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Tuesday October 26, 2010


Finland Court Fines Pastor for Refusing to Work with Female Minister

By Hilary White

October 26, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The Finnish Supreme Court has levied a €320 fine against a Christian pastor for his refusal to work with a female minister, calling it a case of “gender discrimination.”

Ari Norro is a minister of the Lutheran Evangelical Association of Finland and a member of the Lutheran Evangelical Association in Finland (LEAF), an association within the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland that does not accept the ordination of women.

In the spring of 2007, he was serving as guest pastor at a Sunday service at a church in Hyvinkää, southern Finland, one regularly served by Petra Pohjanraitio, a woman minister. Pohjanraitio had been scheduled to distribute communion; however, before the service, she was told by Norro that his apostolic beliefs prevented him from working with a woman pastor at the altar.

The Supreme Court decision follows two others from lower courts that ruled the church must abide by the same rules on “gender equality” as other workplaces.

“Actions determined by faith can’t lead to human rights breaches, such as gender-based discrimination,” the ruling stated.

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