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Amid red stage curtains at a well-known Oslo location for LGBTQ+ gatherings, the Church of Norway offered an apology for harm and unequal treatment it had inflicted.

“The church in Norway has brought the LGBTQ+ community harm, suffering and humiliation,” the lead bishop, Bishop Tveit, declared on Thursday. “This ought not to have occurred and this is why I offer my apology now.”

The “discrimination, unequal treatment and harassment” resulted in a loss of faith for some, Tveit acknowledged. A church service at Oslo Cathedral was scheduled to follow his apology.

This formal apology was delivered at the London Pub, a bar that was one of two involved in the 2022 violent incident that took two lives and left nine seriously injured throughout the Oslo Pride festivities. A Norwegian citizen originally from Iran, who had pledged allegiance to Islamic State, was sentenced to a minimum of three decades behind bars for carrying out the attacks.

Like many religions around the world, Norway's church – a Protestant Lutheran denomination that is the most extensive faith community in the country – for years sidelined LGBTQ+ people, denying them the opportunity from joining the clergy or to have church weddings. During the 1950s, church leaders described gay people as a “social danger of global proportions”.

Yet, with Norwegian society turning more progressive, becoming the second in the world to allow same-sex registered partnerships during 1993 and in 2009 the initial Nordic nation to legalize same-sex marriage, the church slowly followed.

Back in 2007, the Norwegian Lutheran Church commenced the ordination of homosexual ministers, and gay and lesbian couples were permitted to get married in religious ceremonies starting in 2017. During 2023, Tveit participated in the Oslo Pride event in what was described as a first for the church.

The Thursday statement of regret elicited differing opinions. The head of a network of Christian lesbians in Norway, Pedersen-Eriksen, a lesbian minister herself, described it as “a significant step toward healing” and an occasion that “signaled the conclusion of a difficult period in the history of the church”.

As stated by Stephen Adom, the leader of the Norwegian Association for Gender and Sexual Diversity, the apology was “meaningful and vital” but was delivered “not in time for those among us who died of Aids … carrying heavy hearts because the church considered the crisis as divine punishment”.

Globally, a few churches have sought to make amends for their actions towards LGBTQ+ people. During 2023, the Anglican Church expressed regret for what it referred to as “disgraceful” conduct, although it continues to refuse to permit gay marriages in church.

Similarly, Ireland's Methodist Church the previous year issued an apology for “shortcomings in pastoral care and support” to LGBTQ+ people and family members, but stayed firm in its belief that matrimony must only constitute a bond between male and female.

Several months ago, the United Church based in Canada offered an apology toward Two-Spirit and LGBTQIA+ individuals, describing it as a confirmation of the church's “dedication to welcoming all and full inclusion” throughout every area of church life.

“We have failed to honor and appreciate all of your beautiful creation,” Reverend Blair, the top administrative leader of the church, stated. “We caused pain to people rather than pursuing healing. We express our regret.”