pope's comments gained more attention because "Francesco" director Evgeny Afineevsky misled journalists.

He claimed Francis made the comments to him and he had in two on-camera interviews with him.

In fact, Francis's comments were taken from a May 2019 interview with Mexican broadcaster Televisa. They were never broadcast.

The Vatican has not commented on reports saying it cut the quote from the footage it provided to Televisa after the interview, which was filmed with Vatican cameras.

Afineevsky apparently was given access to the original, uncut footage in the Vatican archives.

The secretariat of state says the quote came from a 2019 interview. The comments used in the documentary spliced together parts of two different responses in a way that removed crucial context and has led to confusion, the secretariat says.

In the film, Afineevsky recounts the story of Andrea Rubera, a married gay Catholic who wrote Francis asking for his advice about bringing into the church his three children with his husband.

Rubera says Francis urged him to approach his parish transparently and bring the children up in the faith, which he did. The film then cuts to Francis' comments from the Televisa interview.

"Homosexual people have the right to be in a family. They are children of God," Francis said.

"You can't kick someone out of a family, nor make their life miserable for this. What we have to have is a civil union law; that way they are legally covered."

Francis was not endorsing the right of gay couples to adopt children, though Rubera's story made it seem so.

His comments about gay civil unions came from a different part of the Televisa interview and included several caveats that were not included in the film.

He made clear he was explaining his position about the unique case in Buenos Aires 10 years ago, as opposed to Rubera's situation or gay marriage as a whole.

He says he always maintains Catholic doctrine and that there is an "incongruenza" for the Church as far as "homosexual marriage" is concerned.

The documentary eliminated that context.

Source

• PBS News
• SBS
• Image: NBC News