ROME — Pope Francis was an hour into a sprawling interview with a Mexican journalist at his Vatican residence in 2019 when he was asked if he had changed since his time as archbishop of Argentina, when he staunchly opposed gay marriage.
Francis responded that he had always defended the church’s teaching on marriage, then began to delve into the question of legalizing same-sex relationships when suddenly the video skipped forward. “One changes in life,” he said.
The words that went missing — expressing support for same-sex civil unions — surfaced only this week in a new documentary, stoking the hopes of gay Catholics and the fury of conservatives.