Réunion (France): Religious representatives respond to LGBT associations
«We insist on reminding others that everyone of our religious confessions intends to respect the dignity of every human being without excluding anyone. In our respective religious traditions we affirm our fundamental attachment to love, to life and to its transmission for the future of humanity.»
It is by a joint letter that Gilbert Aubry, bishop of Réunion, Houssen Amode, president of the regional Council of the mussulman cult of Réunion and Daniel Minienpoulle, president of the Federation of associations and Hindu religious and cultural Tamul groups of Réunion, have responded to the letter sent at the end of November by LGBT Réunion, SOS Homophobia and The Refuge (read: Réunion elected officials called to condemn homophobia).
«FUNDAMENTAL ATTACHMENT»
The representative of the three solicited religions have therefore united to emphasize the right to dignity of everyone (LGBT people included), while slipping in the following sentence an implicit condemnation of sexual relations between people of the same sex, putting the accent on their «fundamental attachment» to the «transmission [of life] for the future of humanity.»
The associations have also sent this letter [IMAGE], in which they demanded a simple public condemnation of homophobia, to the local responsible politicians. To this day, they have only received one response. It comes from Jacqueline Farreyrol, UMP senator of Réunion and deputy mayor of Tampon. «You have managed, I believe, to notice my stand, last June in Congress, in favor of the proposal of the law introduced by M. Patrick Bloche, putting forward the opening of marriage to couples of the same sex», wrote the elected official. «Also, faithful to my convictions, I insist on assuring you that I, of course, declare myself to be against homophobia.»
Translated by Guy Estinvil, Chicago
The original article in French, on Yagg.
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