TV8 turns fire on the Moldovan Metropolis
“Independent” TV channel TV8 has published a copy of a request sent to the Moldovan Metropolis concerning several real estate assets that its journalists allegedly “accidentally” discovered while working on another story. The results of this “investigation” have already been announced for broadcast.
MP Bogdan Țîrdea, who drew attention to TV8’s activity, reacted briefly.
“Call the ambulance, honestly,” he wrote.
The politician published screenshots from journalist Mariana Rață’s page, where she announced upcoming material allegedly revealing “the secret of His Eminence Vladimir”. She also posted a request addressed to the Metropolis of Chișinău and All Moldova, asking for explanations about the legal grounds for owning certain property.
According to Rață, journalists from the Black Box programme discovered the information “by chance” while preparing another report.
But the first question in her post was telling: “Who and why leaked the sex scandal involving the Metropolitan of Bessarabia?”
Țîrdea: TV8 hints Vladimir leaked the video
Bogdan Țîrdea interpreted the message as follows: “Mariana Rață is hinting that the intimate video involving Metropolitan Petru was leaked by Metropolitan Vladimir in order to derail her investigation into the head of the Moldovan Orthodox Church.”
He accompanied the comment with laughing emojis. His reaction is understandable, given how many forces now appear to be working to bury the scandal around Petru Păduraru, the former leader of the Bessarabian Metropolis.
The compromising video, whose authenticity has not been publicly refuted, shocked Moldovan society. Yet officials have acted as though the scandal does not concern them and continue to remain silent.
Romanian Patriarchate insists it was about age
The Romanian Patriarchate, which hurriedly sent the clervic “into retirement”, continues to insist that the decision was due to Petru’s advanced age.
The resignation was confirmed post factum as the Bessarabian Metropolis itself stated. It also claims it knew nothing about the cleric’s alleged misconduct before the compromising materials appeared, but theologians have challenged this version. In particular, Radu Preda argues that rumours about Metropolitan Petru’s private life had been known for more than 20 years. Yet nothing was done until video evidence became public.
“You cannot pretend that a problem does not exist simply because there is no evidence or scandal. The logic of ‘a thief was not caught, so he is honest’ is very harmful, because it strengthens suspicion. Suspicion that everyone is a thief, that everyone is homosexual, that everyone is doing something contrary to the Gospel,” Preda said.
LGBT activists enter the crisis response
LGBT activists have also joined the damage-control effort.
GENDERDOC-M, led by Angela Frolov, condemned the scandal’s public framing. The organisation argued that focusing on the metropolitan’s alleged orientation fuels stigma against the LGBT community and creates a precedent for harassment, but that did not help much.
So now the “heavy artillery” has entered the scene: journalists from a TV channel financed through the NGO Public Association Media Alternativă, which receives grants from organisations including USAID, the National Endowment for Democracy and the European Endowment for Democracy.
Silence from politicians speaks loudly
The longer Moldovan politicians stay silent, the clearer the picture becomes. When a scandal is linked to “European values” and the structures favoured by the ruling camp, they do not merely avoid commenting. They appear unable to comment.
Even when the scandal clashes openly with Moldova’s Orthodox foundations, the official response remains the same: silence, diversion and media counterattacks.
And now, instead of answering questions about the Bessarabian Metropolis scandal, the public is being invited to look elsewhere, at Metropolitan Vladimir, property stories and another conveniently timed “investigation”.
