(ZENIT News / Athenas, 02.27.2024).- The Greek parliament legalized “marriage” between same-sex individuals on February 15, along with adoptions by same-sex couples. LGBTI groups have surpassed Christian leaders in a predominantly Orthodox Christian country.
The Greek Parliament approved the so-called “equal marriage” for the first time in a country with a majority of the population adhering to the Orthodox Christian religion. Pressure from the Syriza, New Left, and socialist PASOK parties led to the favorable vote. The vote garnered 176 in favor out of 300 parliamentarians, with only 76 against, including just 51 members from the ruling conservative party, New Democracy (EPP). The Greek parliament has succumbed to pressure from the LGBTI group with the collaboration of the conservative leader and current Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who declared: “This is a milestone for human rights, reflecting present-day Greece: a progressive and democratic country, passionately committed to European values.”
The Orthodox Church of Greece and other Christian churches strongly opposed the bill. The Orthodox hierarchy’s insistence was manifested in a letter sent to parliamentarians at the end of January 2024 outlining reasons to vote against and urging reflection and responsibility.
The center-right party is supported by many voters who uphold traditional family values. Polls reviewed by CNN indicate that Greek society is essentially rooted in traditional family values and structures.
As in other countries, the new law goes beyond granting rights to those who follow the LGBTI position: it grants them additional benefits, such as prohibiting statements contrary to their ideology or penalizing those who engage in so-called “conversion therapies” for minors.
A recent survey by Metron Analysis showed that 62% of respondents accepted same-sex marriage, but 69% were against granting them parenting and adoption rights.
It is noteworthy that left-wing organizations, liberal front groups, and the Greek coordinator of Amnesty International, Despina Paraskeva-Veloudogianni, have stated that the law does not grant full equality permission for non-biological parents to access assisted reproduction technology, nor for same-sex couples, single men, transgender, and intersex individuals.
Greek Orthodox authorities unanimously expressed concern over the weakness of the approved law: “The duality of genders and their complementarity are not social inventions, but come from God.”
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