No constitution amendments undermining spirituality and morality to be implemented, Yatsenyuk assures church leaders

During a meeting with members of the All Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations, Prime Minister of Ukraine Arseniy Yatsenyuk spoke out in defense of family values.

“No amendments to the Constitution of Ukraine, which might undermine the foundations of spirituality and morality, will be implemented,” Arseniy Yatsenyuk claimed, responding to AUCCRO, the Institute for Religious Freedom reports.

The agenda of the constitutional process was challenged by Patriarch Filaret of the UOC-KP. He believes that the amendments to the Constitution of Ukraine shall not be implemented in a manner that is for the basics of a traditional family and marriage as a union of man and woman under the slogans of human rights protection.

“As a church we cannot go against the commandments of God. During the processing of the Constitution amendments, we should keep the moral foundations not to stir up society,” the Patriarch says.

 Vicar of the Kyiv Metropolis of the UOC Bishop Klyment also believes that “the Constitution of Ukraine should state that marriage is a family union of a man and a woman.”

Clarifying the position of the religious community, Senior Bishop of the Church of Christians of Evangelical Faith Mykhailo Panochko noted that the wealth of the state depends on spirituality and morality. “One should not go to Europe whatever it costs, negotiating moral values in exchange for support of Western partners. It is not necessary in this difficult time, virtually under martial law, to change the Constitution of Ukraine, especially in respect of moral principles,” the bishop said.

Prime Minister Yatsenyuk assured the religious leaders that currently only a law on decentralization and the change in the judicial system and law enforcement, pending before the Venice Commission, was planned to be considered by the Parliament.

The meeting of religious leaders and heads of government took place on Wednesday, September 16, 2015, in the Metropolitan’s building of the National St Sophia Reserve. It was the first working meeting of the Prime Minister of Ukraine with AUCCRO representatives this year.

Last time Arseniy Yatsenyuk met with religious leaders a year ago, on Oct. 3, 2014, on the premises of the Parliament with the participation of the chairman of Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.