Sweden, A Challenge To Catholicism

In the Kyeongyang magazine, a Korean who immigrated to Sweden about one and a half years ago writes about his experience. A Catholic for just over 10 years, still growing in the faith, ends up living in Sweden where the Catholics are a tiny group within a Lutheran culture. He gives us a Korean perspective of life in Sweden.

The Catholic history of Sweden is one of suffering. Catholicism in Sweden started around the year 830 AD, becoming a Catholic country around the year 1100. Uppsala the old capital was the first diocese. In 1523 King Gustav Vasa freed the county from the control of Denmark and became the father of the new nation, and importing Lutheranism.

Lutheranism is called Sweden's Church (Svenska kyrkan), as the name says the church is subordinated to the Government. The king, like in England, is the head of the church.

In 1593 all Catholic activity was forcibly stopped. In 1617 by the King's orders, the church was not recognized and went underground. In 1781 the country proclaimed religious toleration to foreigners and in 1873, members of Lutheranism were given the freedom to convert to Catholicism. But it was only in 1951 that citizens were given complete freedom to believe in any religion.
 
In 1953 they established a diocese with no more than 3000 Catholics. In the 1960s when foreign laborers began to enter, the numbers increased. In 1998 the first bishop was made after a lapse of over 400 years and last year bishop Anders Arborelius was made a cardinal, the first in Northern Europe. 
 
Of the 10 million citizens, 119.000 are registered Catholics but are considered to be about 150,000. There are 45 churches in the country and half of them are in Stockholm. One of these communities is the Korean community in the capital. There are about 200 Korean Catholics in the country. Because of distances and other reasons, many have stopped going to church and some attend the Lutheran Churches—the services are very similar to the Catholic Masses with communion.

The Korean community since last year has a Korean priest saying Mass twice a month. They are a community of about 50 which slowly is increasing. Before the priest came they had a Korean sister from Germany who kept the Korean community together. In 2016 because of age, she returned to her convent in Germany and they received a Korean priest from Korea.
 
Lutheranism is part of the establishment and the citizens see it as a part of the government. The clergy are seen as civil servants. The respect they have for the clergy is quite different from what Koreans are accustomed. The individualism of society comes into play and influences everything. This also has entered the church.
 
The moral life of society is much freer than Korea. Marriage is not as in Korea. Divorce is having another family. Not seen as a problem or disappointment but something that happens. Living together without marriage is no problem and seen as marriage. Abortion is a choice one makes.

Sweden has a central place in the cultural world of Europe; one of the best countries in which to live but  also the culture which is far removed from a Catholic ethos and sterile for Catholics. He ends the article by hoping Korean priests will find it possible to come to this 'religiously Catholic underdeveloped country'—atheistic and secular.