The Honorary Patriarch Filaret of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine , who blamed same-sex marriage for the coronavirus pandemic, has been hospitalized after testing positive for COVID-19.
The Evening Standard reports: “His comments on the causes of the Covid-19 outbreak sparked outrage from LGBT groups who raised concerns about his ‘harmful statements’. Filaret said in a TV interview in March that the outbreak was ‘God’s punishment for the sins of men, the sinfulness of humanity. First of all, I mean same-sex marriage’.”
Filaret’s publicist defended his remarks in a statement: “As the head of the church and as a man, the Patriarch has the freedom to express his views, which are based on morality. The Patriarchate reserved the right to bring counterclaims against those who sought to abuse judicial protections to encroach on Ukraine’s traditional family values.”
