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Olav Fykse Tveit, Church of Norway's presiding bishop
“The church in Norway has caused LGBTQ+ people shame, great harm, and pain," presiding bishop Olav Fykse Tveitat said.
Norway's largest church has issued a formal apology for its past treatment of LGBTQ+ people.
In a speech Thursday at the London Pub in Oslo, a gay bar that was the target of a mass shooting in 2022, the Church of Norway's presiding bishop, Olav Fykse Tveitat, apologized to the LGBTQ+ community for “discrimination, unequal treatment, and harassment."
“In 2022, the bishops of the Church of Norway acknowledged that the institution we lead has caused suffering and pain to gay people. Some may think it’s too late, some may think it’s too early. We believe it’s right not to wait any longer," Fykse Tveitat said. “In recent years, we have had a number of meetings and conversations with queer people and their various interest organizations. It is heartening when those who previously felt condemned by the church have welcomed us with open arms. It is a grace."
“The church in Norway has caused LGBTQ+ people shame, great harm and pain," he continued. "This should never have happened and that is why I apologize today.”
Over 65 percent of Norway's residents belong to the evangelical Lutheran Church of Norway, according to a 2022 report from the U.S. State Department. The church previously described LGBTQ+ people as a “global social danger” in the 1950s, labeling them “perverse and despicable." Officials have shifted their stance in recent decades, allowing gay pastors since 2007 and same-sex weddings in their churches since 2017.
The London Pub and the Per pa hjornet, both popular LGBTQ+ bars, were the targets of a mass shooting early on the morning of June 25, 2022 that left two dead and 21 wounded. The attack came only hours before the city's Pride celebration was to take place, which was canceled out of concern for the safety of participants and the fear of additional attacks.
Fykse Tveitat added that the church's treatment of LGBTQ+ people has made them feel as if “there is no place for them. Some have renounced their church membership, and some say they have lost their faith. It has been a great strain for those affected and their family and friends," he said.
“Discrimination, unequal treatment, and harassment have led to queers feeling shame, as a result of a prevailing narrative of what love is right or wrong, and pressure from the church to hide or deny who they were,” Fykse Tveitat said. “God creates us all in his image, with the value and worth that entails. The Bible tells of people who met Jesus. He raised them up and showed us all what community is."
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