Pope Francis calls for the passage of civil union laws for same-sex couples in the documentary “Francesco,” which premiered Wednesday in Rome.

“Homosexuals have a right to be a part of the family. They’re children of God and have a right to a family. Nobody should be thrown out, or be made miserable because of it,” Pope Francis said in the documentary.
The film dives into the life and ministry of Pope Francis, along with his pastoral outreach when it comes to pressing social issues such as the rights of the LGBTQ community. The documentary also includes interviews from staple Vatican figures like Cardinal Luis Tagle.

“What we have to create is a civil union law. That way they are legally covered,” the pope said in an interview with filmmaker Evgeny Afieneevsky for the documentary. “I stood up for that.”

Historically, the Catholic church has taught that gays should be treated with dignity and respect, just like any other human being, but that the homosexual relationship itself was deemed unacceptable. In an official document released by the Vatican’s doctrine office, the church’s respect for gay people “ cannot lead in any way of approval of homosexual behavior or to legal recognition of homosexual unions.”

His remarks made him the first pontiff to endorse same-sex marriage. For members and supporters of the LGBTQ community, it’s a good sign that the world is heading in the right direction, but for a lot of opposing Catholics, it draws concerns, calling for some clarification.

“This could be a global game changer for gay and lesbian people, for same sex couples, for LGBTQ people broadly. I think we’re just going to have to see where it lands,” Marianne Duddy-Burke, the executive director of DignityUSA’s, an organization that represents LGBTQ Catholics told npr.org.

“I’m very conscious of the tremendous impact that this could have, particularly for queer people in countries where there are no legal protections at this point, where they are very much subject to violence and to social marginalization,” Duddy-Burke said also said.

The pope’s call for civil union laws reverses the perspective of his predecessors and even his own previous position on the issue. As the Archbishop of Buenos Aires in 2010, Pope Francis strongly opposed any efforts to legalize same-sex marriage. There were even claims that Pope Francis supported civil unions to help prevent the widespread adoption of same-sex marriages in Argentina, but that was later proven to be false.

Afieneevsky, who is also gay, revealed after the documentary premiered that Francis wasn’t trying to suggest anything other than his belief that gay people should be afforded the same rights and joy as heterosexual couples when it comes to marriage. They, like any couple, dream of the day they get to publicly demonstrate their commitment to the one they love.

“The world needs positivity right now, the world needs to care about climate change, care about refugees and migration, borders, walls, family separation,” Afineevsky said.