Set against deep red curtains at a well-known Oslo location for LGBTQ+ gatherings, the Church of Norway issued a formal apology for discrimination and harm perpetrated over the years.
“The national church has brought LGBTQ+ individuals shame, great harm and pain,” the lead bishop, Bishop Tveit, stated during a Thursday event. “This ought not to have occurred and which is the reason I offer my apology now.”
The “discrimination, unequal treatment and harassment” resulted in some to lose their faith, the bishop admitted. A worship service at Oslo's main cathedral was scheduled to take place after his statement.
The statement of regret occurred at the London Pub, a bar that was one of two attacked during the 2022 attack that killed two people and left nine seriously injured during Oslo’s Pride celebrations. A Norwegian of Iranian origin, who had pledged allegiance to Islamic State, was given a prison term to a minimum of three decades behind bars for carrying out the attacks.
In common with various worldwide religions, Norway's church – a Lutheran evangelical community that is Norway’s largest faith community – had long marginalised LGBTQ+ people, denying them the opportunity from serving as pastors or to have church weddings. Back in the 1950s, bishops of the church described gay people as “a worldwide social threat”.
Yet, with Norwegian society turning more progressive, ranking as the second globally to allow same-sex registered partnerships in 1993 and in 2009 the initial Nordic nation to allow same-sex marriage, the church gradually changed.
In 2007, Norway's church started appointing homosexual ministers, and LGBTQ+ partners were permitted to marry in church from 2017 onward. In 2023, the bishop took part in the Oslo Pride event in what was noted as a historic moment for the religious institution.
The apology on Thursday received differing opinions. The head of a network representing Norwegian Christian lesbians, Pedersen-Eriksen, who is also a gay pastor, called it “a significant step toward healing” and a point in time that “represented the closure of a painful era in the history of the church”.
As stated by Stephen Adom, the head of Norway’s Association for Gender and Sexual Diversity, the statement was “meaningful and vital” but was delivered “not in time for those who passed away from AIDS … with deep sorrow in their hearts since the church viewed the crisis as punishment from God”.
Worldwide, a handful of religious institutions have tried to make amends for their actions regarding LGBTQ+ individuals. During 2023, the Church of England said sorry for what it referred to as “shameful” actions, though it still declines to permit gay marriages in religious settings.
Similarly, the Methodist Church in Ireland in the past year expressed regret for “shortcomings in pastoral care and support” toward LGBTQ+ individuals and their relatives, but remained staunch in its belief that matrimony must only constitute a bond between male and female.
Several months ago, Canada's United Church delivered a statement of regret to Two-Spirit and LGBTQIA+ groups, describing it as a confirmation of the church's “dedication to welcoming all and full inclusion” throughout every area of church life.
“We have not succeeded to celebrate and delight in the beauty of all creation,” Rev Michael Blair, the church's general secretary, said. “We have wounded people rather than pursuing healing. We are sorry.”
