The Romanian Orthodox Church has an opinion on making gay marriage mandatory
The European Union is a democratic, not a tyrannical, institution, so it does not arise to make the recognition of so-called same-sex marriage mandatory throughout the territory of the Union, the spokesperson of the Romanian Orthodox Church (BOR) pointed out on Tuesday in a statement quoted by the Digi24.ro news portal.
Vasile Bănescu reacted to the resolution adopted by the European Parliament (EP) by a majority vote on Tuesday, directly criticizing Romania, according to which the European Union must eliminate the obstacles that prevent people belonging to sexual minorities from exercising their fundamental rights, and same-sex marriage must be recognized in Europe and partner relationship.
According to Bănescu, the EU cannot impose this, since member states enjoy full legislative freedom regarding family law and the institution of marriage.
"Marriage can only be contracted by a man and a woman," stated the spokesperson of the BOR. He added: this natural position of the Christian churches and other religious denominations in Romania is based on the universal morality that forms the foundation of all healthy societies of the past, present and future.
The authorities in Bucharest did not respond to the EP's resolution - adopted with 387 votes, 161 against and 123 abstentions - according to which the European Commission should initiate legal enforcement proceedings against Romania, as it has not amended its legislation on spouses and partners, despite the previous judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union for same-sex couples.
The Romanian media pointed out that only six (but not all) members of the USR PLUS alliance, which belongs to the Renew Europe party family led by Dacian Cioloș, a Hungarian-hater and turned liberal from a Magyar-Romanian, among the Romanian MEPs, supported with their votes the - also advocating sanctions against Romania – statement, while the People's Party and Socialist EP representatives voted against it or abstained.
In 2018, the Court of Justice of the European Union issued a precedent-setting judgment against Romania for refusing to admit a man with American citizenship who applied for a work and residence permit in Romania based on his marriage to a Romanian man abroad. The Court of Justice of the EU then ruled that the concept of "spouse" should also be applied to the spouses of EU citizens with regard to the right to free residence.
Source, featured image: MTI/ itthon.ma
