Vicar’s Sex Change Prompts Parish Exodus

Members of a Lutheran parish in eastern Finland are leaving in droves after their vicar returned following gender re-assignment surgery.

A year ago, Olli Aalto, then 54, who had served as the Lutheran Vicar of Imatra for 22 years, announced he would take a leave of absence for the procedure. The vicar returned in November as Marja-Sisko Aalto. Since returning she has not been asked to perform any baptisms or weddings, and only one funeral, according to a story in the Helsingin Sanomat. On average, about 150 people leave the parish per year, out of a membership of about 23,000. In 2009, that number shot up to 580, and the main reason is believed to be the controversy surrounding the vicar’s gender identity. “I am terribly sad,” said Vicar Aalto. “because I do not understand that I have done anything wrong.” Her superior, Seppo Hakkinen, the Bishop of Mikkeli, supports her decision. He said he has heard criticism both from those who say the church has been too intolerant, and those who say it has been too liberal. “It speaks of the dilemma facing the church,” Hakkinen said. “No matter what you do, you’re always doing something wrong.” While there have been no outright calls for her to resign, Aalto said there have been some “whisperings,” but that she has no plans to resign. “It would set a very sad precedent,” she said.