{"id":70212,"date":"2025-03-03T12:16:50","date_gmt":"2025-03-03T11:16:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/?p=70212"},"modified":"2025-10-29T10:14:16","modified_gmt":"2025-10-29T09:14:16","slug":"commentary-paivis-supreme-case-six-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/commentary\/paivis-supreme-case-six-years","title":{"rendered":"The Finnish Line: The Supreme Case of P\u00e4ivi R\u00e4s\u00e4nen After 6 Years"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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A Nation Watches as One of Its Most Respected Leaders Goes to the Supreme Court for Speaking Her Faith<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Update Sept. 2025: The Finnish Supreme Court has set the date for an oral hearing on 30th October 2025.<\/h5>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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The case of Finnish MP P\u00e4ivi R\u00e4s\u00e4nen is more than a legal battle; it\u2019s a test of Europe\u2019s commitment to democratic values.<\/p>

As one of Finland\u2019s most respected politicians, P\u00e4ivi now faces the Finnish Supreme Court for peacefully expressing her Christian beliefs online.<\/p>

Her story is a powerful reminder of what it means to be a Christian in today\u2019s pervasive culture of censorship. It also demonstrates unwavering faith in the face of prosecution and punishment for so-called \u201chate speech\u201d.<\/p>

ADF International is proud to stand alongside P\u00e4ivi as her legal ordeal reaches its 6th year.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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A Life of Conviction<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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P\u00e4ivi was still a very young girl when her parents decided she could go to the church in their small village of Konnunsuo, just inside the Finnish border from Russia. It\u2019s a region known for hundreds of beautiful lakes and one less beautiful prison, where P\u00e4ivi\u2019s father worked, tending the gardens. While he and his wife were not Christians, they respected the faith and didn\u2019t feel it would do little P\u00e4ivi any harm to learn a bit of the Bible.<\/p>

Time would prove them both wrong and right about that, but as a child, P\u00e4ivi was fascinated with the things she learned in those Sunday morning classes.<\/p>

\u201cIt was very, very affecting and important for me,\u201d she remembers, nearly six decades later. \u201cI was about 5 or 6 years old, and I remember well, even at that age, those talks the teachers shared with us about Jesus.\u201d<\/p>

Biblical concepts like grace and sin, salvation and judgment, she says, \u201cwere so concrete. Even as a small child, you have to think about these issues. And I remember praying that I would have my sins forgiven, and that Jesus would come into my life.\u201d<\/p>

How seriously P\u00e4ivi<\/a> took her new conversion became clear shortly afterward, when the prison warden came riding along the road by her family\u2019s house on his bicycle. She urgently waved for him to stop. He did, looking down into her big, earnest, little-girl eyes to ask what was wrong.<\/p>

\u201cDo you love Jesus?\u201d she asked. \u201cYou can\u2019t get to heaven if you do not know Him.\u201d<\/p>

Embarrassed, the warden looked around and saw P\u00e4ivi\u2019s mother, standing nearby. \u201cYou should take your baby out of that Sunday school today!\u201d he yelled. \u201cBefore she loses her mind!\u201d<\/p>

If her mother was concerned about her husband\u2019s boss\u2019s opinion, she didn\u2019t show it. P\u00e4ivi stayed in Sunday school. But it was by no means the last time P\u00e4ivi spoke up for her faith. Or drew sharp opposition for doing so.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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The Start of P\u00e4ivi\u2019s Career<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Although she went to the University of Helsinki to study medicine, P\u00e4ivi spent at least as much time there sharing her faith. For five years, she led a student missionary group in weekly door-to-door visits around campus, drawing other young people into discussions about moral values and cheerfully engaging them with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.<\/p>

\u201cIt was an important time in my life,\u201d she remembers, \u201can important schooling. Every week, I was discussing quite difficult issues with students from different backgrounds and areas of study. I had to think very thoroughly about how my faith stands \u2014 how the Bible stands \u2014 in the face of these difficult questions. I learned to discuss ideas. I learned to debate.\u201d<\/p>

Her extracurricular evangelism also changed her life in another way. Twice during those years, P\u00e4ivi joined other Christian students from all over Finland on mission trips to London, led by a tall, smiling young man named Niilo R\u00e4s\u00e4nen.<\/p>

He and P\u00e4ivi took a shine to each other, began to date, and soon were married. They went on to raise four daughters and a son, as Niilo became a pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church and head of one of the denomination\u2019s seminaries.<\/p>

P\u00e4ivi, meanwhile, went into general practice medicine. She quickly developed a reputation as both an excellent doctor and a thoughtful, outspoken defender of life.<\/p>

\u201cI had decided already during my studies that I would not end the life of a child in the womb,\u201d she says. In her spare time, she wrote books and pamphlets on the subject. That led to television and radio appearances, where she drew on those debate skills she\u2019d honed back in college. Her strong, winsome arguments began to attract wide attention. People asked if she was interested in standing for office \u2014 perhaps campaigning for a seat in Parliament.<\/p>

\u201cAt first I refused,\u201d she says. \u201cI thought it was not my place.\u201d But people continued to urge her to run \u2026 and one of those urging was her husband.<\/p>

\u201cActually, I think I was the first,\u201d Niilo says. \u201cBut she wasn\u2019t interested.\u201d One day, though, he drove her through Helsinki, past the building where Parliament met. He pointed at the building. \u201cLook at your future workplace,\u201d he told her.<\/p>

The 1990s brought a severe economic recession to Finland. P\u00e4ivi\u2019s patients were hit hard by what was happening and often poured out their worries to her.<\/p>

\u201cI could see a lot of problems in people\u2019s lives,\u201d she says \u2014 problems born of what was happening in her country\u2019s politics and culture. \u201cI thought I would like to try and influence the society and improve the welfare of the people. To not only give them medicine, but to try to heal the consequences of these problems.\u201d<\/p>

A person in Parliament could do that, she decided. The next time someone suggested she stand for office, P\u00e4ivi was ready. \u201cI answered, \u2018Yes.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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P\u00e4ivi as a Parliamentarian<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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P\u00e4ivi R\u00e4s\u00e4nen has served continually in the Finnish Parliament since 1995. For 11 of those years, she acted as chairman of the Christian Democrats, a party she chose for its support of her Christian values and unswerving opposition to abortion. For four years, she also served as her nation\u2019s minister of the interior, overseeing internal national security and migration issues.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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„I have felt, very deeply, that this has been my calling,\u201d she says. \u201cI\u2019ve been happy to have the opportunity to influence our society, our country, and to try to make better living conditions for people, especially families and children and the elderly.<\/p>

\u201cIn some ways, it is very similar to working as a doctor. People come to you to talk about their problems, and then you try to find some solution. That\u2019s been my work in Parliament.\u201d She\u2019s learned, she says, that \u201cpolitics is one way to show love to your neighbour.\u201d<\/p>

You might think that attitude would have enhanced P\u00e4ivi\u2019s interactions with Finland\u2019s religious leaders \u2014 \u201cchurch affairs\u201d was another aspect of her responsibilities as minister of the interior, and her work brought her into contact with most of the prominent clerics of her country.<\/p>

Still, even knowing these leaders so well, she was stunned to learn, in the summer of 2019, that the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland \u2014 her own denomination and the one in which her husband served as a pastor \u2014 had pledged its full support for an upcoming Helsinki Pride event.<\/p>

\u201cI knew that our church at that time was already quite divided,\u201d P\u00e4ivi says, \u201cand there was a lot of progressive liberal thinking among our pastors.\u201d Still, \u201cthat the whole church leadership had decided to support the event, publicly and financially, was a strong disappointment to me \u2014 and to many other Christians.\u201d<\/p>

Many friends confided to her their intention to resign from the church. P\u00e4ivi seriously considered joining them. \u201cI was praying, \u2018What should I do now? Should I leave the church, too?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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The Tweet That Sparked a Trial<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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But, on her knees, her Bible open before her, \u201cI received a very clear vision,\u201d P\u00e4ivi says, \u201cthat now was not my time to jump out of this sinking boat \u2014 that I should try to wake people up. I was especially worried about our young people losing their trust in the Bible, with the leadership of the church teaching something so much against what the Bible teaches.\u201d<\/p>

\u201cWhat the Bible teaches.\u201d After a moment, she reached for her cell phone, turned to Romans 1:24-27, and snapped a photo. She pulled up her X (formerly Twitter) account, attached the picture<\/a>, called it to the attention of the Evangelical Lutheran leadership, and added one simple question:<\/p>

\u201cHow does the doctrine of the church, the Bible, fit together with the fact that shame and sin are raised as a matter of pride?\u201d<\/p>

