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Filipino pastor takes new gay marriage fight to Hong Kong court

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Elaine Yu, Agence France-Presse

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2019/afp/05/07/20190507-filipino-pastor-marrz-balaoro.jpg"/><figcaption>In this picture taken on May 5, 2019 Filipino Christian pastor Marrz Balaoro holds a copy of the bible as standing on the escalator in Central district in Hong Kong. As a transgender pastor of a small Hong Kong church that welcomes all sexualities, Marrz Balaoro wants to conduct religious marriage ceremonies for same-sex couples but fears arrest -- a battle he is now taking to the courts. Agence France-Presse</figcaption></figure></div>HONG KONG - As a transgender pastor of a small Hong Kong church that welcomes all sexualities, Marrz Balaoro wants to conduct religious marriage ceremonies for same-sex couples but fears arrest -- a battle he is now taking to the courts.Despite growing support for gay marriage in the international financial hub, campaigners have made little headway against stiff opposition from the city&#x27;s successive pro-Beijing governments and religious conservatives.But now an unprecedented legal challenge filed by the Filipino Reverend Balaoro turns the more commonly heard religious argument opposing gay marriage on its head. In a filing with the city&#x27;s High Court he argues that his congregation&#x27;s freedom to worship -- a right enshrined in Hong Kong&#x27;s mini-constitution -- is being trampled on by the city&#x27;s ban on same-sex marriages.&quot;All we ask for is to be allowed to worship and practise our religious faith in the eyes of God, free from the threat of persecution,&quot; Balaoro explained.The 62-year-old pastor -- who has worked as a domestic helper in Hong Kong since 1981 -- knows that threat all too well.In 2017 he was arrested on suspicion of breaking Hong Kong&#x27;s marriage laws for officiating &quot;Holy Union&quot; ceremonies at the city&#x27;s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Straight (LGBTS) Christian Church. The denomination originated in the Philippines but has a small following among gay domestic workers in the southern Chinese city.The union ceremonies were religious blessings for same-sex couples with no legal weight and prosecutors eventually dropped the case. <div>COURT PROTECTION? </div>But despite repeated attempts, Balaoro was unable to get written assurances from Hong Kong authorities that he won&#x27;t be arrested again should he conduct another union.His legal application seeks a court declaration that such same-sex religious ceremonies are not illegal.Balaoro is clear his church&#x27;s same-sex ceremonies have no legal substance under Hong Kong law, but he says they carry great spiritual importance for his flock. &quot;They know this is just a celebration of love and togetherness,&quot; he told AFP, describing the occasions as &quot;joyous&quot;.Hong Kong does not recognize same-sex marriage or civil unions and only decriminalized homosexuality in 1991.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/09/18/18/hong-kong-eases-visa-rules-for-same-sex-couples">Hong Kong eases visa rules for same-sex couples</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/11/23/18/hong-kong-rejects-motion-to-consider-same-sex-unions">Hong Kong rejects motion to consider same-sex unions</a></li></ul>But a British lesbian won the right to live and work in Hong Kong with her partner in a landmark ruling last year hailed by rights groups.A separate case has been lodged by two Hong Kong men directly challenging the same-sex marriage ban as unconstitutional.But Balaoro&#x27;s application is unusual because it includes a freedom of religion argument.In the filing requesting the court to hear their case, his lawyers said current legislation restricting the &quot;celebration of the religious rite of marriage only to heterosexual monogamous couples&quot; is discriminatory.Balaoro and his parishioners are &quot;treated differently on the basis of their religion, to their detriment&quot;.<div>&#x27;ACCEPTED FOR WHO YOU ARE&#x27;</div>Originally from the Philippine province of Abra, Balaoro has identified as a male since the age of five.&quot;When I was younger my parents could not even impose on me to wear dresses and skirts, not until I went to a private Catholic (girls&#x27;) school... I wore shorts under my skirt, and I wore a t-shirt under my long-sleeves, and I took off everything on my way out of the school campus,&quot; he said with a laugh.On top of his full-time job as a domestic worker, he became a pastor in 2013, established the Hong Kong branch of the LGBTS Christian Church a year later, and was ordained as a reverend in 2017.Born into a Catholic family, he stopped going to church during his high school and college years, citing the discrimination he faced.But when he later encountered the slogan of the LGBTS Christian Church -- &quot;you are accepted for who you are, and safe for what you are&quot; -- he found his calling to propagate faith with advocacy.&quot;I think it is my role, it is my duty, not only to the LGBT community but to all people out there (to say) that we exist and there&#x27;s nothing wrong with us.&quot;There are nearly 370,000 migrant domestic workers in the city -- mostly women from the Philippines and Indonesia -- often performing menial tasks for low wages while living in poor conditions.Gay domestic workers, he says, are especially vulnerable, often facing discrimination at other churches.&quot;The support we need is to defend us, to support our cause, to respect our gender identity. That&#x27;s what matters to us.&quot;<div>ey/jta/amz/rox</div><div>© Agence France-Presse</div>

HONG KONG - As a transgender pastor of a small Hong Kong church that welcomes all sexualities, Marrz Balaoro wants to conduct religious marriage ceremonies for same-sex couples but fears arrest -- a battle he is now taking to the courts.

HONG KONG - As a transgender pastor of a small Hong Kong church that welcomes all sexualities, Marrz Balaoro wants to conduct religious marriage ceremonies for same-sex couples but fears arrest -- a battle he is now taking to the courts.

Filipino pastor takes new gay marriage fight to Hong Kong court

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Filipino pastor takes new gay marriage fight to Hong Kong court

Elaine Yu,

Agence France-Presse

Published May 07, 2019 11:04 AM PHT

Read More:

same sex

same sex marriage

hong kong

Marrz Balaoro

homosexuality

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religion

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