The Romanian Patriarchate is calling on the Chamber of Deputies, the decision-making body in this case, to “once again reject” the legislative proposal on the regulation of the civil partnership, since this represents “an attack on the enduring value of the family and the identity thereof.”

The Romanian Patriarchate took this stance amid third-time attempts in recent years “to regulate the civil partnership, a bill which was every time massively rejected in Parliament.”

According to the cited source, “ever since the oldest times, the Romanian people have cultivated the legacy of utmost respect towards the family, called the Church at Home, being satisfied that this is instituted and blessed by God.”

The Romanian Patriarchate points out that both the Romanian Constitution (Art. 48), and the Civil Code (Art. 258), reflect the reality that the family is based on free consent marriage between a man and a woman, on their equality and the parents’ rights and duties to ensure the rearing, education and development of the children, and believes that these laws must be respected and implemented, “and that their importance should not be diminished through newly emerged institutions that lack tradition, but claim the rights that derive from marriage.”

“None of Romania’s international commitments compels the Romanian state to legislate relationships outside the family established by marriage between a man and a woman,” the cited source said.

The Romanian Patriarchate argues also that other states’ experience shows that “these civil partnerships are just an antechamber to accepting same-sex marriages,” Agerpres informs.

“The family is not just a set of state-acknowledged rights of the spouses, but also a social value that supports life and the continuity of a nation. Therefore, undermining the traditional family can only harm the common good of society,” the release states.

At the same time, according to the Patriarchate, “the adoption of the initiative on civil partnerships would generate negative effects on the healthy growth and development of children.”

On March 31, the Senators rejected the legislative proposal filed by independent deputy Remus Cernea on the regulation of the civil partnership.

The legislative proposal stipulates that the civil partnership is “a contract concluded free of all discrimination between two people who decide to live together based on mutual affection, respect and support and on equality of rights.”