A group of representatives of civil society say the image of the Orthodox Church of Moldova is intentionally denigrated, the media reports about the property and personal life of Metropolitan Bishop Vladimir being ordered by someone from the political class.

In a news conference at IPN, professor Victor Borshevich called on the journalists not to accept to produce denigrating articles and features about the Church, which is the last refuge for those who lose hope. If the media continue to attack the Church, the people will lose confidence in this institution too.

Victor Borshevich noted that most of the sociological surveys show that the Moldovans have the greatest confidence in the Church and the politicians decided to denigrate it as they pursue certain goals. The professor said he is an atheist, but considers that the Church must be protected from the media’s attacks.

Activist Nina Dimoglo said there are regulations in other states that set the limits within which the media can report on the Church. In Moldova such regulations will most probably not be adopted and the mass media is thus urged not to disseminate information that denigrates the Church and its representatives.

Jurist Dumitru Chiseev said the non-pecuniary damage caused to the Metropolitan Bishop by the reports denigrating him can be assessed at 1 million lei. But the representatives of civil society do not believe that His Holiness Vladimir will sue the journalists who wrote articles and published pictures about his property and his vacation abroad, presenting him in a bad light.

Earlier, the media reported that Metropolitan Bishop Vladimir owns property that is written in the name of other persons and published pictures of him in the company of a woman on a number of occasions, including when vacationing abroad. His Holiness Vladimir didn’t comment on this information.