Bishop Tor B: Pride 2022 — Dramatic Events in Oslo
- Tor Berger Jørgensen
- Jun 27, 2022
- 2 min read
Early Saturday morning a dramatic shooting incident took place in a gay bar in Oslo, named “London” (sic!) leaving two dead and over 20 wounded. There was planned a big Pride Parade for the first time in three years, due to covid restrictions the two previous years. Since the police (the Norwegian Police Security Service/PTS) did not have a clear picture of the culprit’s network, PTS recommended that the Pride Parade scheduled for Saturday afternoon be canceled. There was however, a strong felt need for the LGBT+ movement and their supporters to get together and show their feelings, their anger and their distress – and their commitment to keep the fight for equal rights and acceptance in Norwegian society.
The Chair of the Oslo City Council (Mr Raymond Johansen (Ap/Lab)) agreed with the organisers to arrange a more spontaneous and limited event in front of the Council Hall in Oslo. Many organisations and units in the City of Oslo joined this initiative, including the Church of Norway (Den norske kirke/DNK). As a former bishop in DNK, being an active participant in Pride Parades for over 10 years, I was asked to be present together with other representatives from DNK and other Christian traditions in Norway – and I had looked very much forward to being able to attend this meeting (some estimates said that there could be many 10,000nds…) especially since I was away Saturday.
But just when I started to leave for the City Centre of Oslo, I got the message that the police had decided to advice against also this demonstration. The security situation is still too unclear according to the explanation given by the police. The shooter is in custody, but he has so far not been willing to cooperate with the police. He is linked with radical islamistic groups.
A priest in DNK being active in the preparation for this year’s Pride Parade, Revd Petter Norman Dille (in the photo), expressed his frustration on TV 2 that there would be no coming together on the Town Hall Square tonight, but respected the decision made by the police, and at same time looking forward to a postponed Pride Parade in September.
As the bishop of the LCiGB I hope many members of the churches in the UK will see the importance in supporting Pride Parades in their local communities.
Let me also mention that The Islamic Council in Norway has publicly condemned his actions, and said that is not according to Islam’s teaching to kill innocent human beings. “No one knows better than Muslims how it feels to be stigmatised and exposed for hate crime and terrorist related attacks – and how much fear that creates among us. Consequently we have great empathy with queer community. Gay people, shall like all other members in our society, feel safe in Norway.”
+Tor B Jørgensen
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