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SAME-SEX MARRIAGE

Oslo bishop – ‘I will not marry same-sex couples’

Per Arne Dahl, the newest of Oslo’s 12 bishops, told the Norwegian newspaper, Tønsbergs Blad on Monday, that he would not officiate at gay or lesbian weddings.

Oslo bishop - ‘I will not marry same-sex couples’
Per Arne Dahl. Photo: Trond Reidat Teigen / NTB Scanpix

Dahl had previously refused to offer a clear stand on the issue and his sudden decision to make a stance came on the same day as the news that the bishop would ordain the lesbian pastor Hanne Marie Pedersen-Eriksen, after she won a temporary post at the historic Norderhov Church in Buskerud.

“It’s nothing new that I stand for the classic view on marriage as a relationship between a man and a woman,” Dahl told Tønsbergs Blad.

He said he did, however, want to “contribute” towards a “worthy” service for same-sex couples who marry outside the church under Norwegian law and seek the church’s blessing.

He told Tønsbergs Blad that “we must respect that those of us in the church have two views” on the issue, but he does not want those conflicting views to “create a schism.”

“I am very disappointed,” Torbjørn Steen-Karlsen, leader of LLH, the national organization representing gay, lesbian and transgender Norwegians, told Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK). “I thought Dahl was a man of the future, but I was very mistaken. I don’t think this is worthy of the church in 2015.”

Dahl is the author of more than a dozen books and had often appeared on national TV and radio.

SAME-SEX MARRIAGE

Same-sex couples can marry from July 1st in Switzerland

Same-sex couples will be permitted to get married in Switzerland on July 1st, 2022, nine months after a historic referendum.

Two grooms in suits with red heart balloons stand in front of a large heart which reads 'Same love, same rights' in German. Photo: Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP
Two grooms in suits with red heart balloons stand in front of a large heart which reads 'Same love, same rights' in German. Photo: Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP

On September 26th, 2021, Switzerland voted to legalise same-sex marriage, becoming one of the last countries in western Europe to do so. 

Nine months after the vote, the “marriage for all” law will enter into force as of July 1st, 2022, the Federal Council announced.

From this date on, gay couples will be able to marry, though the preparatory procedure for marriage can be started before this date.

Same-sex couples will also be able to convert their registered partnership into marriage: a simple joint declaration to a civil status officer will suffice to convert a current partnership.

READ MORE:UPDATE: Swiss voters say big ‘yes’ to same-sex marriage

This law will be enacted after 64 percent of Swiss voters backed the move in a September 26th nationwide referendum.

Lengthy battle

Switzerland decriminalised homosexuality in 1942, but numerous local and regional police forces continued to keep “gay registers”, some into the early 1990s.

Same-sex couples can already register a civil partnership, with around 700 established each year.

However, this status does not provide the same rights as marriage, including for obtaining citizenship and the joint adoption of children.

READ MORE: ‘Deviance and morality’: The history of the same-sex marriage movement in Switzerland

After years of debate and discussion, the Swiss parliament approved a bill last December allowing same-sex couples to marry in the country of 8.6 million people.

But it was challenged under Switzerland’s direct democracy system, with opponents gathering the 50,000 signatures needed to put the issue to a referendum.

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