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Pope Francis (archive picture): "We have to draft a law for civil partnerships not in marriage"
Photo: Lauren DeCicca / Getty Images
A statement by the Pope in a documentary on the rights of homosexual couples made headlines around the world.
Experts speak of an irreversible change of course in the Catholic Church.
Pope Francis had spoken out in a documentary in favor of protecting same-sex partnerships.
"We have to draft a law for non-marital partnerships. In this way they are legally protected. This is what I stood for," said the Pope in the documentary "Francesco", which was shown for the first time on Wednesday at the Rome film festival.
In the past, the Pope has repeatedly expressed benevolence towards homosexuals - but without concrete consequences.
The current case is different, however, says Michael Seewald, Professor of Catholic Dogmatics at the University of Münster.
"You have to say that this is a massive correction of course compared to the previous attitude of the Catholic Church."
It is not true that the Pope here legalizes same-sex marriage - but registered partnerships.
This is a new position as the Catholic Church also rejects registered partnerships.
"Now the Pope not only gives up this rejection, but demands the opposite of what has been previously represented," says the scientist Seewald.
"Space of the legitimately sayable and thinkable"
The Pope is opening up "a space for what can legitimately be said and imagined" in the Church.
Same-sex partnerships have so far been judged by many as incompatible with Catholic teaching - this attitude is now hardly conceivable.
This will have serious consequences for the current reform process of the Catholic Church in Germany, the Synodal Way.
There the reformers can now appeal to the Pope.
"We very much hope that further steps will follow soon"
Claudia Brand from the "Regenbogenforum" association
The "Rainbow Forum" association of Christian gay and lesbian groups described the Pope's statements as a good step forward: "We very much hope that further steps will follow soon," said board member Claudia Brand.
The Italian Vatican expert Marco Politi also rates the Pope's statements as very significant.
They come as no surprise to him: "The Pope wiped the entire obsession of the Catholic tradition with sex problems from the table," says Politi.
"In this respect, this is a step that is clearly directed against the line taken by his predecessor Benedict."
Francis was the first Pope to receive a Spanish transsexual with his fiancée and the bishop of his diocese in the Vatican.
A few weeks ago he met a mother in Rome who belongs to a movement of parents of homosexual children.
Again Francis declared: "They are all children of God!"
"Smoldering Civil War"
The big question now is whether this is about a permanent change of position of the church.
Politi's belief is, "There is no going back."
First of all, Francis' utterances would fuel the "simmering civil war within the Church" between reformers and conservatives.
But turning back completely is no longer imaginable.
"It's similar to communion for divorced and remarried people. Nothing is stipulated here either, but there is no going back either."
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jpz / dpa