Church of Norway Makes Apology to LGBTQ+ Community for ‘Pain, Shame and Significant Harm’
Against crimson theater drapes at one of Oslo’s most prominent LGBTQ+ spaces, the Norwegian Lutheran Church offered an apology for harm and unequal treatment caused by the church.
“The national church has caused LGBTQ+ people harm, suffering and humiliation,” the presiding bishop, Bishop Tveit, stated on Thursday. “This should never have happened and this is why I apologise today.”
The “discrimination, unequal treatment and harassment” resulted in a loss of faith for some, Tveit recognized. A worship service at the cathedral in Oslo was arranged to come after the apology.
The statement of regret took place at the London Pub establishment, one among two bars attacked during the 2022 shooting that resulted in two deaths and caused serious injuries to nine throughout the Oslo Pride festivities. A Norwegian of Iranian origin, who expressed support for ISIS, was sentenced to no less than 30 years in incarceration for the murders.
Similar to numerous global faiths, the Norwegian Lutheran Church – a Protestant Lutheran denomination that is the biggest religious group in Norway – had long marginalised the LGBTQ+ community, denying them the opportunity from joining the clergy or from marrying in religious ceremonies. In the 1950s, church leaders referred to homosexual individuals as a “social danger of global proportions”.
Yet, with Norwegian society turning more progressive, ranking as the second globally to allow same-sex registered partnerships back in 1993 and by 2009 the first Scandinavian country to approve gay marriage, the religious institution eventually adapted.
Back in 2007, the Church of Norway began ordaining LGBTQ+ clergy, and LGBTQ+ partners have been able to get married in religious ceremonies from 2017 onward. During 2023, Tveit participated in Oslo’s Pride parade in what was noted as a historic moment for the religious institution.
Thursday’s apology received a mixed reaction. The leader of an organization of Christian lesbians in Norway, Pedersen-Eriksen, herself a gay pastor, referred to it as “a significant step toward healing” and a moment that “finally marked the end of a dark chapter in the history of the church”.
As stated by Stephen Adom, the leader of the Association for Gender and Sexual Diversity in Norway, the apology was “powerful and significant” but arrived “too late for those who passed away from AIDS … carrying heavy hearts because the church considered the crisis to be God’s punishment”.
Internationally, several faith-based organizations have sought to make amends for their actions towards LGBTQ+ people. Last year, the Church of England apologised for what it characterized as its “shameful” treatment, though it continues to refuse to permit gay marriages within the church.
In a similar vein, the Methodist Church in Ireland the previous year issued an apology for “shortcomings in pastoral care and support” toward LGBTQ+ individuals and their relatives, but remained staunch in the view that matrimony must only constitute a partnership of one man and one woman.
Earlier this year, the United Church based in Canada issued an apology toward Two-Spirit and LGBTQIA+ individuals, describing it as a confirmation of the church's “dedication to welcoming all and full inclusion” in every part of the church's activities.
“We did not manage to celebrate and delight in all of your beautiful creation,” Reverend Blair, the church's general secretary, remarked. “We have hurt individuals instead of seeking wholeness. We apologize.”
