Courtney McGrailUkrainian Church leaders have condemned plans to permit same-sex partnerships under a series of constitutional reforms.
“These provisions threaten to plunge the Ukrainian state into the abyss of immorality and sin, to destroy the family as the basic social institution and popularise relationships between persons of the same sex which are unnatural for human beings,” the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organisations said in a letter.
“In its appeals, our council has stressed the need to incorporate, in one way or another, principles of identity and human relations which are traditional for Ukrainian citizens,” the council said.
The council, a group of 19 denominations and faiths, including Catholics and Orthodox, issued the letter in response to the amendments, which the Ukrainian parliament has been debating. Plans call for adopting the amendments in the autumn.
The letter, addressed to Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and parliament officials, said two articles covering human rights and civic freedoms, would “seriously threaten” family life and traditional marriage.