“We will not allow the composition of society to change”, the Archbishop of Athens and All Greece Mr. Ieronymos said in an interviewon the occasion of the debate that has opened about the same-sex couples and the right to procreation.

“The Church believes in human freedom. We cannot force a man to live like this. But we will not allow him to change the composition of society. Therein lies the disagreement. Do you have human rights? Will this kid have it? Do you have a mom? What will this have? He will have two dads or two moms. I accept the freedom of man. I don’t allow it to change my lifestyle. Procreation bothers me, not cohabitation”said Mr. Ieronymos characteristically in his interview on ANT1 and on the show “Good Morning Greece”.

His Beatitude also referred to the recent incident of fan violenceresulting in serious injury to the 31-year-old police officer in Rentis. “We have to go to the problem and solve it. Worse things will follow. We should look at our Education. Go to a school today and ask the children who Kolokotronis was… They stripped the schools,” said Archbishop Hieronymos, emphasizing that: “We have not succeeded in bringing young people to the Church.”

For the new identities

Regarding the new identities, the Archbishop pointed out that the church space has its own groups… Regarding the reactions created by priests and members of the Church for the issuance of the new identity cards, Mr. Ieronymos characteristically said that “I got a new ID”emphasizing that “and within the Church there are groups with more narrow minds, however, anyone who does not wish to be in this great family can leave».

The proposal for church property

The Archbishop was also asked about the issue of church property, which he said “is big” and criticized the state for “inconsistency”citing the example of the former Minister of Health, Minas Gaga, who asked him for a plot of land in Katehaki for the large hospital of eastern Attica.

“I told her, Madam Minister, we have given it to you for 20 years to see, 340 acres to become the hospital of eastern Attica. I put two conditions: in one 10 years they have finished it and the second a percentage of the beds will get a paper from the church so that the needy do not pay. A court decision is made that we do not get into the essence of why ENFIA was not paid. He told me we were going to move, he ran, Ms. Gaga left and the matter was forgotten“, described Mr. Ieronymos.

When, however, he was asked about the work of the church in terms of dealing with poverty and punctuality, Archbishop Hieronymos returned to matter of ecclesiastical property and specifically stated: “What should we do with the property? No one eats plots. A piece is missing. Another piece has gone up in value. With the state and with others to create an organization for the utilization of church property, with the goal not for the church to eat, but for utilization to meet the needs of our people. I start from the student housing. Petraki Monastery can say that I am building, by giving property, four apartment buildings or I don’t know how many apartments for free accommodation of students from the countryside. Maybe this is the opportunity to look at this matter. I will propose this matter to the Synod”the Archbishop said meaningfully.

Erdoğan’s visit to Greece

He praised the visit of the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, to Greece and his meeting with Kyriakos Mitsotakis. However, Mr. Ieronymos underlined that “I’m not naive and I’m afraid that there might be some other purpose behind it on the part of Turkey and something we don’t want will be imposed on us”he said characteristically.

Case “Ark of the World”

The case of the Ark of the World and Father Antonio was also mentioned by Archbishop Hieronymos. As noted by the head of the Hellenic Church, he had told Father Antonio that “his course is not correct”, before the complaints against him were made. However, as he said, he is waiting for the decisions of the Court. “He is my child, I cannot condemn him”he added.