126 priests appeal: Do not want to be forced to marry same-sex couples

In an open letter to the church meeting, 126 priests write that they do not support the motion. It aims to make it clear that the Church of Sweden marries couples regardless of gender. The priests who are against the motion believe that the current version of the decision is sufficient.

According to the current decision from 2009, individual priests shall not be obliged to officiate at marriages of same-sex couples. Those who presented the motion believe that it is no longer possible to refer to the old decision not to marry same-sex couples and that the Church of Sweden should not reject couples due to sexual orientation.

The member, and one of the motioners for the proposal, Jesper Eneroth (S) believes that a refusal to marry same-sex couples is a treatment problem.

- If you end up in a situation where you as a priest treat someone in an incorrect way or do not stand up for this, then you cannot actually stand up for the duties that are included as a priest in the Church of Sweden, he says.

In the letter, the priests write that the view of marriage as something between a man and a woman does not make a priest less faithful to his mission. They emphasize that they stand in solidarity with colleagues who see it that way and that no one has the right to make their work more difficult by forcing them to perform a wedding. The letter writers believe that a forced marriage also affects same-sex couples, who cannot trust that the priest will marry them of their own free will.

- If it had been the case that the Church of Sweden had a main order for heterosexuals and a special order for homosexuals, then there would have been a kind of logic in that you could look at the issue differently. But the Church of Sweden has been very clear about establishing a gender-neutral marriage arrangement on Christian and theological grounds, says Jesper Eneroth.

The motion was formally rejected during the first church meeting, but the committee tasked the church board to produce a proposal in line with the motion's intentions by 2028 at the latest. Jesper Eneroth believes that the committee's decision in practice goes in the direction of the motion.

- I am happy that we look like, if this lasts all the way to the next church meeting, we will take an important step for the equal value of all people, he says.

In response to the letter in which 126 priests plead that the church meeting does not adopt the motion, 117 priests have written their own letter encouraging its adoption.

"We believe that it is a fundamental part of the church's timeless calling and mission to be an open and inclusive community for all people," the priests write in the response letter.

A decision on the motion will be made in mid-November during the second church meeting.