Swedish Court Acquits Pastor Ake Green

From Focus on the Family Citizenlink

Swedish Court Acquits Pastor Ake Green
by Pete Winn, associate editor

SUMMARY: For the first time, a nation has passed judgment
on whether the Biblical position on homosexuality
constitutes hate speech.

In a 5-0 decision, the Swedish Supreme Court today
acquitted Pastor Ake Green of charges he committed a hate
crime by preaching a sermon that condemned homosexuality.

Per Karlsson, a member of the Swedish bar and adviser to
Pastor Green, told CitizenLink from Stockholm that the
court cleared the Pentecostal pastor because it chose not
to view his sermon as hate speech and because the European
Court for Human Rights in Strasbourg, France, would have
likely overturned Green's conviction and 30-day sentence
on charges he had agitated against a minority group.

"They looked into the details of his case, and looked at
his purpose -- and that was to explain his biblically
faithful view on the homosexual lifestyle," Karlsson said.

Green had called homosexuality "a cancer" on society, and
Karlsson said the judges determined there was nothing in
Swedish law to bar his prosecution for the statement, but
they also held that Swedish law has to correspond with the
European Convention on Human Rights -- which ultimately
protected Green.

"What the court looked into in this case was not really
whether he incited hate and violence, but whether he was
showing contempt to a group," Karlsson said. "Even though
he was using strong language, and he, in a sense, crossed
the line in accordance with the Swedish Criminal Provision
(criminal law), the court decided the Swedish Criminal
Provision could not be applied because that would be
violating the European Convention on Human Rights."

Green told Swedish news outlets he felt "relieved" by the
verdict and that he had been prepared either for acquittal
or going to jail.

"Hopefully, we now will feel more free to preach the Word
of God," he told Swedish television.

Green, however, does not intend to preach again about
homosexuality.

"Everyone knows where I stand on that question," he said.

The case drew international attention and Green has become
a hero to those fighting to protect religious freedom.

Benjamin Bull, chief counsel of the Alliance Defense Fund,
called the decision "a huge victory for religious liberty
everywhere."

"Voicing one's conscience is a fundamental human right,"
he said. "In this contest between religious freedom and
the radical homosexual agenda, religious freedom
prevailed.

"We can only hope this will deter other attempts to censor
Christian ministers from delivering Bible-based messages
against harmful homosexual conduct."

Jared Leland, spokesman for the Becket Fund for Religious
Liberty, said the issue before the Swedish high court was
neither homosexuality nor society's perception of
homosexual conduct.

"To muzzle a preacher and mute a religious message simply
because the expression is offensive to one, some or many
is a fundamental mistake concerning a fundamental right,"
Leland said, quoting from a brief his organization filed
with the Swedish court.

Leland, however, told CitizenLink that the question of
whether preaching from the pulpit on homosexuality
constitutes a hate crime isn't just a problem for far-away
Sweden. Canada is currently wrestling with it -- and the
United States is not immune.

In 2002, he said, Pennsylvania amended its hate-crimes
statute to include gender identity and sexual orientation.
The state also made "harassment by communication" a
criminal offense.

"One who is preaching about homosexual conduct, whether it
be to his congregation or to others that are willing to
listen," Leland said, "could conceivably be found guilty
under that hate-crimes statute of harassment by
communication."

Reaction in Green's homeland, meanwhile, was mixed.
Swedish media reported that one member of the Swedish
Parliament, who identified herself as a Christian, said
she believed Green "would probably go to hell when he
dies."

"That's where you go if you call yourself a Christian and
defy the Christian message of love," Liberal MP Birgitta
Rydberg said.

But the leader of Sweden's Christian Democratic Party,
Goran Hagglund, praised the court for its verdict, saying
that it's not the role of the courts to interpret the
Bible.

Swedish homosexual activists, meanwhile, indicated they
may seek a tougher law in shutting down "hate speech."

"People are saying that this amendment is useless, and
therefore they want to change the law," Karlsson said.
"But I don't think they will be successful in that."