Greek government says it stands by same-sex marriage pledge even after opposition from the Church

ATHENS, Greece -- Greece's center-right government said Thursday it would fulfill a commitment to legalize same-sex marriage, sidestepping staunch opposition from the country's influential Orthodox Church.

The legislation would be brought to parliament during the house's current term, which ends in 2027, said government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis.

The statement comes after the Church's governing Holy Synod issued a 1,500-word opinion late Wednesday, expressing strong opposition to the proposal. The Church's main argument centered around the issue of raising children, claiming they are being treated as "accessories" and "companion pets" for gay couples.

"We always listen to the opinions of the Church with respect," Marinakis said. "But at the same time, we are implementing our policy, and will listen to the views of society, civil society, the citizenry, institutions, and parties in total."

The Church argues that extending marriage rights would create a legal obligation to eventually follow up with parental rights under international rights obligations that Greece has signed up to.

"The position of the Church of Greece remains that children have an innate need and therefore a right to grow up with a male father and a female mother. No amount of social modernization and no amount of political correctness can bypass (this)," the Church circular said.

"Children are not companion pets for those who wish to feel like a guardian, and are not 'accessories' to formalize or make same-sex cohabitation socially acceptable," it added.

The comment drew widespread attention in the Greek news media.

Opinion polls suggest Greeks are evenly divided on the issue of same-sex marriage, but opposed to extending full parental rights to gay couples.

Same-sex marriage is legal in 34 countries globally, according to the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, a U.S. association created to monitor discrimination against LGBTQ+ people. None of the countries on that list are majority Orthodox Christian like Greece, although several have legalized civil partnerships in recent years.

Prominent members of Greece's governing conservatives have publicly expressed support as well as opposition to the government's commitment while left-wing and center-left opposition parties are generally supportive.

The country's left-wing opposition leader, Stefanos Kasselakis, married his male partner in New York in October, several weeks after winning a party leadership election.

Greece legalized same-sex civil partnerships in 2015.