Priest Ghenadie Valuta says he’s become “the victim of a smear campaign” staged by “the pro-homosexuality forces” and one vengeful fellow cleric. In his opinion, the scandal that ensued after he posted on Facebook a snapshot – it showed an unblurred face of an elderly woman, on what appeared to be her deathbed, as he stood by joyful at her request to receive his blessing – was blown out of proportion with the purpose of vilifying him and his beliefs.
Fr. Valuta told a press conference that “the sexual minorities distorted the picture’s message and infected the internet and the media with the notion that, look, this old lady is dying here while this priest has nothing else better to do than take selfies”. He did mention it himself in the caption that the woman was dying, though. And despite denying any wrongdoing now, the priest eventually did take the photo down as critical comments began piling up.
Ghenadie Valuta explained that the photo was taken to share with fellow believers the joy that faith was bringing into the woman’s life. He insists the woman consented to be photographed and was made aware that the picture would be shared to inspire others.
As the negative reaction was growing stronger, the priest went to talk with the woman’s daughter and son and offer his apology. However, they had already “been instigated by the non-traditional forces to take vengeance”. The woman’s children complained to the police and went on a TV talk show “to tell the whole country about the situation”.
Mihai Balica, the priest’s aide, elaborated on the motives behind the “smear”. He told the same conference that this was an occasion for priest Maxim Melinte to revenge (Melinte was once hailed for his relatively progressive views and even accepted a distinction from the LGBT community, which he eventually disavowed along with an apology to the Church when faced with the risk of losing his parish and priesthood altogether). Balica says Fr. Valuta sat on the panel that decided to briefly defrock Fr. Melinti, and the “smear campaign” was a way to retaliate. Moreover, according to Balica, the woman’s son is a member of the Shor Party, which receives money from the United States, just like the LGBT activists, and so the woman’s children were specifically instructed to complain to the police.
Meanwhile, Fr. Valuta remains unapologetic, saying that his only fault is that he didn’t anticipate a response from “opposing forces” when posting the photo. He also added that he used the phrase “on the deathbed” as a metaphor.
