Swedish Church Leaders will Apologize to the Sami Community

Church leaders in Sweden say they will apologize to that country’s Sámi community for centuries of mistreatment that contributed to what it describes as “legitimized repression”, according to Nunatsiaq News.

The apology comes after what has become a 10-year study of the Church of Sweden’s treatment of the Sámi throughout history, and is based in part on the findings of a two-volume publication, published in 2016, that details Sámi relations with the church.

Archbishop Antje Jackelén, the church’s leader, announced on Tuesday that the apology, which the church had been working on since last October, has now been approved by its governing authority.

The apology will be made twice: first during a church service on November, then again in October next year during a conference dealing with the church’s past treatment of the Sámi.