Church of Sweden: In the future, all priests will marry gay couples

Last Thursday week, Sweden Democratic politicians expressed support for priests of the Church of Sweden who refuse to marry same-sex couples. That was reported by Varlden Idag. The politicians did so after several bishops indicated that they would not ordain priests who are against gay marriages. “They should start their own little rainbow community”, the Sweden Democrats wrote in an opinion article in Expressen.

“Love is love”

Now, the bishops have responded to that statement. Sören Dalevis, Mikael Mogren and Andreas Holmberg argue in Expressen that same-sex marriage is not contrary to the Biblical teaching. They say, “God does not differentiate between people” and “love is love.”

They furthermore assert that their goal is that all priests in the Church of Sweden will marry same-sex couples. The bishops promise they will not force a priest to do so but that the goal remains standing. “Our common goal regarding weddings is that all priests happily and of their own free will marry couples of different sexes and couples of the same sex. This target image is a guide in our work with the admission of priest candidates and in our work with promotion and supervision in our respective dioceses”, the article reads.

To the statement that they should start their own rainbow community with a non-biblical view on marriage, the bishops responded with a question: “Why would we do that when the Church of Sweden is a biblically anchored and rooted in the Lutheran tradition church that consists of several million Swedes who in our difference and diversity are beautifully and infinitely loved by God?”