Bishops’ Conference: Male clergy must work with women colleagues

Refusal to cooperate on theological grounds can lead to dismissal

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The Bishops’ Conference of the Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Church issued a statement on Wednesday according to which Lutheran clergy are not allowed to refuse to cooperate with a woman colleague.
      After years of controversy the Finnish Lutheran Church decided to allow the ordination of women in 1986. A clause was left in the controversial measure indicating that ministers who oppose the move on theological grounds would still be accepted in the church.
      Various models for implementing this conscience clause have led to problems in some parishes; to address the conflicts, the bishops of the church have said that if an opponent of women’s ordination refuses to officiate at a church service with a woman, for instance, he can be removed from his post.
      According to the Bishops’ Conference, attempts should first be made to resolve possible disputes by discussing them, and if this does not bring a solution, disciplinary action could follow.
     
At their meeting in Mikkeli the Lutheran bishops noted that refusal by a clergyman to cooperate with a female minister can lead to discrimination at the work place, because in such cases, the gender issue can have an effect on how work shifts are allocated.
      The bishops wanted to draw up a new set of guidelines, because in some parishes the issue has led to a deterioration of the work atmosphere. It has come out that there have been serious problems in about two percent of Lutheran parishes.
      About four percent of male clergy refuse to some degree to work with women colleagues, and two to three percent refuse all such cooperation. Although Finnish Lutheran women have been ordained for nearly 20 years now, it is considered unlikely that the conflicts will go away soon.
      Archbishop Jukka Paarma said that the matter cannot be handled through decrees. "I think that this will take quite a long time", he said.
      The bishops’ interpretation of the duties of parish personnel has also raised some criticism. The committee which drafted the report on the matter predicted that the final say might be in the hands of the courts.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Church committee: Male clergy must not refuse to work with women colleagues (12.9.2006)

Helsingin Sanomat