A prominent leader of the Christian Ukrainian Orthodox Church who blamed the CoVid-19 pandemic on gay marriage has been struck down with the illness.
Patriarch Filaret, who is 91-years-old and leader of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church - Kyiv Patriarchate, is said to be hospitalised with the virus. CoVid-19 can be particularly dangerous for those of advanced years such as Filaret.
His church confirmed the infection and subsequent hospitalisation in a Facebook post, and asked well-wishers to send their prayers. The church said:
"We ask you to continue to pray for His Holiness Patriarch Filaret, so that the All-Merciful and Almighty Lord God will heal the Patriarch."
His view that CoVid-19 was God's wrath for homosexual marriage, and widespread sinning in society, emerged during a TV interview in which he said that CoVid-19 was:
"God's punishment for the sins of men and sinfulness of humanity. First of all, I mean same-sex marriage … This is the cause of the coronavirus."
Gay-marriage is constitutionally banned in Ukraine, and the country holds some of the most anti-gay policies in the whole of Europe, banning even civil-partnerships and stopping same sex couples from adopting.
A Ukrainian LGBTQ rights group spoke out against the religious leader, saying that his views were outdated and offensive. They said in a statement:
"Our aim is to show people that there is no longer place for such statements from church leaders in Ukraine. [His statements] are very harmful because they could lead to increased attacks, aggression, discrimination and acceptance of violence against certain groups."
To which the church responded:
"As the head of the church and as a man, the Patriarch has the freedom to express his views, which are based on morality."
He is hardly the first religious leader to blame CoVid-19 on homosexuality. In March, the Reverend Ralph Drollinger, who leads a bible study group for members of Donald Trump's cabinet, wrote a lengthy piece in which he suggested that homosexuality was the reason that God was judging America (by infecting the country with CoVid-19).
Ukraine has so far recorded 140,000 CoVid-19 cases and over 3,000 deaths. Globally there are over 29 million confirmed cases and 905,000 deaths. The true number of infections is believed to be vastly higher, with potentially in excess of 100 million people already having had the disease.
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