When you think that religious fundamentalism has reached rock bottom, it proves that there is still a long way to go: certain leaders even leave aside the supposed defense of "love for all creatures" and openly encourage homophobia.
This is the case of Evgeni Yanakiev, a priest of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, who, on June 6, encouraged the population to throw stones at anyone who participated in the Gay Pride demonstrations in the country. "Our society as a whole must prevent, by all means, the planned homosexual march. For this reason, I address all those who consider themselves Christians and Bulgarians to tell them that throwing stones at homosexuals is appropriate ", the priest told the local newspaper Standart.
Even more outrageous is that the Holy Synod of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church not only did not condemn Yanakiev's statement, but confirmed the church's "firm" opposition to such "immoral manifestations" and its unchanging conviction that homosexuality is "an unnatural desire which unconditionally damages both the personality of those who commit it and society as a whole".
Shocked?
This was also the reaction of the organization Human Rights Watch, which, last Wednesday (27), sent a letter to the Bulgarian Minister of Justice, Diana Kovacheva, reminding her that the country has a responsibility to protect LGBT people against violence and incitement. of violence. "The call to stone gays is a heinous threat to the safety of peaceful people who want to use their freedom to assemble," said Boris Dittrich of Human Rights Watch's LGBT Rights Program.
For the entity, Father Yanakiev's statement is undoubtedly hate speech. The 4th Gay Parade in the capital of Bulgaria, Sofia, is scheduled to take place this Saturday, June 30th.
