Christian Democrats Chair: Party Not Involved in Anti-Gay Campaig
28/03/2011
Submitted by
ILGA-Europe
Original source: http://www.yle.fi/uutiset/news/20...ed_in_anti-gay_campaign_2468414.html
The leader of the Christian Democrats of Finland, Päivi Räsänen, declares that her party had nothing whatsoever to do with the anti-homosexuality campaign that caused much controversy last week.
Räsänen denies allegations that the Christian Democrats were at the root of the campaign.
According to Räsänen, the campaign was a purely spiritual rather than a political affair. She says her party cannot have any position on the issue.
"I had not known anything about the campaign before it was launched,” she says.
Räsänen has also expressed surprise at the other politicians’ tough stances on the campaign. She particularly mentions statements by Minister for Culture and Sport Stephen Wallin, whose responsibilities include youth affairs.
“I am surprised that numerous other politicians have taken a strong stand in condemning the campaign which focuses on one individual’s personal life experiences,” Päivi Räsänen says.
The campaign by several Christian organisations to warn young people against homosexuality, launched last Monday and concluded over the weekend, featured the story of a girl whose faith helped her to stop being bisexual. The campaign caused a public outcry, with thousands resigning from church and the Archbishop of Finland's dominant Evangelical Lutheran church expressing his strong disapproval.
YLE
The leader of the Christian Democrats of Finland, Päivi Räsänen, declares that her party had nothing whatsoever to do with the anti-homosexuality campaign that caused much controversy last week.
Räsänen denies allegations that the Christian Democrats were at the root of the campaign.
According to Räsänen, the campaign was a purely spiritual rather than a political affair. She says her party cannot have any position on the issue.
"I had not known anything about the campaign before it was launched,” she says.
Räsänen has also expressed surprise at the other politicians’ tough stances on the campaign. She particularly mentions statements by Minister for Culture and Sport Stephen Wallin, whose responsibilities include youth affairs.
“I am surprised that numerous other politicians have taken a strong stand in condemning the campaign which focuses on one individual’s personal life experiences,” Päivi Räsänen says.
The campaign by several Christian organisations to warn young people against homosexuality, launched last Monday and concluded over the weekend, featured the story of a girl whose faith helped her to stop being bisexual. The campaign caused a public outcry, with thousands resigning from church and the Archbishop of Finland's dominant Evangelical Lutheran church expressing his strong disapproval.
YLE
