Protodeacon Kuraev called the Moscow swimming pool a "paradise for pedophiles"

Professor of the Moscow Theological Academy, Protodeacon Andrei Kuraev welcomes the idea of ​​holding a referendum on the construction of an outdoor swimming pool in Moscow, which was initiated by the organizer of the capital's gay pride parades Nikolai Alekseev on Friday.

“I really like the idea of ​​holding a referendum on the restoration of the Moscow swimming pool. I am ready to support it with only one addition: simultaneously with this referendum, let’s also hold a referendum on the abolition of criminal penalties for homosexuality. If, under these conditions, Mr. Alekseev agrees to listen to the voice of the people , then I’m not against it at all,” Father Andrei told Interfax .

He said that he remembers very well what the Moscow swimming pool was like during the Soviet years. “It was a paradise for Moscow pedophiles. Well, how can it be - a public swimming pool, where there are naked kids in the locker room! I always had to follow the rules of caution there: I had to catch too many unpleasant looks on myself in the shower,” added the archdeacon.

Therefore, he believes, if such a referendum is to be held, then “it will probably be necessary to immediately clearly think through the rules for the safety of visitors, especially children, from pedophiles.”

Commenting on Nikolai Alekseev’s words that the Cathedral of Christ the Savior is of little use, Kuraev noted that many “are very hasty in judging by themselves what someone needs and what they don’t.” “In the end, it is clear that Spartak fans do not need the Dynamo stadium. It may well be that supporters of powerlifting consider the existence of the Bolshoi Theater to be some kind of excess. But this means that you should simply unlearn how to speak on behalf of everyone, no one needs it ", he believes.

Speaking about Alekseev, Father Andrei called it significant that “a person who, of course, considers himself the bearer of very liberal views, nevertheless readily utters this kind of speech.”

The initiator of the Moscow gay pride parades, Nikolai Alekseev, on Friday proposed holding a referendum on the restoration of the Moscow swimming pool, on the site of which the Cathedral of Christ the Savior is currently located. “The Moscow pool is a historical reality, it cannot be ignored, it’s the same as erasing 70 years of Soviet power from our lives,” Alekseev said on Friday.

“Have you built a temple? Then return the pool to another location. We intend to organize a referendum in Moscow on this issue. The law allows this,” he noted.