Following the footsteps of other progressive countries around the world, Greece is looking to move forward with the legalization of same-sex marriages.
In July of last year, Greece’s prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis made a promise to legalize same-sex marriage saying “Greek society is much more ready and mature.”
Currently, Greece only officially recognizes same-sex partnerships as cohabitation agreements between same-sex couples, which do offer some rights also offered to married heterosexual couples, according to Pink News.
Now, a finalized version of the bill is in the works, but it is expected to be controversial as it is strongly opposed by Greece’s Orthodox Church. In late December, the Church’s governing body, the Holy Synod, issued a 1,500-word opinion expressing “strong opposition to the proposal,” according to AP News.
In their letter, the body argued that same-sex couples raising children were treating them as “accessories” or “companion pets.”
In response, government spokesperson, Pavlos Marinakis, said: “We always listen to the opinions of the Church with respect. But at the same time, we are implementing our policy, and will listen to the views of society, civil society, the citizenry, institutions and parties in total.”
AP News reports that Greeks are evenly divided on the issue of same-sex marriage. In 2023, Greece moved up the rankings for ILGAEurope’s LGBTQ rights assessment of EU countries following a bill that banned genital mutilation on intersex children.
Other countries like Japan, Thailand, and Mauritius have inched toward expanding LGBTQ+ rights in the past year, and with luck, more countries will follow along in 2024.
