Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov said yesterday that he would not allow a gay pride parade in the city, and repeated comments he made two years ago that such a march would be "Satanic."
Luzhkov is reportedly a "devoted Orthodox Christian believer."
That an Orthodox Christian would strongly oppose homosexuality is not surprising.
The Orthodox Church's teaching on homosexuality, however, focuses on ministering to homosexuals and separates what it considers to be sinful acts from concern for the people involved.
Labeling a gay-pride event "Satanic" hardly exhibits such concern. Mean-spirited rhetoric effectively reverses the ministry called for by Christian compassion.
In 2007, homosexuals who marched in spite of a ban were "beaten up by right-wing counter-demonstrators or detained by police," according to a BBC report. Last year, some activists were detained before the parade began.
More crackdowns can be expected this year, unless Luzhkov sets aside meanness for ministry.
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