‘Pro-lifers’ in Norway must be spitting tacks over the fact that Church of Norway, which has historically been opposed to abortion, has apologised for its stance, and says it now believes abortion ‘promotes women’s health, safety and security’.

A recent statement from the church, headed by Bishop Helga Haugland Byfuglien, above, said:

When the law of self-determined abortion was dealt with and adopted in the 1970s, the church was a clear opponent of the changes that were introduced. Priests and others were strong and clear in their criticism of the law for the purpose of protecting the unborn life. Today, we realize that the church’s argumentation did not allow for a good dialogue. It’s time to create a new conversation climate. We want to contribute to that.

It added:

A society with legal access to abortion is a better society than a society without such access. It prevents illegal abortions and promotes women’s health, safety and security. It is not least evident in a global perspective. Internationally, we see that churches are still contributing to the burden of many pregnant women in vulnerable positions.

In Norway, abortion is legal through 12 weeks, and can be approved through 18 weeks if a woman files an application (most of which are approved).

The statement also said:

We acknowledge that the church has to a small extent taken over the situation that many pregnant women have been in, and has also failed to give credible expressions of understanding for women’s experience and the challenges women have experienced. On the contrary, the church, as an institution throughout history, has shown a lack of commitment to women’s liberation and rights. We are sorry. As a church we must change our way of talking about abortion and how we care for people who are affected.

American Catholic “pro-lifer” Cassy Fiano-Chesser, above, is appalled by the decision, and commented in the Live Action report:

The Church of Norway’s statement does acknowledge some legitimate wrongdoings – denying children born out of wedlock baptism, for example – and rectifying those wrongs is absolutely necessary. Women experiencing unplanned pregnancies need support, compassion, and love from their communities, especially their faith communities. But the Church of Norway does not need to apologize for being pro-life. If protecting all human life, including pre-born lives, is their priority, then they cannot support legalized abortion. Contrary to what abortion activists would have us all believe, legalizing abortion does not decrease abortion rates. It increases them, and laws that put restrictions on abortion save lives.

In 2015 Norway’s bishops gave the go-ahead to gay church marriages in a move campaigners described as “a historic breakthrough”.

The country’s 12 bishops voted to back the creation of a special liturgy for the marriage of same-sex couples, opening the way for the first gay church marriages within the next two years.

Said Sturla Stålsett, leader of the Open People’s Church, which has led the campaign for gay church marriage in Norway:

It is a historic breakthrough that a bishops’ meeting unanimously recommends equal marriage in church.

Bishop Byfuglien, head (preses) of the Norwegian Bishops’ Conference, added:

A united bishop’ meeting has approved the drawing up of liturgies for marrying same sex couples. This is a very important day for the church.

Norway’s 2008 marriage law gave gay couples the right to marry in the same way as heterosexual couples, but left it up to the church to develop a liturgy, which it had since refused to do until 2015.

Despite progressive moves made by the church, in 2016 it lost almost 25,000 members in just one month. The church said that those who quit used a new web page that was launched on August 12th as a way to allow people to verify their status within the church but also to easily withdraw. Only 1,177 people used the new digital solution to join the church.