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Against crimson theater drapes at a well-known Oslo location for LGBTQ+ gatherings, Norway's national church offered an apology for harm and unequal treatment caused by the church.

“The church in Norway has inflicted LGBTQ+ individuals pain, shame and significant harm,” bishop Olav Fykse Tveit, Olav Fykse Tveit, announced on Thursday. “This should never have happened and that is why I offer my apology now.”

“Harassment, discrimination and unfair treatment” had caused certain individuals abandoning their faith, the bishop admitted. A church service at the cathedral in Oslo was planned to take place after his statement.

The statement of regret occurred at the London Pub establishment, one of two bars targeted in the 2022 shooting that resulted in two deaths and caused serious injuries to nine throughout the Oslo Pride festivities. An individual of Iranian descent living in Norway, who swore loyalty to Islamic State, was given a prison term to no less than 30 years in incarceration for the murders.

In common with various worldwide religions, the Church of Norway – a Protestant Lutheran denomination that is Norway’s largest faith community – historically excluded LGBTQ+ people, denying them the opportunity from serving as pastors or to have church weddings. In the 1950s, church leaders described gay people as “a worldwide social threat”.

But as Norwegian society became increasingly liberal, emerging as the world's second to legalize same-sex partnerships during 1993 and by 2009 the first Scandinavian country to legalize same-sex marriage, the church slowly followed.

Back in 2007, the Church of Norway commenced the ordination of homosexual ministers, and LGBTQ+ partners have been able to get married in religious ceremonies starting in 2017. In 2023, Tveit joined in the Pride march in Oslo in what was described as an unprecedented step for the church.

The apology on Thursday was met with differing opinions. The director of a group of Christian lesbians in Norway, Pedersen-Eriksen, herself a gay pastor, called it “a crucial act of amends” and an occasion that “finally marked the end of a difficult period in the church’s history”.

As stated by Stephen Adom, the head of the Association for Gender and Sexual Diversity in Norway, the statement was “strong and important” but had come “not in time for those who lost their lives to AIDS … with deep sorrow in their hearts since the church viewed the epidemic to be God’s punishment”.

Internationally, a few churches have sought to make amends for their actions towards LGBTQ+ people. In 2023, the Anglican Church apologised for what it characterized as “disgraceful” conduct, though it continues to refuse to permit gay marriages in church.

In a similar vein, Ireland's Methodist Church in the past year issued an apology for “shortcomings in pastoral care and support” regarding the LGBTQ+ community and family members, but stayed firm in its conviction that matrimony must only constitute a bond between male and female.

Several months ago, the United Church of Canada issued an apology toward Two-Spirit and LGBTQIA+ individuals, labeling it a renewed commitment of the church's “dedication to welcoming all and full inclusion” throughout every area of church life.

“We have not succeeded to celebrate and delight in the beauty of all creation,” Michael Blair, the top administrative leader of the church, remarked. “We caused pain to people instead of seeking wholeness. We are sorry.”