Dean of Diocese to Preliminary Investigation by Police

Diocesan Dean Juhana Pohjola

The Rev. Dr. Juhana Pohjola (ThD), Dean of the Evangelical Lutheran Mission Diocese of Finland, has been summoned to the Helsinki Police Department for a preliminary investigation on 11 Feb. 2020. Pohjola is suspected of being guilty of incitement to hatred against a group.

The matter at hand is the preliminary investigation ordered on 31 Oct. 2019 by Ms Raija Toiviainen, Prosecutor General of Finland, regarding the publication of the Suomen Luther-säätiö [The Luther Foundation Finland] booklet entitled “Mieheksi ja naiseksi hän heidät loi – homosuhteet haastavat kristillisen ihmiskäsityksen [Male and Female He Created Them – Homosexual relationships challenge the Christian concept of humanity]”, written by Dr. Päivi Räsänen, Member of Parliament [MD], published 2004.

Dean Pohjola is the editor-in-chief of the Luther Foundation Finland’s publications and the webmaster of its site. In such capacity he is under suspicion for distributing this material to the public and for keeping this material available online.

This matter has been in Mission Diocese news earlier:

Booklet: Male and female He created them – Homosexual relationships challenge the Christian concept of humanity – Päivi Räsänen (The booklet may be read in English via this link – as well as the news item of the announcement of this investigation by the Prosecutor General of Finland. It is also available in Swedish here.)