The Bishop of Iceland has defended her participation in a Christian festival that included prayers for unborn children.

The Bishop of Iceland has defended her participation in a Christian festival that included prayers for unborn children, telling RUV television she was unaware that the organizers of Kristsdagur (Christian Day) had included a meditation on abortion in the program. The Rt. Rev. Agnes M. Sigurðardóttir, head of the state Lutheran Church told RUV’s evening news on 27Sept 2014 that while abortion was legal in Iceland, “the church puts emphasis on the preservation of life … But that is not to say that abortions aren’t appropriate in certain circumstances.” In addition to prayers for unborn children, attendees of Christian Day also prayed that Iceland’s teachers would “realise the truth” and allow the distribution of the New Testament in the nation’s elementary schools. A conference organized by Icelandic Christian leaders last year called the “Festival of Hope” was the scene of controversy after gay activists protested the presence of American evangelist Franklin Graham, denouncing the head of the Samaritan’s Purse charity as a homophobe