European Churches" "
“The Catholic Church of Sweden expresses satisfaction that over 80% of Swedish citizens voted in the recent referendum, thus supporting the democratic principles on which our society is founded”. That’s how Bishop Anders Arborelius of Stockholm commented to SirEurope on the massive voter turnout on Sunday 14 September (81.2% of the 7 million electorate) on the occasion of the referendum on membership of the single currency, rejected by 56% of voters. The vote, Bishop Arborelius recalled, “took place just a few days after the assassination of Swedish Foreign Minister Anna Lindh, one of the most active promoters of the campaign in favour of the euro”. On Sunday 14 September, coinciding with the referendum, prayers were recited for the minister and her family in all the Catholic churches of the country. The Church has also organized, this time together with the other Christian Churches, a prayer meeting in Stockholm, to be held on 23 September. “The Catholic Church explains Bishop Arborelius did not take part in the debate on whether Sweden should join the single currency or not. The Catholics of the country were divided on the issue, as were other groups and organizations”. While the majority rejected the euro, the 41,8% of voters who voted in support of it, did so in the conviction that “it’s better for a small country like Sweden to form part of a larger community”. The bishop, who places the ‘no’ vote in relation to Sweden’s long “tradition of isolationism”, says he is delighted that “the anti-Catholic arguments were not so frequently adduced as they were in 1994 when Swedes were called to vote on entry into the European Union”. “I hope the Swedish people have become more conscious of the positive impact that the Catholic Church has on the social debate in the European Union”, he added.
