A “return to the origins”, in the areas where the Catholic Church took the first steps in a renewed process of evangelization after decades of absence following the Reformation: for the bishops of the five countries of the Scandinavian Bishops Conference (Norway, Sweden, Finland, Iceland and Denmark), the meeting recently held at Alta, in northern Norway, represented a return to the land where the “North Pole Mission” was founded 150 years ago. From this area, in fact, the priests who gave rise to the “Mission” later turned their attention to evangelising other lands (apart from northern Norway, the Faeroe Isles and Iceland), even reaching Scotland. For the Scandinavian bishops an opportunity was thus provided to visit the parish of Hammerfest, the northernmost parish in the world. Apart from these “historical” aspects, the meeting of the Scandinavian Bishops’ Conference enabled some important pastoral themes to be tackled: discussion focused on the catechesis of adults, following the adoption of the rite of Christian initiation in various parishes in Denmark and Sweden. Organizational aspects of the Third European Ecumenical Assembly, due to be held in Sibiu in Romania in 2007, were also tackled: the ten delegates of the Scandinavian countries present at EEA3 will include the bishop of Oslo, Bernt Eidsvik, and the bishop of Trondheim, Georg Muller, as well as priests, religious and laypeople. The delegates also discussed the problem of the abandonment of the Church by the baptized, in its juridical and spiritual aspects. The institution of a “Day of Prayer for the Christians of the Holy Land” was also announced; it will be celebrated within the Prayer Week for Christian Unity. Other topics on the order of the day: the situation of Catholic schools and their running; stem cell research following the authorization of European funding for such procedures; and a congress in Rome in March 2007 to mark the 50th anniversary of the treaty of Rome. The most burning pastoral issues treated include that of youth and the formative programmes offered to them by the dioceses. It was noted that too many young people “spend too much time on the street” and this is harmful both in terms of their conduct and habits, and in terms of their education which risks being neglected. The next meeting of the Scandinavian Bishops’ Conference will be held at Munster in March 2007.
