Recent flooding in Serbia throws the Orthodox Church’s accusations against homosexuality back at the church.
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A first glimpse of sunshine came through heavy clouds as a reminder that there is still hope. A man with his lovely wife, two beautiful daughters and a dog called Pinkie, stood on the second floor balcony for hours.
The flood is terrible and they can’t leave their house, nor can stay for long in it. But the sun is rising and hope is rising to. What was the previous day’s street, now is a river, and somewhere over there, not yet recognizable, it looks like something is moving? It must be a boat. “Help is finally arriving,” was the first thought of the desperate man. Yes, it is a boat, and it’s coming in the right direction. But suddenly he stops his thoughts, remembering what this flood was about in the first place.
Sir we are here to save you and your family. The dog as well,
says a broad shoulder young soldier, who was obviously the leader of the six man squad in the boat,
Sir did you hear me?
I hear you loud and proud. And why did you come here?
Sir, are you OK?
The tired face of the soldier was even more stretched when he grimaced in confusion.
We are here to evacuate you from the floods! So please cooperate with us, because we are needed elsewhere.
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Suddenly the desperate man asked,
Are you Christian my son?
The young lad sounded even more confused now.
Uh… Yes…
So, if you are Christian, you are aware of the reason why this has happened to us?
This time the soldier sounded a bit helpless.
Because rivers flood?
The disturbed man shouted,
Do you know why? Because God is making a statement, not to punish us, but to tell as that we are wrong. Want to know why?
Just a tiny nod from the lad in the boat was enough for this testimony to continue.
Because of the Gay Pride Parade!
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We can’t be sure that this conversation really occurred, but what really happened is that the patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church, his holiness Irinej, explained to the masses that floods are God’s will, and a reminder to Christians of God’s anger for the Gay Pride Parade in Belgrade.
Irinej did not explain why God did not punish homosexuals and their supporters from Belgrade, instead of sending flood to innocent people in the western part of the country. His holiness also didn’t explain why God flooded Bosnia and Croatia for the sins of the Serbian gay population. We don’t know how many of the victims are homosexuals or their allies, but we have seen some great humanity in this region, often mentioned in the past as a region of war.
Maybe that’s the biggest problem of church officials, because in wars and disasters people are in despair and need salvation, so priests need enemies. In the past the enemies were communists, Muslims, Catholics and today the archenemies are gay people.
The church’s logic is simple. Floods are God’s will, and he is angry at the organizers of the Gay Pride Parade. Therefore, every good Christian in Serbia must eliminate every gay person she/he knows. The last statement is the real message of Irinej.
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Serbia needs help from the whole world. The floods are threatening the collapse of the country’s economy, and might stop Serbia’s industrial growth. The solidarity of many countries could make life possible in regions where these days it is not. However, in the near future, desperate people will need a different kind of help.
Someone has to finally point a finger in the direction of the church and its officials, to address them as villains and even criminals, because this labelling and oppression in days of great peril must be stopped.
What is even more tragicomic in the statement of patriarch Irinej is that the Gay Pride Parade in Belgrade was canceled two years in a row. The police could not protect activists from the anti-gay protesters, who were coming from the various clerical, pro-fascist, and right-wing organizations in Serbia.
So, if we follow Irinej’s logic, God must be punishing us because the Gay Pride Parade was canceled?!
Photo: AP Photo/Amel Emric Photo: AP Photo/Andrej Cukic