How Latvia’s Christian churches use JPII’s natural law teaching to defend life and family

“We began to function alongside one another by the initiative of a businessman in Riga, a non-believer who desired to advertise awareness about the humanity of the unborn,” the archbishop recalled.

“Bringing all Christians collectively in a definitely ecumenical effort finished up bearing excellent fruits because we labored together in selling a culture of life: From far more than 7,000 abortions for every calendar year in 2002, we were being ready to convey it down to 2,000 by 2020,” he reported. 

Ecumenical defense of relationship, household

Relating to the laws on civil unions, yet another area where Stankevičs has rallied ecumenical teams about natural law protection of relationship, the archbishop stated that he has viewed the rigidity bordering LGBT problems mount in Latvian modern society as enhanced pressure is brought to bear to legalize same-sexual intercourse unions. 

Invited to a discussion on a well known Latvian tv clearly show identified as “One vs. One” just after Pope Francis’ remark “who am I to choose?” was widely interpreted in Latvian culture as approving homosexual unions, Stankevičs “had the possibility to reveal the teachings of the Catholic Church and what was the real which means of the Holy Father’s text.” 

Soon after that episode, in dialogue with other Christian leaders, Stankevičs proposed a regulation aimed at lowering political tensions in the place with no jeopardizing the regular thought of the household. 

The legislation proposed by the ecumenical group of Christians would have designed binding rules aimed at guarding any sort of popular household “for illustration, two previous folks residing together to help 1 yet another, or just one previous and one young man or woman who make a decision to live collectively.” 

“The legislation would reward any home, like homosexual partners, but would not affect the concept of [the] all-natural relatives,” Stankevičs described. “Unfortunately the media manipulated my proposal, and the Agency France Presse presented me internationally as if I was in favor of homosexual relationship.”  

In 2020, the Constitutional Courtroom in Latvia made a decision a circumstance in favor of legalizing homosexual partners and purchased the parliament to pass legislation according to this selection.

In response, the Latvian Men’s Affiliation commenced a campaign to introduce an modification to the Latvian constitution, to clarify the principle of relatives. The Latvian structure in 2005 proclaimed that relationship is only among a guy and a woman, but remaining a lawful void about the definition of household, which the courtroom desired to interpret to contain homosexual unions. 

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The Latvian bishops’ conference supported the amendment introduced by the Men’s Association, “but most importantly,” Stankevičs explained, “we place together an ecumenical assertion signed by the leaders of 10 distinct Christian denominations supporting the idea that the spouse and children ought to be centered on the relationship concerning a man and a girl. The president of the Latvian Jewish local community, a excellent good friend, also joined the assertion.” 

In accordance to Stankevičs, a thing weird occurred future. “The Minister of Justice created a committee to discuss the desire of the constitutional court, and it integrated many Christian representatives, together with a few from the Catholic Church, which worked for a 12 months.” But disregarding all the discussions and proposals, the Minister of Justice finished up sending a proposal to parliament that was a entire recognition of homosexual partners as relationship.

The response was also ecumenical: Christian leaders despatched a letter encouraging the parliament to disregard the government’s proposal. 

In accordance to Stankevičs, the proposal has presently passed 1 round of votes “and it is pretty most likely that it will be approved in a next spherical of votes, with the aid of the New Conservative celebration. But we Christians continue to do the job jointly.”

Preventing gender ideology