Pope Francis was shocked when Maltese bishop Charles Scicluna informed him the Roman Catholic island of Malta was contemplating the introduction of a Civil Union Bill and allowing gay.

Speaking in an interview with The Times of Malta, the Bishop said he met Pope Francis on 12 December and discussed issues related to the Civil Union Bill and gay adoption. The Pontiff encouraged the Bishop to stand up and speak against such bills and "that is exactly what I did in my Christmas sermon". In a highly criticised sermon Scicluna argued God's own son was raised by a man and a woman, and not by two men or two women.

Pope Francis is said to have told the Maltese bishop that Christmas is no fairy tale, and one should face reality.

In 2010, when still Bishop of Buenos Aires Jorge Bergoglio, now Pope Francis had argued the Argentinian law allowing gay marriages was part of Satan's work to disrupt God's plan. He had also described gay adoption as a form of discrimination against children. However when questions about gays after being elected Pontiff ,he replied "who am I to judge?"

"My sermon was not about the rights of gay people but about children's rights", Bishop Scicluna argued.

When Parliament reconvenes, MP's will continue discussing the Civil Union's Bill, giving gay couples the same rights and duties as married couples.