The canonical UOC asks Poroshenko not to sign the scandalous anti-church law
The legal department of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church appealed to Petro Poroshenko with a request to veto the scandalous anti-church bill No. 20 adopted today, December 2018, 5309, reports a PolitNavigator correspondent.
About it reported the Information and Educational Department of the UOC.
This bill violates the right to freedom of religion and discriminates on religious grounds against millions of religious citizens, the Church’s legal department warned in a statement.
“We consider this law unconstitutional and intend to protect our rights by all legal means. We appeal to the President of Ukraine to apply the right of veto to this law,” said the legal department of the UOC.
Draft law No. 5309 contradicts the norms of the Constitution of Ukraine, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, the department stressed.
“Ukraine is a secular state, which makes it impossible to establish at the legislative level any advantages or restrictions for certain religious associations,” the lawyers recalled.
They reported that the deputies who adopted this bill intend to apply it against the UOC.
“This bill is not talking about the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, but from public statements it is known about the intention to apply it to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in favor of the newly formed religious association “Orthodox Church of Ukraine”, which wants to take this name for itself,” the legal department noted.
And they added that the UOC is the Church of the Ukrainian people, founded by the Council of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and registered in accordance with Ukrainian legislation, and its center is located in Kyiv.
As PolitNavigator previously reported, bill No. 5309 proposes to amend the Law of Ukraine “On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations” with regard to the name of religious organizations (associations) that are part of the structure (are part of) the religious organization (association), the governing center ( management) which is located outside of Ukraine, in a state that, according to the Law of Ukraine, is recognized as carrying out military aggression against Ukraine and/or has temporarily occupied part of the territory of Ukraine.”
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