Protests as priests read sermon against abortion

A group of unknown individuals daubed red paint on the door of a Greek Orthodox Church building in Patra, southwestern Greece on Thursday, protesting the instruction given to priests to preach against abortion. Numerous civic groups scheduled protests around the country to protest the sermon.

According to state-run broadcaster ERT, the protesters in Patra painted the slogan “Legal and free abortions” at the entrance of the Nikomedio Spiritual Center, located on Votsi Street.

A circular of the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece “on the protection of human life and the avoidance of abortion” was read out in all the Churches of the country on Thursday. It lamented, among other things, the social concepts that leave the embryo unprotected, “depriving it of the privilege of life.”

“There is jurisprudence that legally shields abortions, but not the right of the embryo to life,” it said.