Nordic Bishops' Conference

Nordic countries

The Nordic Bishops 'Conference ( Latin Conferencia Episcopalis Scandiae ) is the bishops' conference of the Roman Catholic bishops of the five Nordic countries Denmark , Finland , Iceland , Norway and Sweden . Around 250,000 believers live in the seven dioceses , the majority of whom are Catholic foreigners.

history

The development years

The first Bishops' Conference was held in Gothenburg in May 1923 and was attended by: The Vicar Apostolic of Sweden, Bishop Johann Evangelist Müller ; the Vicar Apostolic for Denmark, Bishop Josef Brems O.Praem. and Vicar Apostolic for Norway, Bishop Jan Olav Smit . During this conference the following subject matter was discussed: “The situation of the female religious orders in Scandinavia” and the “Preparations for the visit of the prefect of the Congregation for the Spread of the Faith Cardinal Wilhelmus Marinus van Rossum ”, this should be the first visit of a cardinal after the Reformation in Scandinavia be.

The next Synod of Bishops was held in two stages, initially on August 12, 1923 in Stockholm . At this conference, Bishop Müller proposed closer "Nordic Catholic cooperation" and announced that he intended to hold a Catholic congress in Copenhagen . The second meeting took place in Helsinki on August 15, 1923 , this time discussing the establishment of a seminary for Scandinavia , proposed by Cardinal van Rossum.

In February 1924 the Nordic bishops met again, this time the new Apostolic Prefect for Iceland, Father Martin Meulenberg SMM, also took part. An undocumented meeting of the Nordic bishops is said to have taken place in Stockholm in 1927.

In August 1932 an ordinary bishops' conference was convened in Stockholm, it was celebrated as the “Nordic Eucharistic Congress” and for the first time all five Nordic countries were represented. Cardinal Willem van Rossum, Cardinal August Hlond , Archbishop of Poznan and Gniezno were welcomed as special guests . There are no protocols or statements about the process; the subjects of this conference are therefore not known.

The founding year and subsequent conferences

The conference of bishops convened in April 1936 (Iceland was not represented) should then send strong impulses to Rome . The Nordic bishops demanded that the image of the Catholic Church in Scandinavia should be significantly improved. In the areas of pastoral care , spiritual literature for the "Nordic Catholics " and public relations work should be given more importance. The conference summarized its decisions in a letter to today's Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples and called for their implementation. This period can be considered as the official birth of the Nordic Bishops' Conference, because now clear contours crystallized and programs for the Catholic Church in the Nordic countries began to be developed. The reaction from Rome was overwhelming and just three months later another conference was called in Copenhagen. Discussion of the program continued and it was decided to found a Nordic seminary. Then it took just over ten years until the next conference was called after the Second World War .

The new bishops' conference met after the Second World War from June 11th to 14th, 1946 and, in addition to the previous bishops of the Scandinavian countries, the apostolic prefects from central and northern Norway also took part. The items on the agenda included church funding and administration , the situation of priests and women religious and the reorganization and working regulations of the local church expansions.

At the subsequent Bishops' Conference, September 23-30, 1951, in Oslo , the focus was on the desire for uniform practice and observance of Lent . The ritual issues , dispensing powers and public relations were discussed. The concern about coping with the post-war years played an important role, and it was agreed to press ahead with processing. Urgent ecclesiastical matters were of course also discussed during this conference.

Years of the council

With the announcement of the Second Vatican Council by Pope John XXIII. the Nordic bishops were also invited. In preparation for this council, they met again on May 1, 1960 in Bergen (Norway). The main concern of the Scandinavian bishops after the council was to submit revised and approved statutes according to its documents (e.g. Christ Dominus ) . So it was now one of the most important tasks of the Nordic Bishops' Conference to draw up its own statutes, which could then also be done until 1965.

Post-conciliar period

This was followed by Rome's recognition of the new statutes, which were connected with a reorganization of canon law and ultimately led to the implementation and renewal of the Nordic Bishops' Conference. The revision then took place at the Bishops 'Conference in Helsinki on September 27, 1984. From this point on it was determined and regulated in which time sequences the meetings of the Bishops' Conferences were to take place.

The Nordic Bishops' Conference today

Today the Nordic Bishops' Conference sees itself as a means of collegial cooperation. Your responsibility lies in the direction of the Catholic Church for the Nordic area under the ultimate direction of the Pope. The decision-making and decision-making body is the plenary assembly, which meets twice a year. As their main task, the statutes stipulate:

• Promotion of pastoral work
• Promotion of participation and the right to have a say
• Coordination of diocesan cooperation
• Making decisions that should take into account regional circumstances and
• To maintain contacts with the Catholic Church in Europe and worldwide cooperation. The Nordic Bishops 'Conference is a member of the Council of European Bishops' Conferences (CCEE).

Personnel composition

The seven dioceses / territorial prelatures in the Nordic countries are represented by eight members in the Bishops' Conference. Between the times when there is no conference, the Nordic Bishops' Conference is represented by its general secretary. Sister Anna Mirijam Kaschner CPS , based in Copenhagen, is the Secretary General . The permanent council also meets twice a year and is entitled to decide urgent matters immediately.

The seat of the Nordic Bishops' Conference was moved from Stockholm to Copenhagen in 2009. The conference language is German.

Members

The bishops of the following dioceses belong to the Nordic Bishops' Conference:

exempt
Diocese of Oslo	Norway
Territorial Prelature Trondheim	Norway
Territorial Prelature Tromsø	Norway
Diocese of Copenhagen (Roman Catholic)	Denmark
Diocese of Helsinki (Roman Catholic)	Finland
Diocese of Stockholm (Roman Catholic)	Sweden
Reykjavík Diocese	Iceland

Chairperson

• John Edward Taylor OMI , Bishop of Stockholm (1970–1973)
• Paul Verschuren SCI , Bishop of Helsinki (1973–1978)
• John Willem Gran OCSO , Bishop of Oslo (1978–1986)
• Paul Verschuren SCI, Bishop of Helsinki (1986–1998)
• Gerhard Schwenzer SSCC , Bishop of Oslo (1999–2005)
• Anders Arborelius OCD , Bishop of Stockholm (2005-2015)
• Czeslaw Kozon , Bishop of Copenhagen (since 2015)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Success story with scandal. In: kathisch.de. March 4, 2015, accessed March 5, 2015 . 

Web links

• http://www.nordicbishopsconference.org/
• Entry on Nordic Bishops' Conference on gcatholic.org (English)