On Tuesday, Christian protesters demonstrated with joint prayer and Bible reading in front of the building of the Finnish Embassy in Budapest, the participants of the action stood by the former Finnish Minister of the Interior, Paivi Rasanen, who is accused of incitement against the minority group.

The statement of opinion in support of the Christian Democrat Finnish politician was organized by Sára Kulifai, the foreign affairs columnist of the weekly Hetek. Paivi Rasanen's four-year trial continues in the second instance on Thursday and Friday this week. In the information sheet attached to the event, Sára Kulifai wrote:

the representative was brought to court because she "quoted the words of the Apostle Paul about homosexuality from the Bible" in connection with the Finnish Lutheran Church's support for Pride.

The former head of Finland's Ministry of the Interior is also due to stand trial in two other cases: a 2004 essay about "God created man male and female" and a "What did Jesus think about homosexuality?" was aired in 2018 due to his comments on a talk show.

The court acquitted Paivi Rasanen in the first instance in March this year, but following the appeal of the Finnish Attorney General, the trial continues in the second instance. The participants of Tuesday's demonstration in Budapest wanted to hand over a Bible to the Finnish ambassador, but were told that no one was in the building and the embassy was closed, so they placed the scripture in the mailbox.

The organizers wanted to draw attention to the fact that the Bible is the common foundation of Finnish and Hungarian Christian culture.

Máté Kulifai, the editor of Hetek newspaper, said at the demonstration: they want to stand up not only for Paivi Rasanen, but also for all persecuted Christians, because Christianity is today "the most persecuted minority in the world". He stressed: "the Christian faith cannot be confined to a ghetto". Christian demonstrators who filled almost the entire width of the street in front of the Finnish embassy in Budapest recited the Lord's Prayer together at the end of the event.

Ma7.sk

Featured image: Máté Kulifai's Facebook page