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In the spring, Pastor Bjarne Gustad will not be able to have the confirmation teaching in Kautokeino, following a controversial address to this year’s confirmants.
– It was a difficult decision, because priests have great freedom, but when there were so many reactions from across the country, I thought it was the right thing to do, says the bishop of the diocese of Nord-Hålogaland, Olav Øygard.
The reprimands were broadcast
Parish priest Bjarne Gustad’s sermon to the confirmands at Máze Church in Finnmark this fall created a stir outside the church hall.
Due to the crown measures, there were restrictions on how many people could attend the church and therefore the session was streamed online. This meant that thousands of Norwegians received Gustad’s warnings about guilt and shame in relation to abortion, homosexuality and gender change surgery.
– Usually when a priest gives a sermon, there is not such a large audience, but now people can listen to it online and also come in later to hear it. Then it became very special, says Bishop Øygard.
– Do you think what he says is more correct, if not so many people listen to the sermon?
– No, it will not be more accurate, but it will have greater consequences when so many people listen. But it is not better.
This is the sermon that has led Gustad to no longer be allowed to have confirmatory teaching. The recording was made by Guovdageainnu lagasradio (GLR) and edited by NRK.
Humble but upright
Now Kautokeino’s pastor, Egil Lønmo, will take over the confirmation teaching next year. Lønmo is known to be much more liberal than Gustad and, according to the newspaper, Sagat has said that he is willing to marry homosexuals if they ask him to.
Gustad says he’s not particularly surprised by the degradation, but he still doesn’t think it’s nice to be in that place.
– In a way, it’s humiliating. But I can’t go around thinking about that. I must handle my responsibilities as a priest, as I believe it is correct. And it’s important to me to speak the words of the Bible from A to Z.
– Do you take any self-criticism in hindsight?
– You should always be open to the fact that you are not perfect and maybe there are formulations that could have been different. But overall, I stick with what I said, says Gustad.
Painful sermon
Olav Øygard disagrees with Gustad. He believes that the way the pastor delivered his speech could be seen as an additional burden on developing youth.
– It’s okay to take it as a topic, but it hurts when said in that context, with a solid point of view.
The bishop of the diocese of Nord-Hålogaland, Olav Øygard, had to act after the parish priest’s address to the confirmands in Máze was condemned throughout Norway.
Photograph: Rune Nordgård Andreassen / NRK
– When things are said from the pulpit, it can feel like it is addressed to you personally and can be experienced as criticism. Although that was not the intention at all, Øygard says.
Does not scare the young
Gustad believes that he does not scare the youth out of the church with his style.
– I think the exact opposite happens. Young people are much tougher than we think, but they must listen to a clear speech.
Although he will not be allowed to teach next year’s confirmed, Gustad will continue his work in the Kautokeino municipality, where he has served as a priest for the past ten years.
– Everything will be fine. Much of the criticism comes from abroad. Some people at Kautokeino probably think I was too bold, but most people probably think I was pretty ordinary, Gustad says.
– Fortunately, we have a wide range in the Church of Norway, but I probably think that when it comes to the position on gay cohabitation, there is no doubt that Gustad is in the minority.
– But it is a completely acceptable position anyway, says Olav Øygard.
