Gay marriage and blessings of registered same-sex partnerships are a much debated issue in many places. This is the case also in Finland and within the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland. No end to the debate is yet in sight; no cooling of tempers either. Rabid arguments have been used on both side of the argument - along with civilized "agree-to-disagree" -type situations, I hasten to add. Last week, the Finnish church paper Kotimaa (the name means "home country", "fatherland") published the news that two female ELCF pastors from southern Finland have registered their partnership. As such, this is legal, of course. It has even (reportedly) been done once before, last year. In addition to two pastors registering their relationship, there are pastors living in registered partnerships with laymen in at least four of the nine ELCF dioceses, Kotimaa writes without specifying. I myself have heard of cases in the diocese of Helsinki and in my own diocese, Porvoo, but surely there are many more.
Nobody can deny two adult citizens of the Republic of Finland to do this, and the legality won't be an issue. What can and will be argued, however, is whether this really is something Lutheran pastors should do - i.e., whether homosexuals should be allowed to become or to remain pastors. Some bishops have refused to ordain openly homosexual theologians; some haven't refused, but demanded that the gay pastors be discreet about their sexuality. The two ladies now in question say to Kotimaa:
A support group (in Finnish) has been founded on Facebook. At the moment, it has over 500 members. I wish the loving couple all the best! May God richly bless you!
Nobody can deny two adult citizens of the Republic of Finland to do this, and the legality won't be an issue. What can and will be argued, however, is whether this really is something Lutheran pastors should do - i.e., whether homosexuals should be allowed to become or to remain pastors. Some bishops have refused to ordain openly homosexual theologians; some haven't refused, but demanded that the gay pastors be discreet about their sexuality. The two ladies now in question say to Kotimaa:
"We don't want our names or our home city published. Our mental resources are such at the moment, that we don't want to appear in front of the media with our names. There has been that much gossiping and smearing in our parish."I can understand and respect the need of discretion, but I lament it. What should by rights be a happy time in the life of two loving people, has to be kept under wraps. Gossiping is born from the need for secrecy and smearing from intolerance - and neither should have any place in a Christian community. But, alas, we Christians are only human, not angels...
A support group (in Finnish) has been founded on Facebook. At the moment, it has over 500 members. I wish the loving couple all the best! May God richly bless you!
Kaksi pappia rekisteröi parisuhteensa (Kotimaa 25.8.08)
Kotimaa: Kaksi pappia rekisteröi parisuhteensa (ranneliike.net, starting 26.8.08)
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