Only with fervour” “

An overall population of almost 25 million inhabitants, over a territory as large as continental Europe; one of the highest income levels in the world with a rate of human development among the first twenty: that, in brief, is the identikit of the five countries comprised by the Episcopal Conference of the Scandinavian countries, i.e. Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark and Iceland. The 11 bishops of this Episcopal Conference will be in Rome from 29 March for their periodic “ad limina” visit to the Pope. “We’ll bring to John Paul II – explains Bishop Gerhard Schwenzer of Oslo (Norway), president of the Episcopal Conference – the voice of Catholics in the Nordic countries, a minority community of some 250,000 in all, i,e, only about 1% of the total population; most of them in fact are foreigners present in our nations either for work or diplomatic service. Despite that – continues the bishop of Oslo – it’s a living Church, well rooted in each country, with a promising ecumenical dialogue begun with the majority communities of the Lutheran Churches”. On the occasion of the Papal Mass for the ecumenical celebration of the memory of St. Brigid of Sweden, co-patron of Europe (13 November 1999), John Paul II himself had underlined the fact that “Lutherans and Catholics have been striving for a quarter of a century to rediscover a common road”. “Theological dialogue – the Pope had added – has brought to light a huge legacy of faith that unites us”. “The good climate we enjoy in our relations with the Lutheran Churches – explains Schwenzer – is undoubtedly due to the Pope’s visit to Scandinavia in 1989. Since then the ecumenical atmosphere has very much improved, the difficulties have diminished, and relations with the States are good. But above all we are witnessing a growth of church attendance; on Sundays people come to church with fervour. In Scandinavia, either we are Catholics with fervour, or we won’t survive in a situation of such marked diaspora”. Also in the view of Bishop Georg Muller of the Prelature of Trondheim (Norway), ecumenism is a positive reality: “This year we are celebrating in an ecumenical spirit the jubilee for the 850th anniversary of the foundation of our bishopric. Many Lutherans are participating in the celebrations with conviction. We are awaiting the arrival of Cardinal Kasper on 27 July”. Mother Tekla Famiglietti, who has headed since 1979 the Order of Saint Brigid (with houses in Europe, Asia, America, Israel and, since only a few weeks ago, also in Cuba), says that “we are experiencing a promising ecumenical springtime” and that “there’s a strong desire for unity in the Christian Churches”. This is translated into frequent moments of ecumenical prayer in the Catholic and Lutheran dioceses. Such views are endorsed by Msgr. Cesare Furio, a Swedish priest of distant Italian origins (his parents emigrated to Stockholm and he became a priest in the diocese of the Swedish capital, for which he now directs the Swedish College in Rome), “Although Swedish society is very secularized, – he says – the practising faithful are assiduous and fervent in prayer, and a certain religious revival can be noted”. “Besides – adds Bishop Schwenzer – a diffused Christian substance can be noted in the population, even if church attendance is fairly low: many Lutherans don’t bother to attend church services, preferring to read the Bible and pray at home. But a Christian vision of life is maintained, and that seems to me very positive”.