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Ukraine religious figure linking coronavirus to gay marriage gets sued

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Umberto Bacchi and Maria Georgieva, Thomson Reuters Foundation

TBILISI - A Ukrainian LGBT+ group said on Monday it has sued one of the country&#x27;s most prominent religious figures over comments blaming the spread of the coronavirus on same-sex marriage, in what the group said was the first such case in ex-Soviet nation.Kiev-based group Insight said it took legal action against Patriarch Filaret, who heads one of Ukraine&#x27;s largest Orthodox congregations, over remarks made during a TV interview that rights activists said risked fuelling hatred and discrimination.Filaret is a renowned figure in the country, having led a split of the Ukrainian church from its Russian parent which had him defrocked and excommunicated.&quot;Our aim is to show people that there is no longer place for such statements from church leaders in Ukraine,&quot; Insight&#x27;s head Olena Shevchenko told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.Since the first cases of COVID-19 were identified in China in December 2019, several religious figures across the world have suggested the emergence of the virus was divine retribution for same-sex activity, which they see as sinful.Filaret added his voice in March, telling Ukrainian national TV network Channel 4 that the epidemic was &quot;God&#x27;s punishment for the sins of men, the sinfulness of humanity&quot;.&quot;First of all, I mean same-sex marriage,&quot; said Filaret, head of the Kiev Patriarchate that says it currently has more than 15 million followers among Ukraine&#x27;s 42 million people.Rights groups described the comments as &quot;dangerous&quot; saying they risked stirring violence at a time where the health crisis was already stoking tensions and anxieties.&quot;Such statements ... are very harmful because they could lead to increased attacks, aggression, discrimination and acceptance of violence against certain groups,&quot; said Maria Guryeva, a spokeswoman for Amnesty International Ukraine.In February, fearing possible contagion, residents of a central Ukrainian town clashed with police and hurled projectiles at a convoy of buses carrying evacuees from China headed to a local sanatorium for quarantine.The Orthodox Church of the Kiev Patriarchate did not reply to a request for comment on Monday.Responding to reports about a possible lawsuit in March, the Patriarchate said Filaret&#x27;s remarks were consistent with Ukrainian laws.&quot;As the head of the church and as a man, the Patriarch has the freedom to express his views, which are based on morality,&quot; the Patriarchate&#x27;s press service said in a statement.The Patriarchate reserved the right to bring counterclaims against those who sought to abuse judicial protections to encroach on Ukraine&#x27;s traditional family values, it added.The administrative proceeding filed in a Kiev court sought to obtain an apology for disseminating false information and a rectification from the Patriarch and the TV channel that aired the interview, said Shevchenko of Insight.&quot;We just want them to be more responsible the next time,&quot; she said by phone.While the government has increased support for LGBT rights in recent years, same-sex unions are not legally recognised in Ukraine and activists say homophobia remains widespread.

TBILISI - A Ukrainian LGBT+ group said on Monday it has sued one of the country's most prominent religious figures over comments blaming the spread of the coronavirus on same-sex marriage, in what the group said was the first such case in ex-Soviet nation.

TBILISI - A Ukrainian LGBT+ group said on Monday it has sued one of the country's most prominent religious figures over comments blaming the spread of the coronavirus on same-sex marriage, in what the group said was the first such case in ex-Soviet nation.

Ukraine religious figure linking coronavirus to gay marriage gets sued

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Ukraine religious figure linking coronavirus to gay marriage gets sued

Umberto Bacchi and Maria Georgieva,

Thomson Reuters Foundation

Published Apr 14, 2020 07:32 AM PHT

Read More:

lgbt

same sex marriage

ukraine

coronavirus

covid-19

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