Pope Francis Opens Door (A Crack) To Civil Unions

If you are wondering by Bishop Morlino is looking ashen these days–well–ponder no more.

Granted, this news below is not enough of a move from the Vatican, but in terms of where the Vatican has stood on some of these issues for so long this is a huge story.  Which creates dismay for the Morlino types among Catholics.

Marriage can only be between a man and a woman, but the Roman Catholic Church could tolerate some types of same-sex civil unions, Pope Francis said in a wide-ranging interview published Wednesday in an Italian newspaper.

The interview with Corriere della Sera, translated by the Catholic News Service, suggested that Francis viewed the unions as a practical way to protect property rights and access to health care.

“Matrimony is between a man and a woman,” he said. But he added that efforts to “regulate diverse situations of cohabitation (are) driven by the need to regulate economic aspects.”

The news service notes that a year ago the president of the Pontifical Council for the Family said some legal arrangements are justifiable to protect the inheritance rights of non-married couples.

But the news service says that Francis is the first pope to “indicate  even tentative acceptance of civil unions.”