It was in December 2019 that the Luleå Diocese's chapter decided that a priest should no longer be a priest, after condemning gay, bisexual, transsexual and queer people during a confirmation camp last summer.

Unusual decision

According to the chapter, the indebtedness of homosexuals was a violation of the vowing pledge and against the 2005 church meeting decision on the issue and therefore the unusual decision was made.

The Swedish Church Board of Appeal now writes in its decision that within the Church of Sweden there is no one for all the current attitude about same-sex relationships, LGBTQ issues or about creation and evolutionary theory. And the board therefore believes that the priest's statement on these issues does not contradict the beliefs and teachings of the Swedish Church.

Nor can their statement be considered to mean that the priest has broken the vow to follow the order of the Church of Sweden.

Poorly prepared

That the priest in his teaching expressed his personal views on, among other things, homosexuality, sees the Swedish Church Appeals Board as a deficiency in the priest's preparations for the confirmation camp. That they have not been prepared for questions from the Confirmants and also not be able to give an educational account of the attitude of the Swedish Church in the questions.

The Board of Appeal does not consider that the pastor's statement in the teaching situation of the Confirmers can be considered to have damaged the reputation a priest should have according to the church ordinance. The Board cancels the Judgment Chapter's decision to cancel.