OPINION (PNW) – The leader of a confessional Lutheran denomination in Finland was questioned by the police on 12 February about his responsibility in the distribution of “Male and Female He Created Them”, a 24-page booklet published back in 2004. Juhana Pohjola, Dean of the Evangelical Lutheran Mission Diocese of Finland and head of the group of churches’ publishing house, responded to police questions for five hours, as a part of a preliminary investigation of a case that also involves the author of the booklet, member of Parliament Päivi Räsänen.
“At the tactful and thorough interrogation, I said that I am, as the editor-in-chief, responsible for the publication and distribution of the booklet. I denied, however, being guilty of the crime of ethnic agitation” Pohjola said after the meeting with the police. “In my view, Mrs. Räsänen’s text is not defamatory or insulting to homosexuals.
In my answers, I showed that the booklet teaches in line with Christian anthropology that every person is precious as being created in the image of God, regardless of sexual orientation”, he added. “This does not mean, however, that people are not responsible before God for their way of life or moral choices. The homosexual lifestyle is contrary to God’s order of creation and a transgression against His will. READ MORE
