"I am glad about Anders Wejryd’s appointment as the new archbishop of the Lutheran Church of Sweden": these are the opening words of the welcome address written by mgr. Anders Arborelius, bishop of the Catholic Church of Sweden, on hearing the news of Wejryd’s appointment as the leader of the national Lutheran community. As highlighted by the press release of the diocese of Stockholm, "it’s the first time the Lutheran Church in Sweden has appointed an archbishop without any interference from the government". According to bishop Arborelius, it is important "that the Catholic Church and the Lutheran Church of Sweden keep extensively discussing important subjects", even if they had some dissention in the recent past. The latest of which happened last October, when the Lutheran Church "took the controversial decision to authorise the blessing of homosexual couples who had registered their ‘partnership’ with the public registrar".
