Also this is “periphery”

There are some 250 Catholics on the largest island in the world, Greenland: and it’s not easy to bring the Gospel across the ice… There are 56 thousand people living in the Country: 16 thousand live in the capital, Nuuk, the others are distributed among citizens and villages. 87% of residents are natives; the others are mostly Icelanders, Thai, Filipinos and Swedes. In the last five years the migration rate registered a negative trend (data of 2013: -477 persons), while unemployment is at 10%. In 2012 76 young Greenlanders obtained a university degree. Today there is widespread discomfort among the young, as shown in a study published in recent days by the Danish Institute of Statistics – formally the island is a nation that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark, with strong political and economic autonomy – signalling an exponential increase in suicides among the Under20. Sarah Numico interviewed for Sir Europe Mikaela Engell: besides being a the National Ombudsman, she is the president of the pastoral council of the Catholic community that supports parish priests in all “practical decisions that concern the community, including keeping accounts and decisions on required works”. Could you describe the life of the Catholic community in Greenland? “Our church in is Nuuk, the capital, it welcomes an ever-changing international community. We don’t know the exact number of Catholics in Greenland, but we think there are a total of 250 people. Many members of our parish came from Denmark, but in many cases they are foreigners that work here for a given period of time as teachers or in the national health services. There is also a lively – and proportionately numerous – community of Filipinos. The state-Church is the evangelical-Lutheran Church, a fundamental element of Greenland’s society and most natives are members of it. Thus only few of us Catholics are native Greenlanders. The small congregation of the Little Sisters of Jesus is a blessing for us. Sister Agnes and Sister Noële live and work in Nuuk since the beginning of the 1980s and represent the backbone of our parish”. What are the main activities of the community? “Greenland is on a distant corner of the Globe, so we don’t have a resident priest. Our parish priest, Fr Christian Noval, lives in Denmark and travels to Nuuk regularly. In the intervals between his visits other priests from the diocese of Copenhagen who come to visit us. We always have a priest with us for the important days of the liturgical year. On Sundays with ‘no priest’ we gather and celebrate the Word. It is a great gift to live like this: we draw new inspiration from every priest who comes to visit. Father Christian can always be reached by phone, email or skype, so we feel very safe”. Which challenges are you called to address? “Our community is very small and we largely depend on one another. As mentioned, many members of our community come to Greenland for a short amount of time linked to their jobs, and return to Denmark. Next summer two of our families will be leaving and we don’t know whether new families will replace them. We will be missing the children! Constant changes are a challenge, also since they make normal parish life almost impossible”. What are the positive aspects of being Catholic in Greenland? “That we can go to mass! The fact of having a church, a parish and the Little Sisters, seems a miracle, also through difficult situations that need to be addressed even if there are so few of us”. How are ecumenical relations? “We have excellent relations with other Christian communities here in Nuuk, and take part in ecumenical celebrations. The Evangelical Church has an important role here, but the Pentecostal movement is acquiring strength”. What is the presence in public life? “We try to keep a low profile: ‘not with words but with gestures…’ In Greenland, as in most Scandinavian Countries, religion is considered a private question, and it’s considering embarrassing and even bad taste to discuss of religious issues. That’s why we don’t speak much of our faith, but we try to live”. How do you feel your universal Church near you?  “Our community is very international, so we have ties with the whole world. For this reason, despite the great geographic distance, we feel very close to other Catholics. Moreover, we are very dear to the diocese of Copenhagen that always thinks of us, so we feel a part of the Church”.