Pope Francis was ‘shocked’ by civil unions/gay adoption bill, urged me to fight it: Malta bishop
Pope Benedictus XVI (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Malta’s auxiliary bishop says Pope Francis was “shocked” earlier this month when the bishop informed him of the push to legalize same-sex civil unions and homosexual adoption on the Mediterranean island nation. Bishop Charles Scicluna, who is being criticized in the media for defending traditional marriage in his Christmas homily last week, said the pope told him at a meeting December 12th to be vocal in opposing the Civil Unions Bill. The bill is currently being considered by the Maltese legislature and would give same-sex couples the same rights as married couples, including adoption. “He was quite shocked by the issue of civil unions and gay adoptions in Malta,” the bishop told The Sunday Times of Malta . “We discussed many aspects... and when I raised the issue that’s worrying me as a bishop [the right for gay couples to adopt] he encouraged me to speak out,” he added. The mainstream media has widely reported that t