She pressed \u201cTweet.\u201d<\/p>

And her life changed, forever.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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P\u00e4ivi\u2019s communique thoroughly rocked \u201cthe boat\u201d and woke up everyone in it. Including P\u00e4ivi.<\/p>

A few weeks after she had posted the tweet, she opened a newspaper and read \u2014 to her astonishment \u2014 that local police had received a complaint about her message and were investigating. Their evidence would determine whether the nation\u2019s chief prosecutor would bring her to trial for her beliefs.<\/p>

\u201cAt first, I didn\u2019t believe it,\u201d P\u00e4ivi says. \u201cI thought, \u2018No, no, this must be from a summer intern who doesn\u2019t know what he\u2019s saying.\u2019\u201d But a call to her local precinct confirmed that officers were indeed looking into the matter. When could she come in and speak with them?<\/p>

Over the next few months, P\u00e4ivi would be required to sit for a total of 13 hours of police interrogation.<\/p>

\u201cIt was an absurd situation,\u201d she remembers, \u201csitting there in a small room in the station, being interrogated about my Christian beliefs.\u201d The policeman asking questions kept an open Bible on the table between them. He pointed at it as he probed her theology: \u201cWhat is Romans about?\u201d \u201cTell me about the first chapter.\u201d \u201cWalk me through Genesis.\u201d \u201cExplain this word, \u2018sin.\u2019\u201d<\/p>

P\u00e4ivi found the whole thing almost laughable. \u201cJust a few years before, I was the [cabinet] minister in charge of police, and now I was sitting here, being interrogated.\u201d But the people of Finland understood what was happening: one of the most well-known political figures in their country was being detained at police headquarters for quoting Scripture to bishops.<\/p>

\u201cSomeone joked on social media that maybe we were going to have Bible studies at the police station,\u201d P\u00e4ivi says, smiling. \u201cBut \u2026 these discussions were very good. I had the opportunity to [share with] that policeman very thoroughly the teachings of the Bible, from Genesis to the message of the Gospel \u2026 because he asked me to.<\/p>

\u201cDo you really want to hear this?\u201d she asked him. \u201cBecause this has been such an important book to me. When I read it, I understand the message of the Gospel: that Jesus has died for my sins.\u201d<\/p>

\u201cIt was lovely,\u201d she says, smiling, \u201ctelling that to the policeman.\u201d<\/p>

She left an impression. \u201cIf it were up to me,\u201d he told her, after their last discussion, \u201cyou wouldn\u2019t be sitting here. I hope we don\u2019t have to meet like this again.\u201d<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Charged With \u201cHate Speech\u201d<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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They didn\u2019t. But P\u00e4ivi had to wait more than a year to learn that the Finnish prosecutor general was formally charging her with three counts of \u201cagitation against a minority group\u201d \u2014 one, for publicly voicing her opinion on marriage and human sexuality in a 2004 pamphlet distributed at her church; two, for comments she made on the same topics on a 2019 radio show; and three, for the tweet directed at the leadership of her church.<\/p>

Under Finland\u2019s criminal code, \u201cagitation against a minority group\u201d falls under the section of \u201cwar crimes and crimes against humanity\u201d punishable by tens of thousands of dollars in fines \u2014 and up to two years in prison.<\/p>

P\u00e4ivi knows better than most the penalty for breaking this particular law. After all, she was a member of the Finnish Parliament when it unanimously adopted these changes to the country\u2019s criminal code 13 years ago.<\/p>

\u201cIn Finland, as in all European countries, you have a law that prohibits so-called \u2018hate speech,\u2019\u201d says Elyssa Koren<\/a>, legal communications director for ADF International. Like most such laws, she says, this one carries with it the possibility of criminal charges. That\u2019s not all the laws have in common.<\/p>

These laws are often presented, Koren says, as a way \u201cto reduce social tensions, to curb hostility, to foster conditions of peace. It\u2019s a very reductive way of looking at societal problems \u2026 the idea that if you have less \u2018hate speech,<\/a>\u2019 you\u2019ll have less hate.\u201d Unfortunately, she says, the laws are also \u201cvaguely worded, overly broad, and don\u2019t define \u2018hate.\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/p>

