(LifeSiteNews) — The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has demanded that Poland recognize same-sex “marriage.”
In a November 25 ruling, the ECtHR announced that Poland must legally acknowledge so-called same-sex “marriages” performed in another European Union country, as part of the latest push to embed the LGBT ideology in Polish culture.
“A Member State has the obligation to recognise a marriage between two Union citizens of the same sex that has been lawfully concluded in another Member State where they have exercised their freedom to move and reside,” the ruling reads.
The ruling is in response to a 2018 case of two men who were civilly “married” in Berlin, Germany, and wished to return to Poland. Upon their return, Poland refused to recognize the same-sex “marriage,” prompting the men to seek legal action.
Poland’s national law prohibits same-sex “marriage,” defining marriage as a union exclusively between a man and a woman.
“Marriage, being a union of a man and a woman, as well as the family, motherhood and parenthood, shall be placed under the protection and care of the Republic of Poland,” Article 18 of the Polish Constitution declares.
However, the new ruling asserted that Poland’s refusal to recognize same-sex marriage infringes on “freedom to move and reside” as well as the “fundamental right to respect for private and family life.”
Currently, the ruling does not require Poland to legalize same-sex marriage domestically.
Polonia Christiana, a Polish Catholic newspaper, responded to the decision, saying, “The European courts continue their fight against family and marriage. They are particularly irritated by the situation in Poland, which has still not succumbed to the rainbow dictatorship. Hence another attempt to impose a law equating marriage with same-sex unions.”
Since EU-backed Prime Minister Donald Tusk took office in 2023, he has been pushing to enshrine the LGBT agenda in Polish law. Currently, LGBT activists in government are working to pass a bill which would grant same-sex cohabiting couples privileges reserved for married couples.
As LifeSiteNews previously reported, in 2024, Tusk sidestepped a parliamentary vote against legalizing abortion in order to allow doctors in Poland to kill unborn babies under broad medical guidelines, undermining the democratic process and the will of the Polish people.
At the same time, Catholic President Karol Nawrocki is pushing to maintain Poland’s socially conservative and family-orientated culture.
In October, Nawrocki signed into law the cancellation of personal income tax for parents who are raising two or more children, in an effort to support and encourage families and boost the economy.