Culture and Social Issues

Pope Francis Discusses Abortion, Feminism And LGBTQ Issues in New Disney Special

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Disney+ is set to release a new special featuring Pope Francis answering questions from a group of young adults discussing everything from abortion, LGBTQ rights, feminism to mental health, according to a press release from Disney’s U.K. office last week.

The special was filmed in Rome in July 2022 with ten Spanish-speaking adults between 20-25 and will air on April 5 on Disney+, according to the March 15 announcement. Directors Jordi Évole and Màrius Sanchez said that they hoped the film would show real conversations about feminism, racism, abortion and LGBTQ issues from “two worlds that normally do not touch.”

“[Its a] unique opportunity to bring together two worlds that normally do not touch, to see one of the most influential people in the world have a dialogue with a group of young adults whose lives sometimes clash head-on with the postulates of the Church,” the directors said, according to the press release. “And it has been an act of great generosity, both on the part of Pope Francis and on the part of the ten young adults.”

The trailer was also released Wednesday showing the participants waiting anxiously for the Pope’s arrival with one member of the group talking about his nervousness about talking to the “Capo” or “head of the pyramid,” in reference to Pope Francis. Another member of the group asked the pope if he knew what non-binary meant, and a female group member wondered whether it would be easier to be a Christian if she wasn’t a feminist.

“That Pope Francis sits down to listen and has an open dialogue with young adults, many of whom are on the periphery of the Catholic Church, with this honesty and closeness gives this special enormous value, and we are very proud to be able to deliver it to the world,” Vice President of Production of Disney + in Spain, Sofía Fábregas, said in the press release.

The trailer ends with the pope looking around at the group and thanking them for their honesty during their conversation.

“I learned a lot from you,” Francis said. “I thank you for the good you have done to me.”

Francis has been outspoken about his position on transgenderism, homosexuality and abortion in recent years. Most recently he called the transgender ideology one of the “most dangerous ideological colonizations,” and said that though he did not believe homosexuality should be criminalized, it was still considered a sin by the church.

The Vatican and Disney did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.