2010

• October 2010 : The Civil union Law

The issue of the rights of homosexuals in the Lutheran Church was discussed in a TV panel. The audience’s main impression was that the Church does not approve homosexuals. As a consequence almost 40,000 people resigned the Church in a month which was more than ever before in a one-month period.
In November 2010, The General Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland approved basic principles of the Church on the consequences of the Act of Registered Partnerships. According to the resolution, the Bishops’ Conference was given the task to formulate pastoral guidelines for a free-form prayer or intercession with and for those persons who have registered their partnership. Free-form prayer does not equal blessing the same-sex relationship. It does not establish a new liturgical rite to the Hand Book. The proposed resolution was passed with a simple majority vote as the proposal was understood to bring no chances to the Church Doctrine.