Church of Norway Issues Formal Apology to LGBTQ+ Community for ‘Harm, Shame and Suffering’

Set against red stage curtains at a well-known Oslo location for LGBTQ+ gatherings, the Norwegian Lutheran Church offered an apology for discrimination and harm perpetrated over the years.

“The church in Norway has brought LGBTQ+ people pain, shame and significant harm,” the lead bishop, the church leader, declared during a Thursday event. “It was wrong for this to take place and this is why today I say sorry.”

“Harassment, discrimination and unfair treatment” had caused some to lose their faith, the bishop admitted. A church service at the cathedral in Oslo was planned to take place after his statement.

This formal apology occurred at a venue called London Pub, one of two bars involved in the 2022 violent incident that resulted in two deaths and caused serious injuries to nine during Oslo’s Pride celebrations. A Norwegian of Iranian origin, who swore loyalty to Islamic State, was sentenced to a minimum of three decades behind bars for the murders.

In common with various worldwide religions, the Church of Norway – an evangelical Lutheran church that is the most extensive faith community in the country – historically excluded LGBTQ+ people, refusing to allow them from serving as pastors or to marry in church. Back in the 1950s, bishops of the church characterized LGBTQ+ persons as “a global-scale societal hazard”.

Yet, with Norwegian society turning more progressive, emerging as the world's second to permit registered partnerships for same-sex couples back in 1993 and in 2009 the first in Scandinavia to approve gay marriage, the church gradually changed.

During 2007, Norway's church commenced the ordination of LGBTQ+ clergy, and gay and lesbian couples have been able to have church weddings since 2017. During 2023, Tveit participated in the Oslo Pride event in what was described as a historic moment for the religious institution.

The Thursday statement of regret was met with varied responses. The leader of an organization of Christian lesbians in Norway, Hanne Marie, a lesbian minister herself, referred to it as “a crucial act of amends” and an occasion that “signaled the conclusion of a dark chapter in the history of the church”.

As stated by Stephen Adom, the head of the Norwegian Association for Gender and Sexual Diversity, the apology was “strong and important” but had come “overdue for individuals among us who died of Aids … carrying heavy hearts as the church regarded the epidemic as punishment from God”.

Globally, a few churches have sought to offer apologies for their past behavior towards LGBTQ+ people. In 2023, the Anglican Church apologised for what it characterized as “disgraceful” conduct, though it continues to refuse to authorize same-sex weddings within the church.

Likewise, Ireland's Methodist Church in the past year expressed regret for “shortcomings in pastoral care and support” to LGBTQ+ people and family members, but stayed firm in its conviction that matrimony must only constitute a partnership of one man and one woman.

In the early part of this year, the United Church based in Canada offered an apology to Two-Spirit and LGBTQIA+ groups, characterizing it as a confirmation of the church’s “commitment to radical hospitality and full inclusion” throughout every area of church life.

“We have failed to honor and appreciate the wonderful diversity of creation,” Michael Blair, the top administrative leader of the church, stated. “We caused pain to people instead of seeking wholeness. We apologize.”