The government decision to table a bill on civil partnerships is a necessary step for Greek legislation to adapt the social reality and needs of our times. This is something that the official church must realize and comprehend, rather persistently side with extreme voices that have tried to prevent the bill from being voted.
The necessity to legally and official recognize same-sex couple stems from the principles of equality and respect to diversity, as protected by the Greek Constitution and the European Convention of Human Rights. Let us not forget that our country has been found guilty by the European Court of Human Rights for excluding same-sex couples from the cohabitation pact.
The church officials must understand that the public sphere is open to all people, irrespective of what ideas they may harbor or what religion they prescribe to, or not. The majority of the Greek people may be Christian Orthodox, but that does not mean that the state must treat those who do not share the same faith with different criteria.
The bishops that are kicking and screaming against the civil partnership today are rejecting the message of love in the Bible. It is also high time that the official church, which insists reacting this way, realizes that its involvement and entanglement with the state and its duties are causing more problems than solving. The only civil partnership that can be today is That which is God’s, to God and that which is the State’s, to the State.
TO VIMA
