A course for the “new Catholics”

The course held in Copenhagen, “to prepare converts or adult candidates to baptism to full communion with the Catholic Church is ongoing until May 14”. Priests, deacons, parishioners, nuns and members of the pastoral Council coordinate “The two-hour meetings held twice a week and every Sunday evening”. “Usually we start and end with a prayer…” Sister Anna Mirijam Kaschner, coordinator of the course, spoke about the initiative of the Danish church that began past September with Sarah Numico for SIR Europe. After the introduction of the theme “there is always room – said the religious of the German congregation of missionary nuns of the precious blood, Secretary General of the Bishops’ Conference of Nordic Countries – for questions or for a debate” among participants. Some thirty people are attending this year’s courses. “Usually two thirds are welcomed in the Catholic Church with baptism or with admission rite on the night before Easter. The others sometimes decide not to make this step and wait until the following year”. What is the layout of the course? “Each evening is dedicated to fundamental themes such as the Bible, the history of the Church, Mariology, ecclesiology, Christology. Followed by the liturgy, prayer, and sacraments. It is also about eschatology, redemption, religious life and social doctrine of the Church. During the course we address also practical themes, such as how to pray the rosary together; or we visit a Church and we discuss the gestures and rituals that pertain to Catholic Church practices. The first Sunday of Lent in the cathedral we experience the ‘ceremony of the electio’: converts and catechumens declare their intention to enter the Catholic Church before the congregation. We then hold a spiritual retreat with the possibility of receiving the sacrament of reconciliation, to prepare them spiritually to the rite of introduction in the Church at Easter. The course continues for several weeks after Easter, so that the ‘new Catholics’ may reflect on their experience in the familiar atmosphere of the course”. Who are those attending the course? “Most of them are Danish from the Lutheran Church. There are people of all ages, from 20 to 80 years old, from very diverse backgrounds. Over the past years the candidates to baptism have come from atheist families and from sects, such as the Jehovah’s Witnesses or different faiths, such as Buddhists and Muslims. They are equally divided between women and men. Sometimes there are also couples attending the course. This is due to a set of different reasons: some of them have found a Catholic partner and wish to share his/her belief, others have experienced personal conversions. Others still have taken part in Catholic liturgies for a marriage, a funeral or a baptism, that prompted their interest for the Catholic Church. The many motivation of most of those who wish to become Catholics is that they find a profound spirituality within the Catholic Church, especially in the liturgy of the sacraments. The fact that the Catholic Church, differently from the Lutheran State Church offers a structure with clear moral guidance in many ethical areas attracts many of them. When the Lutheran Church in Denmark decided to introduce ecclesial marriage for homosexual couples, a remarkable number of Lutherans decided to convert to Catholicism”. Can you tell about a story of conversion? “A woman told me she always had a special relationship with Mary even when she was Protestant. One day, as she was taking a walk in Copenhagen, she suddenly felt the urge to enter a church. All she was looking for was silence. By chance she entered the cathedral and was attracted by an image of Virgin Mary. She sat there for hours, feeling that it was the right place to be. When she got out, she was determined to become Catholic. Another person, a young man, atheist, had taken part in a baptism. During the Eucharistic prayer, when the priest raised the body of Christ he felt a profound feeling of love coming from the Eucharistic bread. Although he knew nothing of the presence of Christ in the Eucharist he began to cry without knowing the reason why. In the following weeks he went back to church several times, continuing to experience this love. In the end he spoke with the priest who explained to him the meaning of the sacrament of the Eucharist. He understood he wanted to become Christian in the Catholic Church”. Is the course being held for the first time? “No, we have been holding it for several years. It began because we felt that it would have been better for converts to be in a group, since often these are isolated cases in the parishes. The group helps them mature a clear decision”. What happens after that? “Not all those who are welcomed inside the Catholic Church become active members of their parishes. Even if we strive to help them be rooted inside the communities it happens that with time some of them leave the Church in silence. But the most consistent group remains and actively participates in the life of the community”.