\u201c\u2018Hate,\u2019 really, is just in the eye of the beholder,\u201d she says. \u201cAnd what happens is what we\u2019ve seen with this case: people are prosecuted for perfectly peaceful expression in the name of preventing \u2018hate.\u2019\u201d When the law was passed in the Finnish Parliament, \u201cnobody was much aware what the consequences would be. P\u00e4ivi\u2019s case is the litmus test for how the law will be applied to religious speech.\u201d<\/p>

P\u00e4ivi says she sees now that she and her colleagues underestimated the implications of the law they all voted for. Many serving with her in the Finnish Parliament, she says, believe that \u201cif I were to be convicted, then we would have to change the law.<\/p>

\u201cI\u2019m not the only one in Finland who has spoken and taught about these issues,\u201d she says. \u201cThere are thousands and thousands of similar writings. If my writings are banned, then [many] sermons and interviews and writings would be in danger. If I were convicted, it really would start a time of persecution among Christians.\u201d<\/p>

Which, unfortunately, seems to be the idea.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\u201c\u2018Hate,\u2019 really, is just in the eye of the beholder.\u201d\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tP\u00e4ivi R\u00e4s\u00e4nen<\/cite>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/blockquote>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Faith Under Fire<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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P\u00e4ivi and her co-defendant \u2014 Bishop Juhana Pohjola<\/a>, who is charged with publishing the 2004 pamphlet on marriage and sexuality P\u00e4ivi shared with her church \u2014 were stunned when the prosecutor opened her case against them by showing Bible verses on a courtroom screen. Her ignorance of Christian theology was palpable, and she made no secret of her determination to see P\u00e4ivi and Bishop Pohjola punished for views so contrary to contemporary secular morality.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s become clear,\u201d Koren says, \u201cthat they are not prosecuting P\u00e4ivi R\u00e4s\u00e4nen \u2026 they\u2019re really prosecuting the Bible and Christian beliefs at a very high level. What\u2019s at stake is the fundamental question of whether people \u2014 particularly people in the public eye \u2014 have the freedom to voice their Christian convictions in the public space.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat the prosecutor essentially is calling for,\u201d says Paul Coleman<\/a>, Executive Director of ADF International, \u201cis the criminalization of the orthodox Christian position on fundamental Christian doctrine regarding marriage, sexuality, sin, and so forth. It\u2019s shocking to see such brazen anti-Christian legal argumentation within a criminal context<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even more unsettling, Coleman says, is the fact that \u201cthere\u2019s nothing unique about the situation in Finland. It doesn\u2019t have worse law than anywhere else. It has a better legal system than most places. If this can happen in Finland, it can happen in any Western country.\u201d<\/p>\n

In fact, he says, \u201cthe same censorial sentiments exist in the U.S. \u2014 at all heights of power. On almost every college campus. In all of the major companies, particularly Big Tech. They exist in much of the U.S. political system and in the mindset of many law professors.<\/p>\n

That line \u2014 between what we\u2019re seeing take place in Finland and what could very soon happen in the U.S. \u2014 is far smaller than most people realize. Or want to admit.\u201d<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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A Ruling Due Before the Supreme Court<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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In March 2022, the Helsinki District Court unanimously acquitted<\/a> P\u00e4ivi and Bishop Pohjola of all charges, saying, \u201cIt is not for the district court to interpret biblical concepts.\u201d A month later, the prosecutor appealed that ruling \u2014 something she is allowed to do under Finnish law. In November 2023, the Helsinki Court of Appeal confirmed the lower court\u2019s acquittal.<\/p>

The prosecutor then appealed both decisions to the Finnish Supreme Court, which has agreed to hear the case.<\/p>

What the prosecution has secured, Koren says, \u201cis another year or two during which P\u00e4ivi is still under this pressure. Her reputation and her integrity as a civil servant are clouded by the fact that she continues to be criminally prosecuted for her peaceful expression.\u201d<\/p>

Still, Niilo says, \u201cWe don\u2019t worry. Whatever happens, we will take it as God\u2019s will and see what comes next.\u201d<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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\u201cIt\u2019s remarkable,\u201d P\u00e4ivi says, \u201chow God uses this.\u201d From the beginning, she says, \u201cI had a deep, deep feeling this was in God\u2019s hands, that He was opening a door. There\u2019ve been so many opportunities to testify about Jesus \u2026 before these courts, in front of police officers, even to those who vehemently disagree with me. It\u2019s given me a lot of joy.<\/p>

