Religious Leader Who Blamed COVID-19 On Gay Marriage Tests Positive For Virus
Patriarch Filaret, leader of the large Ukrainian Orthodox Church, who earlier this year blamed the coronavirus pandemic on same-sex marriage, has tested positive for the virus, the church announced.
The church confirmed the news in a statement shared on its website and on Facebook and shared a follow-up statement saying its leader’s health is “stable” as “treatment continues.”
“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,” the statement continued.
As ‘NBC News’ reports, this is not the first time Filaret has made headlines involving the global coronavirus pandemic, which has killed nearly 3,000 people and infected over 140,000 in Ukraine. In a March interview with a local Ukrainian TV station, he reportedly called the crisis “God’s punishment for the sins of men and sinfulness of humanity.”
“First of all, I mean same-sex marriage,” he added. “This is the cause of the coronavirus.”
Following Filaret’s controversial comments, the Ukrainian LGBTQ rights group Insight filed a lawsuit against him in April.
“Our aim is to show people that there is no longer place for such statements from church leaders in Ukraine,” Insight’s leader, Olena Shevchenko, said at the time.
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