Norwegian Church apologises to the LGBTQ community
The Norwegian Church issued an apology on Thursday to the LGBTQ community for the harm caused by years of discrimination by the church. The apology was made at the London Pub, one of two LGBTQ bars that came under fire during the Oslo Pride in 2022.
“The Norwegian Church has caused great shame, harm, and pain to LGBTQ+ people,” said Bishop Olav Fykse Tveit. “This should never have happened, and that is why I offer my sincere apologies today.”
Like many other religions, the Evangelical Lutheran Church marginalized LGBTQ+ people. They were not allowed to become priests or marry in the church. In the 1950s, the church described homosexuals as ‘socially dangerous’. “This caused many to lose their faith in the church,” the bishop admitted.
In 2007, the Norwegian Church began ordaining homosexual priests, and since 2017, same-sex couples have been able to marry within the church.
The bishop’s apology, delivered at the London Pub, was followed by a mass. Yet, the apology has been met with mixed reactions. Hanne Marle Pedersen-Eriksen, herself a lesbian priest and chair of the Network of Christian Lesbians in Norway, called the apology “an important act of restoration” and “a moment that closes a dark chapter in the church’s history.”
Stephen Adom, head of the Norwegian Association for Gender and Sexual Diversity, also welcomed the step but said it came “many years too late” for those who died of AIDS, “with hearts filled with sorrow and disgust because the church portrayed the epidemic as God’s punishment.”
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De Noorse kerk heeft donderdag haar excuses aangeboden aan de LGBTQ-gemeenschap voor de schade die is ontstaan door de jarenlange discriminatie van de gemeenschap door de kerk. Dat gebeurde in de London Pub, een van de twee LGBTQ-bars die in 2022 tijdens de Pride van Oslo onder vuur werden genomen. “De Noorse kerk heeft veel schaamte, grote schade en pijn veroorzaakt bij LGBTQ+ personen,” zei bisschop Olav Fykse Tveit. “Dit had nooit mogen gebeuren, en daarom bied ik vandaag mijn verontschuldigingen aan.” Net zoals bij vele andere religies marginaliseerde de evangelisch-lutherse kerk LGBTQ+ personen. Zo mochten ze geen priester worden...
Jeudi, l’Église norvégienne a présenté ses excuses à la communauté LGBTQ pour les dommages causés par des années de discrimination de la part de l’institution religieuse. L’annonce a eu lieu au London Pub, l’un des deux bars LGBTQ pris pour cible lors de la Pride d’Oslo en 2022. « L’Église norvégienne a causé beaucoup de honte, de souffrance et de douleur aux personnes LGBTQ+ », a déclaré l’évêque Olav Fykse Tveit. « Cela n’aurait jamais dû se produire, et c’est pourquoi je présente aujourd’hui mes excuses. » Comme de nombreuses autres religions, l’Église évangélique luthérienne a marginalisé les personnes LGBTQ+....
