Finland, Supreme Court: Male clergy must work with female

[Ronja]

More good news! The church definitely has to obey secular law, at least in Finland - Supreme Court decision out today.

Source: http://translate.google.com/translate?j ... w53493.php
Original article in Swedish: http://www.hbl.fi/text/inrikes/2010/10/22/w53493.php

I have checked the machine translation, but do give a shout if something looks odd.

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SC: Male clergy must work with female
Posted: 22/10 08:38> Updated: 22/10 09:52

The Supreme Court [of Finland] has sentenced a male pastor to be fined for discrimination of a female priest.

The incident took place in Hyvinkää, Finland 2007, where the Lutheran Evangelical Association [a conservative splinter group inside the Evangelical Lutheran Church] celebrated a religious holiday in the church.

A male guest pastor refused to cooperate with the Assembly's female priest during communion. He referred to his religious convictions. The situation led to that the female priest left the church service.

The male pastor has been sentenced to a fine in all courts. This is the first time the Supreme Court rules in a similar case. The decision therefore means that in the future male priests must work with women.

HBL-FNB