Religious communities raise concern over gay marriage, adoptions

Ljubljana – The Council of Christian Churches and the Islamic Community in Slovenia have addressed a joint statement to the government and both houses of parliament to raise “concern over the changing of fundamental concepts of our society” after the Constitutional Court legalised same-sex marriages and adoptions.

In the appeal distributed to the media on Sunday, the Council comprising the Catholic Church, the Evangelical and Lutheran Church, the Serbian Orthodox Church and the Evangelical Pentecostal Church, and the Islamic Community express regret over the court’s decision, which was made public in early July.

The decision “changes the definition of the fundamental concepts of our society, such as the family, marriage, fatherhood, motherhood”, while at the same time it undermines article 53 of the constitution, which stipulates that the state shall protect the family, motherhood, fatherhood, children and young people, and shall create the conditions necessary for this protection, the statement reads.

The churches say they oppose discrimination against anyone. “Every man, regardless of their sexual orientation, is created as a human being and has inalienable dignity,” they write, adding: “It is therefore right that the state should adequately protect and regulate the status of homosexually oriented persons”.

“The latter should in our view not undermine or devalue the traditional understanding of the family and marriage, which are key to the existence of a particular society,” they write.

They argue that every child has a right to a father and a mother even if the right may be curtailed by death or divorce. “However, the state must not overlook this fundamental right of children in a systemic way and adapt it to the wishes of adults,” the joint statement reads.

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