BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (AP) – A big billboard of Pope Francis hangs over the center of Slovakia’s capital, urging citizens to vote “Yes” in a referendum on restricting gay rights.
The vote this weekend in this predominantly Roman Catholic nation – which follows a similar one that succeeded in Croatia in 2013 – points to a cultural divide within the European Union in which more established western members are rapidly granting new rights to gays, while eastern newcomers entrench conservative attitudes toward LGBT people.
Last year, Britain became the latest EU nation to legalize gay marriage, joining nine others – all in the bloc’s west. Meanwhile, Croatia, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia in the EU’s east all have enacted constitutional bans on gay marriage.
In Saturday’s vote, Slovaks will be asked whether they agree to three points: that marriage can only be called a union between man and woman; that same-sex partners must be barred from adopting children; and that it’s up to parents to decide whether their children receive sex education. While the constitution already defines marriage as between man and woman, the campaigners decided it was important to include the question in the referendum to reinforce traditional family values.
Slovakia’s anti-gay marriage movement has received massive support from the Catholic Church – and Francis this week even gave his blessing to the referendum in an address on St. Peter’s Square. A conservative group, the Alliance for Family, forced the Slovakian vote by gathering more than 400,000 signatures, well above the required 350,000.