The Supreme Court of Justice quashed the decision of the ordinary court of law and of the appeals court by which Bishop of Balti and Falesti Marchel was found guilty of incitement to hatred and discrimination against the LGBT community and was obliged to pay over 20,000 lei damages to the organization “Genderdoc-M”, which sued him. In a news conference at IPN on December 16, the bishop said the decision of the Supreme Court is like a breath of fresh air in this society polluted by the misery of the sin of sodomy.

The dispute arose in the autumn of 2012, when Bishop Marchel was accused by “Genderdoc-M” of inciting hatred. The bishop said that when he spoke about this sin, he referred it its ugliness and the fact that it develops roots in our Christian society and to the fact that this indecent lifestyle leads to perdition. According to him, this trial was an attempt to intimidate the clergy and to attack the Orthodox Church.

The bishop considers the Supreme Court of Justices’ decision in his favor is a decision by persons with integrity and dignity who observe ancestors’ traditions. “The Supreme Court put a clear full stop and built a wall to save society from this sin that is an anti-national and anti-Christian contagion,” he stated, voicing hope that this attitude will inspire courage in the defenders of the real Christian values.

Lawyer Pavel Midrigan, who represented the bishop in court, said the board of the Supreme Court of Justice that examined this case ascertained that Bishop Marchel had the right to state such an opinion and to speak in public about the community as a sin and to criticize homosexuality and take action in support of his position. The bishop’s speech is also justified by the European Convention, which provides that any person has the right to opinion and to freely express one’s view.