A Greek Orthodox bishop is suing a group of LGBT activists for “defamation.” Bishop Seraphim of Peiraeus, a diocese of the Orthodox Church of Greece, is asking for one million euros in reparations.
His case?
Well, the plaintiff stated in an article that the LGBT movement is “morally corrupt, obsessed with satisfying their psychopathological deviation and who have made a life value out of the faeces elimination tract.”
Then, a Greek LGBT organization called Synthesis— the defendants—issued a statement in response to the plaintiff’s words. They stated:
“Hate speech against gays, lesbians and transgender people in Greece takes place with impunity.”
In addition, the defendants have been petitioning the Greek government to criminalize public criticism of homosexuality and urging members of the European Union to add sexual orientation to their hate speech statutes.
That’s right. Bishop Seraphim—the one who called LGBT folks “morally corrupt”—is suing Synthesis, the ones working against hate speech, for defamation.
Now, honestly, who is more of a defamer?
My vote would be for Seraphim.
For years, institutional churches have been able to use antiquated terminology like “intrinsically disordered” and “morally corrupt” when referring to LGBT people, even through homosexuality was ruled out as a psychological disorder back in the 1970s. Although public officials are held accountable (most of the time) for referring to groups of people in a ethical manner (even if they disagree with that group), Church officials have demonstrated the opposite of political correctness.
It’ll be interesting to see if sexual orientation is added to hate speech statutes, and if bishops like Seraphim will finally be held accountable for their words.
