Bishop in Moldova fined for criticizing LGBT
Archbishop Marchel criticizing the gay parade in Bălți. Photo: TV Balti
Archbishop Marchel, hierarch of the Moldovan Orthodox Church and Archbishop of Bălți and Fălești, has been ordered to pay a fine for criticizing homosexuals, according to the LGBT publication GENDERDOC-M.
The outlet claims that the archbishop publicly opposed the organization of a gay parade in the city of Bălți. He also dared to call gay people “sinners” and “lost.”
Representatives of the LGBT community told the court that the cleric’s statements “had a significant impact on their personal safety and amounted to a clear incitement to hatred and violence based on sexual orientation.” They demanded compensation for moral damages.
The court ordered the hierarch to pay each plaintiff 10,000 Moldovan lei as compensation for the suffering caused.
The decision may be appealed to the Chișinău Court of Appeals within 30 days of its issuance.
As previously reported by the UOJ, a Moldovan politician has stated that the President of Moldova may ban the Orthodox Church after the elections.
Read also
Most Britons oppose abortions, poll finds
The survey found that 62% of UK residents support legal protection for unborn children from the moment their heartbeat is first detected.
Annual academic conference opens at Kyiv Theological Academy and Seminary
The fifteenth annual conference was dedicated to the anniversaries of Prince Vasyl-Kostiantyn Ostrožský and Metropolitan Rafail (Zaborovský).
Feminists attack Roman Catholic churches in Latin America
During protest actions, members of radical groups attacked cathedrals in several Latin American countries, assaulted police officers, and threw paint at believers.
UOC hierarch takes part in German bishops’ conference
Bishop Veniamin of Boyarka took part in the OBKD assembly in Düsseldorf.
Ivano-Frankivsk scraps school project planned on demolished UOC church site
The authorities in Ivano-Frankivsk have dropped plans to build the school for whose construction a UOC church was demolished.
Shostatsky to UOC: If you are so righteous – do not cling to your churches
The OCU metropolitan called on UOC faithful and clergy to pray rather than defend their churches from seizures.