Catholic Church in Sweden: Between Expansion, Adversity and Return to Tradition
… predominantly Lutheran for the past five centuries, is one of the least religious countries in the world
… 58% of Swedes declare themselves members of the Church of Sweden, only 19% of the 58% claim to be religious
… an average of 3,000 new faithful every year
… 45 parishes, for one diocese, two bishops, 141 priests, 253 religious and 419 catechists
… “when I was 11 years old and I was told how to perform an abortion, how to put condoms, what is transsexuality, and so on,”
… the few Catholic schools we have, they want to shut them down
… Home schooling in the country is severely forbidden and a 2017 law made state kindergarten mandatory, too
… the desire for traditional liturgy among Catholics
… like in many other European countries, the yearning for traditional liturgy mainly emanates from the youth
… traditionalist organization, which is officially recognized by the Swedish Catholic Church
… “Contrary to what one may think, the Swedish-born clergy are not sinking into the current progressive tendencies that we often see in countries like Germany … The priests are becoming more faithful, more strict, more traditional, and it gives us hope.”
