Romania's Orthodox Church publishes "pastoral recommendations for a responsible and fair vote"

The Orthodox Church, one of the most trusted public institutions in Romania, has issued ten recommendations that it advises its believers to follow in voting their representatives in the Parliament at the general elections on December 6.

"The Romanian Orthodox Church encourages the participation of believers in the social life of the community, including by expressing the right and responsible vote for the election of its representatives in state legislative forums, while recommending consideration of the country's good and promoting Christian values in society," reads the Church's pastoral recommendation.

While the Holy Synod mentions that the Romanian Orthodox Church doesn't recommend supporting a certain political party or ideology, it urges citizens to "makes choices based on criteria aimed at achieving the country's good and promoting Christian values in society."

"In this sense, for the assessment of the candidates in this year's parliamentary elections, we recommend to our Church's believers the following ten guiding criteria:

I. showing faith in God and responsibility towards the community;

II. defense of religious freedom and support for the Church's spiritual and social activities;

III. respect for the human person and promoting the culture of life: promoting the traditional, natural family, made up of man and woman, meant to conceive other lives; implementation of policies against abortion, euthanasia, human embryo research, cloning;

IV. promoting a comprehensive national education that combines intellectual knowledge with moral and spiritual formation;

V. defending and promoting the physical, mental, and moral/spiritual health of the Romanian people;

VI. poverty reduction, economic development and population growth of Romania;

VII. defending and promoting the national cultural and spiritual heritage;

VIII. the protection of natural resources, protection of the environment, and development of agriculture, as bases of responsibility for the present and future generations;