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Against deep red curtains at a well-known Oslo location for LGBTQ+ gatherings, Norway's national church expressed regret for hurtful actions and exclusion perpetrated over the years.

“The church in Norway has caused the LGBTQ+ community pain, shame and significant harm,” the lead bishop, Olav Fykse Tveit, stated on Thursday. “It was wrong for this to take place and this is why I apologise today.”

The “discrimination, unequal treatment and harassment” led to a loss of faith for some, Tveit recognized. A worship service at the cathedral in Oslo was arranged to come after the apology.

This formal apology occurred at a venue called London Pub, one of two bars attacked during the 2022 attack that resulted in two deaths and injured nine people severely during Oslo’s Pride celebrations. A Norwegian citizen originally from Iran, who had pledged allegiance to Islamic State, received a sentence to a minimum of three decades in incarceration for the murders.

Similar to numerous global faiths, Norway's church – a Lutheran evangelical community that is Norway’s largest faith community – historically excluded LGBTQ+ people, denying them the opportunity from joining the clergy or from marrying in religious ceremonies. During the 1950s, church leaders described gay people as “a global-scale societal hazard”.

Yet, with Norwegian society turning more progressive, ranking as the second globally to permit registered partnerships for same-sex couples during 1993 and in 2009 the initial Nordic nation to allow same-sex marriage, the religious institution eventually adapted.

Back in 2007, the Church of Norway commenced the ordination of homosexual ministers, and gay and lesbian couples could get married in religious ceremonies since 2017. In 2023, the bishop took part in the Oslo Pride event in what was described as a first for the church.

Thursday’s apology elicited differing opinions. The leader of an organization of Christian lesbians in Norway, Hanne Marie, herself a gay pastor, called it “a significant step toward healing” and an occasion that “finally marked the end of a painful era within the church's past”.

For Stephen Adom, the director of the Norwegian Association for Gender and Sexual Diversity, the apology represented “meaningful and vital” but was delivered “too late for those who lost their lives to AIDS … with deep sorrow in their hearts because the church considered the epidemic to be God’s punishment”.

Worldwide, several faith-based organizations have attempted to offer apologies for their actions concerning the LGBTQ+ community. During 2023, the Anglican Church said sorry for what it characterized as “disgraceful” conduct, though it persists in refusing to authorize same-sex weddings within the church.

Similarly, the Methodist Church located in Ireland last year apologised for “inadequate pastoral assistance and care” toward LGBTQ+ individuals and family members, but held fast in the view that marriage could only be a union between a man and a woman.

Several months ago, Canada's United Church issued an apology to Two-Spirit and LGBTQIA+ groups, characterizing it as a confirmation of the church's “dedication to welcoming all and full inclusion” in every part of the church's activities.

“We have failed to honor and appreciate all of your beautiful creation,” Reverend Blair, the church's general secretary, remarked. “We have wounded people rather than pursuing healing. We are sorry.”