Thread by @CatholicArena

Thread of what we know so far about Pope Francis's comments on Same Sex Civil Unions

Firstly, the comments were circulated in the media today as part of the promotion for the new documentary 'Francesco'

Francesco is directed by former Israeli Defence Forces member Evgeny Avineesky

Avineesky made his film breakthrough with Jewish LGBT comedy 'Oy Vey, My Son is G✡y'

Afineesky is also known for using his films to advocate for Western intervention in Syria and Ukraine, two conflict riddled areas where Israel has strategic interests

Avineesky has a long history of anti Catholic social media history, interestingly claiming that the church is wrong on same sex marriage

And most bizarrely

Claiming that Pope Benedict had 'come out' as homosexual

Avineesky is a long time critic of President Donald Trump, sending explicit messages directed at him

Not only do the comments on same sex unions suit Avineesky, but he is using Pope Francis to try to insult Trump in the film's trailer

The full context of the interview that was publicised today, actually stems from a year and a half ago. Though it is not yet clear if these comments were ever originally broadcast

Nonetheless, these two clarifications from afterwards seem to address the controversy, with Francis distancing himself from accusations of supporting homosexual unions

This is not the first time that Francis has been accused of supporting civil unions for homosexuals

It has existed since he advocated (in line with Cdl. Ratzinger's 2003 doc.) in Argentina that a civil union was a lesser evil (still evil) than a same sex marriage

Ultimately, through their lack of clarification, the Vatican have turned a potential PR coup in a documentary about the papacy from an into a complete disaster which may take years to recover from

A sad reminder of the 'normality' of the chaos reigning in the Vatican

The lack of communication is key

The UK papers will lead with this tomorrow, even though Pope Francis has called same sex marriage being one of 'incongruity'

Either the Vatican starts becoming efficient, or these disasters will multiply

In 2010, it was reported around the world that Pope Benedict had blessed the use of condoms (especially for male prostitutes apparently)

The Vatican rectified quickly thr next day and most people now forget the story

A strong statement is needed for this too. Fast.