First of all, our thoughts go to the victims and the tens of thousands of people affected by these historic floods, which are still threatening and disrupting lives in the Balkans. It was crazy to hear, however, that the Eurovision winner was blamed for the deluge!

“The Economist” writes that Irinej, the patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church, used the floods to attack the country’s lesbian and gay community as well as Conchita Wurst , claiming that the floods were “divine punishment for their vices”. The patriarch is also quoted saying that “God is thus washing Serbia of its sins”.

According to telegraf.rs, Amfilohije, the patriarch of Montenegro, joined the blaming game, saying that people should repent and repel the “Jesus-like figure” of Conchita Wurst. Website e.novine.com quotes the same priest as saying, “This [flood] is not a coincidence, but a warning. God sent the rains as a reminder that people should not join the wild side”.

We know that after each natural disaster, there will be religious nutters that will blame the gays for it, but this simply takes the cake. Austria wins Eurovision, and God decides to punish Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina? That sounds like just punishment indeed…

What do you make of this outrageous claim?

Photo: Andres Putting (EBU)