\u201cI\u2019ve received messages from people who\u2019ve told me that, as they\u2019ve followed the trials and listened to my interviews, they\u2019ve started to read the Bible and pray. They\u2019ve found Christ.<\/p>

\u201cI got a call from a 22-year-old man who told me that he knew almost nothing about Christianity but was listening to a radio interview where I said, \u2018If you want to know Jesus, you can pray, He will come into your life.\u2019 He has been a Christian now for over two years. Jesus came into his life.\u201d<\/p>

As a lawyer who feels called to defend freedom of religion and speech,\u201d Coleman says, \u201cit\u2019s been the great privilege of my career to be [able] to support and defend P\u00e4ivi. I\u2019m not exaggerating by saying she is, ultimately, the reason why we exist.<\/p>

\u201cShe\u2019s tough. Really tough. Yet \u2026 always smiling, always kind. Over the past five years, I\u2019ve sat through two trials with her, sat around her kitchen table, seen her in every context in between. She\u2019s just such an unbelievably authentic person. The same in every context, whether being cross-examined for her faith, or hosting us for dinner after the hearing.\u201d<\/p>

During one hearing, Coleman says, \u201cthe prosecutor \u2014 who, bear in mind, has said horrible things about her and wants to put her in jail \u2014 was visibly unwell. And, at one of the breaks, P\u00e4ivi just went over to sit with her, ask how she was doing, connect with her on a human level.<\/p>

\u201cShe wasn\u2019t doing it for the cameras,\u201d he says. \u201cNo one saw it. But I thought, \u2018What a remarkable person this is.\u2019 It\u2019s just such a privilege to be called as a ministry to stand alongside her and say, \u2018We\u2019ve got your back.\u2019\u201d<\/p>

\u201cI have received much more during this legal process than I have lost,\u201d P\u00e4ivi says. \u201cWhen I was young, I read from those texts where Jesus says that, when they take you in front of courts and kings, you\u2019ll be His witness, and He will provide what to say. I could never have believed I would ever be in this kind of situation. But I think it\u2019s increased my trust in God.<\/p>

\u201cWhat I\u2019ve found is that what God has promised, He is faithful [to do]. He really works as He has said. Jesus is alive, and He stands by His word. And He is good.\u201d<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Conclusion: The Assault on Freedom of Expression<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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At the heart of P\u00e4ivi\u2019s case is a growing trend across Europe: the weaponization of vague and subjective \u201chate speech\u201d laws to suppress peaceful expression. The implications of this case extend far beyond Finland. What does this mean for ordinary European citizens if a respected parliamentarian can be prosecuted for a tweet?<\/p>

International law, and that of Finland, guarantees freedom of speech and religion, yet cases like P\u00e4ivi\u2019s show how these rights are increasingly being violated or reinterpreted to serve ideological ends. If she were to be convicted, it would mark a dangerous shift towards state control over individual freedoms.<\/p>

The principle at stake is not whether one agrees with P\u00e4ivi\u2019s beliefs. It\u2019s whether a European democracy can still allow space for diverse opinions in the public square. Once the state decides which views are acceptable and which are not, the door opens to widespread censorship.<\/p>

Europe\u2019s commitment to democracy demands better. The Finnish Supreme Court now has a decision to make, and the world is watching. Time will tell, but one thing is certain: P\u00e4ivi R\u00e4s\u00e4nen will not be silenced.<\/p>

ADF International is honoured to stand by her side, just as we\u2019ve done for the last six years.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Nation Watches as One of Its Most Respected Leaders Goes to the Supreme Court for Speaking Her Faith Update Sept. 2025: The Finnish Supreme Court has set the date for an oral hearing on 30th October 2025. The case of Finnish MP P\u00e4ivi R\u00e4s\u00e4nen is more than a legal battle; it\u2019s a test of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":70218,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"give_campaign_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[63,130,147,25,953,1238,36,219],"class_list":["post-70212","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-commentary","tag-censorship","tag-europe","tag-finland","tag-free-speech","tag-hate-speech","tag-online-censorship","tag-paivi","tag-paul-coleman"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe Supreme Case of P\u00e4ivi R\u00e4s\u00e4nen After 6 Years<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The case of Finnish MP P\u00e4ivi R\u00e4s\u00e4nen is more than a legal battle; it is a test of Europe\u2019s commitment to democratic values.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, 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