“Here in Finland our beloved new Holy Father is not very well known”, admits Marko Tervaportti, director of the Catholic Information Centre of the diocese of Helsinki, asked about the election of Benedict XVI and the reactions in Finland. “The reason for this lack of knowledge is rather clear and easy enough to guess: in the whole nation there are only some 9,000 registered Catholics, and for reasons I prefer not to enter into, Joseph Ratzinger and the image of Rome as centre of Christianity have not, outside the Catholic presence, been much loved in recent decades”. For the Catholic communities, the fact that it is a minority Church is a problem it shares with the other four Nordic States (Sweden, Norway, Iceland and Denmark). In all five States Catholics do not as a rule exceed 2-3 percent of the population. “Here in Finland, however, it has to be said that some Lutheran theologians have studied Ratzinger the theologian and feel respect for his deep knowledge of theology. In Finland – continues Tervaportti – there are many “enlightened” Catholics, and yet even they had no previous knowledge of the new Pope. Many of them were astonished by this election, but now they are happy and grateful for the choice made by the Conclave”. A positive fact – according to the director of the Catholic Information Centre of the diocese of Helsinki – is represented “by Catholic youth, who seem to appreciate him more deeply. They ask that the Pope be able to spread a simple and clear message, as he did presenting himself in so agreeable a manner, saying he would try to follow not his own will but that of the Father”. It is a rather different story as far as the mass media are concerned: “Both those of a secular persuasion, and those of Lutheran stamp – explains Tervaportti – are rather negative if not downright hostile. This is understandable, given that Catholicism and its teachings, especially in the moral field (contraception, abortion, homosexual marriages), are very much criticized in the country. From this point of view the new Pope is considered ‘conservative’, though the media themselves underline that it is not the position of the Pope, but the immutable teaching of the Church that remains at the centre of the debate”. In Tervaportti’s view, therefore, the situation needs to be seen in the light of the “small Catholic minority in Finland, which is very happy about the clear sign of continuity and tradition represented by the new pontiff. Especially as a minority we need the prayers and encouragement of the Catholics of other European countries to be able to continue to reinforce the Catholic presence and apostolate in the country”.
