Serbia Orthodox church head publicly supports EuroPride ban

By JOVANA GEC
Associated Press

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — The head of Serbia’s powerful Orthodox Church is supporting a ban on a pan-European LGBTQ event in Belgrade next week, saying the topic has been “artificially imposed,”  caused divisions and is contrary to centuries-old traditional values. Patriarch Porfirije on Tuesday issued a special video statement about the issue amid a heated debate within Serbia and mounting international criticism over the announcement by the Serbian authorities that the Sept. 12-18 EuroPride events will be canceled because of threats from right-wing extremists and various other problems in the country.