The Cathedral Chapter of the Espoo Diocese of the Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Church on Monday rejected complaints submitted to it against Lutheran minister Liisa Tuovinen for officiating at a moment of prayer held on behalf of a female couple in July. The event was held at a parish camp centre in Espoo.
The cathedral chapters rule on complaints made against clergy on deviating from the teachings of the Lutheran Church.
In its ruling, the Cathedral Chapter said that Tuovinen had acted in accordance with decisions made by the church.
Tuovinen herself welcomed the decision.
“It is a victory for the Church and for humanity. In addition to their having the right to a couple relationship and a family, sexual minorities need to be full-fledged members of the church. Now we will wait to see when an official formula for a blessing comes from the church”, Tuovinen says.
Tuovinen says that since the event, she has received mail, ranging from serious deliberation over interpretations of the Bible to anonymous wishes that she might go straight to hell. She says that she will continue to hold prayer events for same-sex couples.
“I have a sense of relief, now that the reasons why I acted in this way have been accepted. it is also wonderful from the point of view of these people. It is now much easier to breathe”, Tuovinen says.
