The Catholic Church in Norwegian society

The man who has confessed to the massacre seems to be attacking Norway’s growing multi-cultural identity, as the nation accepts more immigrants. There has been an ongoing debate in the country on how to adapt to the changing make-up of the country.

“In Norway, we have parishes where we can find up to 80 different nationalities,” said Archbishop Paul Tscherrig, the Apostolic Nuncio to Norway. “Groups of people who are mostly immigrants from different parts of the world. These people live together. They form the Catholic Church in this country.”

Archbishop Tscherrig told Vatican Radio the small Catholic presence in Norway has served as an example for the rest of the country.

“For many Norwegians, as expressed to me once by a Lutheran bishop, this Catholic gathering every Sunday, were you see different colours, different nationalities, and different people coming together for worship – who are gathering in the same church, following the same prayer service – this is an imminent sign, and a very important sign, which shows the necessity to live together, but also shows that people can live together,” he said. “Different groups of origin - language and nationality – are able to live together and form a community. This is only possible, not because of human influence, but by being united in and with Christ.”

Listen: