SANCTIFYING OFFICE
Devotion to the Eucharist
The Cardinal fosters a great devotion to the Lord in the Holy Eucharist. In both his Masses and in his diocesan efforts he seeks to promote Eucharistic adoration.
“The seven sacraments form a unified system, instituted for our salvation, where the Eucharist is the pinnacle of Christ’s sacramental presence and activity. In the Eucharist we meet him himself, eye to eye under the veil of the sacrament. Yes, he remains present to be worshiped by us even after Mass is celebrated. He always remains the Bread of Life.”
“We all need this bread. We are all poor and hungry. We are beggars who must ask day after day for our daily bread (Matthew 6:11). Only those who realize their need can be satisfied. Only the Eucharistic bread can satisfy our most intense hunger. There, Christ himself becomes our food, our food for the journey through life. The Eucharist already gives us a pledge of eternal life.”
Regarding the Traditional Latin Mass, he obediently followed Traditionis Custodes, yet quickly organized multiple priests to celebrate the Mass in the vetus ordo (old rite) in several places, including the cathedral.
Masses in his diocese are often celebrated with the faithful receiving Holy Communion on the tongue, and altar rails are still common.
Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary
The Cardinal fosters a great devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary in his sanctifying ministry.
In his Pastoral Letter for Life Sunday, on 17 December 2023, he wrote:
“We also need the Virgin Mary’s help to come closer to Jesus and follow him more devotedly. When we celebrate Life Sunday today, it is so that we will all have greater gratitude for the gift of life and more reverence for the inviolability of life. Mary can help us, so that this conversion to life itself, which is God’s great gift, becomes more concrete. We can never thank God – and our parents – enough for the gift of life. In the monastery church of the Sacred Heart there is a statue of the pregnant Virgin Mary which testifies to her wonder at the great grace she has received: to give birth to the Father’s only Son into this life.”
In 2021 he led an online public education program about the Virgin Mary in which he said:
“The Virgin Mary was the person who was closest to Jesus during his life. She can also help us get closer to Jesus in our lives. Through her humility and responsiveness to God’s will, she is our role model. In her we see how the mystery of salvation has been fully completed. In her we see the prototype for the innermost mystery of the Church. Through her intercession we gain strength and joy to follow Jesus day after day.”
Contemplative Life
The Cardinal is a great proponent of the contemplative life. He has often spoken about the importance of promoting the contemplative life in Sweden, and about promoting the religious life in a contemporary culture that has no religious tradition. Many of his books promote the contemplative life.
Priestly Celibacy
Concerning priestly celibacy, the Cardinal has said that celibacy “is not the major cause for the rising number of reported child abuses within the Catholic Church.”
Liturgical Texts
In 2017, the cardinal praised Pope Francis’ decision to give local bishops’ conferences more authority over how the Catholic Church translates its liturgical texts, saying the Vatican does not always have the resources or the ability to understand the world’s numerous languages. “It is important that the bishops’ conferences can have more say in this question because … they know those languages that are used,” he said. “Of course, there has to be a very deep connection to the Holy See in all these issues,” he added. “But I think [Francis] is very good to promote the local churches and their bishops’ conferences.”
GOVERNING OFFICE
Leadership Style
Cardinal Arborelius spoke openly about his governing style in a 2017 interview with Svenska Dagbladet. Recalling his monastic roots he said he is neither a careerist nor lobbyist. “When you go to a monastery, it’s not a career you think about. You withdraw in silence and prayer,” he said. “My appointment as bishop came very abruptly and unexpectedly. And since then, as a cardinal, even more so.”
Appointed a bishop at the age of 49, he said initially the most difficult aspect of governing was: “I didn’t really understand that I had to decide things. I was not used to it; I had never held any leading position in the monastery either and am rather withdrawn by nature.”
Fortunately, he said, he was surrounded by good coworkers. “A lot was going on,” he said, “and I had to think a lot about how and when I should step in more actively, speak up, prioritize one thing or the other.”
Stressing the important role listening plays in good governance, the cardinal said the monastic life prepared him well. “I received good training in the monastery. We devoted a lot of time to spiritual guidance, pastoral care and really trying to understand people’s innermost issues.”
He noted, however, that “the role of bishop also includes being able to say ‘This is the last word; this is how it should be.’” Having improved in this respect over the years, the cardinal admits he still hears some he should be more determined.1He said in the 2017 interview: “Some, not least those from the Middle East, probably think that a bishop should argue with people and say, ‘Do this, do that’. Although it’s not really in my nature, and perhaps doesn’t fit in the Swedish climate of compromise either.”
“At the same time,” he added in the 2017 interview, “I’m used to living in – I won’t say conflict, but in cultural clashes. … For me, it is important to be flexible, even, and take into account the many different backgrounds and nationalities that gather here, so the Church becomes a unit where everyone feels at home.”
Offering three leadership tips, the cardinal said he seeks to govern with “meekness” and by seeing “the uniqueness in people,” rather than viewing them “as interchangeable chess pieces on the game board.” Secondly, he noted the importance of detachment and suggested that “trying to put the problems aside in the evening can be a big help.” Thirdly, he noted that while “sometimes you have to go against a person’s wishes” to get things done, it’s important to show them the benefits of alternative solutions.
Appointment to Vatican Economic Council
In 2020, Pope Francis appointed Cardinal Anders Arborelius as a member of the Economic Council of the Roman Curia. The appointment came as a great surprise for Cardinal Arborelius, who said his knowledge of finance was “extremely limited.”
“I of course highlighted this when asked,” he added. “At the same time, people in Rome seemed to be interested in what it means for a small local church to live in a secular country with a good economy at the same time as the Church has limited financial resources but is growing thanks to migration from poorer countries.”
The diocese has witnessed a slight growth in vocations. According to the latest statistics the diocese includes an estimated 150,000 Catholics. The diocese consists of 44 parishes and 13 missions with 159 priests (78 diocesan, 81 religious), 31 deacons, 269 lay religious (96 brothers, 173 sisters) and 9 seminarians.
Despite the rampant secularism in Sweden, since he became bishop in 1998, the total number of priests in the diocese has risen from 131 in 1999 to 171 in 2022. The number of parishes has also increased from 40 to 44, but the number of Catholics has fallen from 163,221 in 1999 to 126,478 in 2022.
In an article for the Catholic Herald, the Cardinal wrote: “The number of vocations seems to be increasing slightly; now many have immigrant background whereas before they were mostly converts like myself.”2St. Sigfrid’s priest seminary is the Stockholm Catholic Diocese’s educational body for future priests in the Catholic Church in Sweden. The seminary is located in central Uppsala.
“For centuries, the Catholic Church was prohibited in Sweden, and even up to the 1950s, some professions were not possible for Catholics,” the cardinal wrote. “So for us, we must say it’s a more hopeful situation. We have some difficulties, to be sure, but as a rule, we grow every year by a few thousand — even if maybe 1,000 people leave the church every year, 2,000 or 3,000 people are registered in our parishes. So, there is growth, a new possibility to develop the Church’s mission.”
The Cardinal regards Christian morality as the essential foundation of the political common good, and he has urged Catholics to become engaged with politics and be involved, especially to “save the lives of the weakest among us.”3“A statement came from COMECE, i.e. the bishops’ conferences within the EU, to which the Nordic Bishops’ Conference belongs. There the believers were exhorted to vote in such a way as to influence politics in accordance with the gospel and the church teaching. As Catholic Christians, one can choose different approaches to work for the inviolability of life and human rights, for justice and peace. In Sweden we have Catholics who have been quite disinclined to get involved in party politics, not least because of the parties’ views on abortion. Instead, we have tried to influence people’s consciences, not least through the Respect Organization, so that they respect each person’s right to life from conception to natural death. It can also be completely fitting to get involved in political life to try to create better opportunities to help those who are in difficult situations who need support to allow for the child to be born to life. There are various legitimate ways to react and engage with the abortion issue. The important thing is that you really get involved in words and actions in different ways in order to try to save the lives of the weakest among us. It is my hope that many more believers in different ways want to stand up for the inviolability of life.”
He takes a positive view of Catholicism in the country, despite the challenges. “Wherever we open a church, people come. It’s a time of development in a positive sense,” he has said.4“I think for us as Catholics, it’s a bit different in Sweden. We have always been a bit outside of society, but for us, the situation has become better and better in recent years. Since the year 2000, we are recognized as a religious body in Sweden. Before that, the Church was a private foundation, but we can now get the help of the state through taxpayer funds. For us, this is a development, and we can buy churches and wherever we open a church, people come. It’s a time of development in a positive sense. Of course, we have the challenges, — [passing on the faith] to the next generation, living in a secular space, but still it’s a more hopeful situation than before.”
Cardinal Arborelius was one of the 360-plus voting participants at the October synod in 2023. His interpretation of the synod was moderate. He saw it as an opportunity for spiritual renewal, deeper unity among Catholics, enhanced ecumenical dialogue, and a renewed focus on evangelization in a post-Christian world. He advocated for a balanced approach that addresses the needs of the Church’s diverse membership while maintaining traditional Catholic doctrine.
Green Issues
Like many of those in his country where the green movement began, Cardinal Arborelius supports safeguarding the Earth, nature, and the climate. He has expressed support for an international law against ecocide. He believes that such a law “must be worldwide, otherwise environmental crimes will continue to be committed in the most vulnerable and poor countries and places.” He emphasized that such legislation is very important, that it needs to be global, comprehensive, possible to implement, and have penalties. He agrees with Pope Francis who has highlighted ecocide legislation several times and our duty to preserve nature. He believes that what an ecocide law would mean would vary depending on how and where one lives. He also foresees conflicts of interest, such as the conflict in Sweden today between the indigenous Sami people and the mining companies.
Handling Sexual Abuse
Two Catholic priests, suspected of having committed sexual abuse in the USA, worked within the Church in Sweden 2003-2004. One of the priests was accused in 2004 of molesting a woman with a disability at a healing service in Sweden.
Cardinal Arborelius explained what happened to Swedish state broadcaster, SVT. “We had contact with her and urged her to file a police report, but she did not want to,” he said. “At the same time, we contacted his superiors and said that we cannot keep him in this country. And he left Sweden soon after.”
The other priest worked in Sweden between 2003 and 2004.
The cardinal said the congregation in Sweden had not received any information about the allegations against him. “But then it turned out that he had molested another man,” he said. “And then we held him accountable for this, saying that under such circumstances you cannot remain in the country, and that he had to go back to his diocese and get treatment. Or at least be put under surveillance.”
The cardinal also said in an interview with the Swedish Christian newspaper “Dagen” in 2020 that the Church wants “’basically everything to be reported to the police, unless the victim puts up a fight. But we need to find better cooperation between the police and the Church—also on the international level. There is a risk of disappearing into thin air if there is no control.
The transition between different dioceses and the information surrounding this transition must be improved.” The cardinal added: “We need to further tighten up so that it cannot happen again.”
Defending Life in a Secularized Society
Regarding euthanasia the cardinal received with “great concern” a memorandum from the Norwegian Medical Ethics Council, which had proposed “an investigation into ‘medical assistance of voluntary end of life.’ Sweden’s healthcare is facing a brutal ethical turnaround in regarding the sick and disabled,” Arborelius wrote.“If we allow it, it is a brutal ethical reversal regarding how we in Sweden view the sick and dying, those who most need our closeness, care and reassurance that we will not turn our backs on them.”
Regarding abortion, the cardinal has written a text about the importance of standing up for the inviolability of life as a Catholic in the public square in various ways. “For instance, very few Catholics go into politics because all the political parties are in favor of abortion and they will not stand up for that,” he wrote. “There is a temptation to remain in a kind of ghetto. But being a prophetic minority is actually a vocation to be embraced.”
Ecumenism
The cardinal also has a keen interest in ecumenism. Asked in 2023 what the end and purpose of ecumenism are, he replied: “Well, we would say the classical goal is that we will come to full, visible unity. But of course, there are steps on the way. I think it’s important to stress that we have come to a point where we can say that we have a friendly spiritual relationship. We can pray together, we can work together, we have respect for each other — respect for all the differences. It’s also important to realize that we cannot condemn the other because they have another point of view. So that’s an important step. And if we are really at home there, I think it’s possible to go further to discuss the trickier questions.”
The cardinal has been long engaged in ecumenical dialogue with the Church of Sweden’s Bishop Karin Johannesson.5Johannesson was appointed the Church of Sweden’s Bishop of Uppsala in 2019 and before that was a professor at Uppsala University, focused on philosophy of religion. Johannesson is the author of the 2023 book, “Thérèse and Martin: Carmel and Reformation in a New Light,” which discusses the place of St. Thérèse of Lisieux in Lutheran-Catholic ecumenical dialogue. Cardinal Arborelius wrote the book’s foreword.
He has made the case that Sweden is a special case when it comes to ecumenism. “Receptive ecumenism has become very important in our country, because we came to a point when we saw that if we only reflect upon the dogmatic differences, we really cannot go further,” he has said. “As we try to find things that are similar, the dramatic differences are not so accentuated. When we try to see that there are needs and openings on both sides, many things can happen. And that is — I think — typical in our part of the world.”
He went on to stress the deep secularism of Sweden. “We’re all [seen as] a bit weird, strange people [in Swedish society],” he said. “That means that we have to stand together and show to the outside society that, as believers, we are doing more than fighting between ourselves.
“People say that religion is all about conflict, and it never comes to an end. So, it’s very important in our part of the world to show that while we cannot say everything in the same way, in many things we have a common voice,” he added. “I would say that in our part of the world, spirituality and social questions are the two main themes important for ecumenism.”
TEACHING OFFICE
Christology and the Inerrancy of Scripture
In all his teachings on Christ and on the inerrancy of Scripture, Cardinal Arborelius has shown himself to be orthodox, as witnessed in his sermons and diocesan leadership.
Evangelization
In a 2022 interview with the editors of European Jesuit journals, published in La Civiltà Cattolica, Pope Francis held up Cardinal Arborelius as an example of how to evangelize a culture with no religious tradition, such as Sweden. Francis said:
“I don’t know how to answer your question, to tell you the truth. Because only those who live there, in that context, can understand and discover the right paths. I would like to point out, however, a man who is a model of guidance, Cardinal Anders Arborelius. He is not afraid of anything. He talks to everybody and is not against anybody. He always aims for the positive. I believe that a person like him can indicate the right path to follow.
The cardinal speaks positively about evangelizing secular Sweden and attracting new people to the faith. In an article for The Catholic Herald he wrote:
“In Sweden, like other Scandinavian countries, Catholics are a very small minority. At the same time, this is one of the few areas of Europe where the number of Catholics is increasing, largely thanks to immigration. Most Catholics in Sweden have an immigrant background.”
“As all over the Western world, the main difficulty for the Church is to transmit the faith to the younger generation. Sweden is one of the most secular countries in the world. Young people are immersed in a very individualistic and hedonistic atmosphere. Those of immigrant background are also very eager to become “real Swedes”, and often find that being Catholic is a hindrance: Catholics are still regarded as foreigners. I admire those young Catholics who are very active and dynamic. The number of vocations seems to be increasing slightly; now many have immigrant background whereas before they were mostly converts like myself.”
Dislike of Political Labels
The Cardinal is wary of introducing political ideology into Catholic theology and believes introducing political definitions into religion “can be very dangerous.”
“I’m always very critical when people say, ‘I’m a traditional Catholic’ or ‘I’m a liberal Catholic.’ If I have said that, then I have brought political definitions into my religion. And that can be very dangerous — it turns the Church into some kind of parliament with different parties. In the synodal process, for it to work, we must look for what is foundational and held in common. We must also let go of our preferences, because that can be a very real temptation.” He also said it can be a “temptation” for a person to want their preference to be universal, whether it’s the Old Mass or a picture of St Faustina in every church.6I’ll take a silly example from our parishes. Some people here want to have the picture created by St. Faustina in every single church; for them having that is the most important thing. Some people want to have the Old Mass everywhere, all the time. It can be a temptation to think that my preference must be universal, for everyone. But of course, that’s not Catholic. So there can be a tendency, then, to bring a kind of a party system into religious faith. And that’s very dangerous, because it’s not truth.”
Fiducia Supplicans
Cardinal Arborelius has defended Church doctrine on sexuality and gender but has not personally commented on Fiducia Supplicans. However his diocesan website has stated that the document emphasizes that this blessing does not mean that the Church’s teaching on sacramental marriage has changed. “Marriage can only take place between a man and a woman entering into marriage. The blessing of unmarried or same-sex couples, on the other hand, must take place outside the context of a church service.”
Amoris Laetitia and Communion for Civilly “Remarried” Divorcees
Speaking about Amoris Laetitia, which called on bishops and priests to shift away from strict adherence to rules towards an ostensibly more compassionate, case-by-case pastoral discernment with regards to civilly remarried divorcees, Arborelius said the document had not attracted wide attention in Sweden. Referencing the work of the Stockholm Diocese’s canonical tribunals, which determine whether marriages can be annulled in the Church, Arborelius said he understood the Pope’s message in Amoris Laetitia to be about evaluating each case on its merits and not always applying the same general norms. “Of course, we have a lot of help from tradition, from canon law,” said Arborelius. “But it’s a pastoral situation that is also very different and very unique.”
He brought up the work of his canonical tribunals in the context of the demographics of the Catholic Church in Sweden, which includes many converts from other religions, and also many Catholic refugees who have been part of the continuing migration from the Middle East into Europe. In 2015, at the height of the migrant crisis, Swedish authorities said they took in more than 160,000 refugees fleeing from Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq. Cardinal Arborelius said his tribunals often encounter cases of converts who had been married before becoming Catholic and wish to have clarity about their first, non-Catholic unions, as well as cases of refugees who had arranged marriages in their home countries.
“Half the cases in our tribunals come from people from the Middle East, because many marriages there were arranged between families,” he said. “And when they come to Sweden, the position of the woman is totally different.”
“We live in a very, very mixed situation where there are so many different kinds of cases and problems, that it’s very difficult to give general rules,” he said. “We just have to try to help people sort things out.”
In general, however, the cardinal appears to be generally welcoming of the change in Amoris Laetitia towards pastoral discernment on a case by case basis, or at the very least, he was not opposed to it. In a 2017 interview, when asked if he would like clarification on this issue, as the four dubia cardinals had asked for, he replied: “Well, I think it’s an issue for the entire Church to deepen, and, of course, that will take time because the situation is very different in the Western world. We know that the Catholic vision of marriage is rarely accepted, even by many Catholics, if we are honest, and that means we must really start a new kind of evangelization on that issue, because otherwise it will be very hard to cope with that situation.”
Asked if the best way to counteract this would be to simply preach the truth with clarity, Arborelius replied: “Of course, because we have a wonderful doctrine on marriage and sexuality, but very few know about it. They have a very superficial view of marriage and what it really means, and so that’s really a question for a new evangelization.”
Women’s Ordination
Cardinal Arborelius has expressed hope that the role of women in the Church’s mission become a focal point, but he insists that the conversation should not be bogged down on the already settled question by Pope John Paul II of whether the Church can ordain women. Cardinal Arborelius abides by the 1994 statement by Pope John Paul II, who wrote in Ordinatio Sacerdotalis that “the Church has no authority whatsoever to confer priestly ordination on women and that this judgment is to be definitively held by all the Church’s faithful.
Cardinal Arborelius agrees with Pope Francis who told America magazine in 2022 that the fact that women cannot enter ordained ministry “is not a deprivation” and that the Church should continue to develop a “theology of women” and expand women’s participation in ecclesial life. He told the National Catholic Reporter that “It is of the utmost importance to find more possibilities for women to take part in the work of evangelization on various levels,” Arborelius said. “At the same time, it is important to see that there are other ways than ordained ministry.”
Concerning ordaining female priests, he has said it would be “very frustrating” if the “discussion was limited” to that issue given that priestly ministry “is reserved to men in Catholic and Orthodox doctrine.”
Intercommunion for Non-Catholics
As for allowing non-Catholic Christians to receive Holy Communion, Cardinal Arborelius has said that within the Swedish context there is “not a unity of faith within the Church of Sweden, as a Lutheran Church,” and that this is one of the major difficulties of ecumenical dialogue. Luther accepted the Real Presence in the Eucharist during the celebration only, but not after the Mass, and that is a great difficulty, he said. The Cardinal has stated that non-Catholic Christians “cannot possibly celebrate the Eucharist together.”
German Synodal Way
The Cardinal is not in favor of the German Synodal Way. He was a key signatory to an open letter against the German Synodal Way from the Nordic bishops that was written before the broader fraternal correction from Cardinals Pell, Burke, Napier and Arinze. The Nordic Catholic bishops’ open letter expressed alarm at the direction of the German “Synodal Way,” and cautioned against “capitulation to the Zeitgeist” and “impoverishment of the content of our faith.”
Gender Ideology
Regarding gender theory and the LGBT lobby, Cardinal Arborelius has strongly defended the universally applicable and unchanging nature of Church tradition, specifically regarding sexual ethics and gender, especially in direct response to the German Synodal Way.
The Nordic bishops published a letter after the German Synodal Way participants voted in 2022 in favor of draft texts calling for the abolition of priestly celibacy in the Latin Church, the ordination of women priests, same-sex blessings, and changes to Catholic teaching on homosexuality. “Throughout the world, a number of Catholics ask questions about the lifestyle and formation of priests, the role of women in the Church, the range of views on human sexuality, etc.,” the Nordic bishops wrote. “In the legitimate search for answers to the questions of our time, we must nonetheless respect boundaries set by topics that stand for unchangeable aspects of the Church’s teaching,” they said. “It has ever been the case that true reforms in the Church have set out from Catholic teaching founded on divine Revelation and authentic Tradition, to defend, expound, and translate it credibly into lived life — not from capitulation to the Zeitgeist. How fickle the Zeitgeist is, is something we verify on a daily basis.”
He tends to be careful in his verbal confrontations with the LGBT lobby, aware of the viscious and sometimes violent attacks they can engender in Sweden when they are faced with the truth, but he is also unafraid to appoint conservative priests to parishes where the LGBT lobby may be strong.
Life and Sexuality
The Cardinal’s position on contraceptives, abortion, same-sex marriage has always been in line with Church teaching.
In a January 2024 interview, he said: “The proclamation has hardly changed. But because society is so focused on sexuality, people ask what the Church thinks about one thing or another: abortion, same-sex marriage, trans and gender. Some think the Church needs to be clearer, but I tend to say it’s more a matter of individual pastoral care. If you don’t know anything about the Church, you know that it is against abortion and same-sex marriage, then maybe you don’t need to repeat it all the time. But it will be another reason to be slandered online.”
On the Environment and Catholic Social Teaching
The Cardinal advocates a comprehensive approach to Catholic Social teaching.7In August 2019, Veritas Förlag published the entire Catholic social teaching (from 1891 to 2015) in a Swedish translation. Catholic social teaching in Swedish can be found, among other things, at Katolsk Bokhandel in Stockholm and Lilla Thérèse bookshop in Gothenburg. DOCAT is a “popular science” presentation of social studies given by Catholica förlag.
At a conference in Stockholm in 2019, Cardinal Arborelius spoke about Laudato si’ and the importance of “ecological conversion”, saying: “Questions about the climate and nature are not on the sidelines but have their place in the entire Christian life. At the same time, an ecological conversion is needed, a conversion towards the poor. And when we talk about also becoming poorer, then it starts to burn.”
On Interreligious Dialogue and Human Fraternity
The Cardinal has made positive statements regarding Fratelli Tutti and human fraternity, saying: “Pope Francis warns us, over and over again, how dangerous it is to build walls instead of bridges.”
Pope Francis had praised Cardinal Arborelius for his leadership in this area. Addressing a delegation from the European Institute of International Studies, Pope Francis thanked him for the initiative in “promoting dialogue between the religions in service of the unity of our human family.”
The Cardinal has a positive approach to interreligious dialogue and has helped to publish a book on the subject called The Culture of Encounter: International Relations, Interreligious Dialogue and Peace. The book, he said, “aims at helping us to build bridges between believers from different faith communities.” He added that “faithful of good-will, regardless of religious affiliation, must work together to foster a culture of encounter and dialogue.”8“Religion, of whatever kind, ought to be a source of inspiration for a culture of encounter and dialogue. Unfortunately, we can also see that some people misuse and abuse the holy name of God to spread hatred and contempt towards people of other creeds, or at least stop believers of different backgrounds from growing closer to each other. This is also the reason why faithful of good-will, regardless of religious affiliation, must work together to foster a culture of encounter and dialogue. In order to prevent this spirit of confrontation that seems to pop up all over the place to grow, new means of proclaiming interfaith solidarity have become ever more necessary. This book would like to make a humble contribution to a renewed interreligious solidarity and friendship.”
“This culture of encounter between different faith-communities must be made concrete on the local level. Even if a global effort is needed all over the world, we have to see how it can be incarnated in various local cultures and traditions. Here we want to show how this initiative is realized in the City of Stockholm, even if this city is supposed to be one of the most segregated capitals of Europe. An important source of inspiration comes from another city, Buenos Aires, where Archbishop Bergoglio and Rabbi Skorka and others were able to establish a profound spiritual friendship between faithful of various religions. It is our hope that the encounter taking place in Stockholm can have a similar effect.”
The Cardinal’s position on Islam is informed by the Church’s teaching on inter-religious dialogue.
In April 2022, Arborelius decried violent riots in Sweden over the Easter period that year, as well as the blatant acts of religious intolerance which provoked the unrest. The clashes erupted after plans by a Swedish group to burn copies of the Quran. The riots, he said, made it clear “that Sweden has not been able to cope with the segregation, that in some areas there are nearly only foreigners with low income, without work, with criminality. So, for our society, it’s really important to do something to fight against this segregation.”
He added that the Swedish authorities “somehow do not realize that many of the immigrants have strong religious beliefs. And for them, it’s a sign of hatred. For instance, when they burn the Quran.” He also pointed out cases when statues of Our Lady have been vandalized and destroyed, and put it down to a secular society in which there are “anti-religious feelings” among the population. Rather than call for curbs on immigration, the Cardinal called for a “deeper dialogue” to solve the problem.
In 2023, he joined other Christian leaders in condemning the burning of the Koran outside a Stockholm mosque. In a joint statement with Sweden’s Christian Council, he and other Christian leaders said, “We defend the right of every person to practice their faith regardless of religion. The burning of the Koran is a deliberate violation of Muslim faith and identity, but we also see it as an attack on all of us people of faith. Therefore, we want to express our sympathy with Muslim believers in our country.”9The Presidium of the Christian Council of Sweden comprises: Anders Arborelius, Cardinal Stockholm Catholic Diocese; Martin Modéus, Archbishop Church of Sweden; Lasse Svensson, Church leader Equmenia Church; Benjamin Dioscoros Atas, Archbishop Syriac Orthodox Church; Sofia Camnerin, Secretary General Christian Council of Sweden
On Migration
The Cardinal has a positive stance on migration. He has described Sweden as multicultural and views this as helpful to the Catholic faith. He has also mentioned the criticism he has received for being too pro-immigration. “I’ve also been attacked by some Catholics who think I’ve been too open to immigration because they wanted to be more solidly Swedish.”
- 1He said in the 2017 interview: “Some, not least those from the Middle East, probably think that a bishop should argue with people and say, ‘Do this, do that’. Although it’s not really in my nature, and perhaps doesn’t fit in the Swedish climate of compromise either.”
- 2St. Sigfrid’s priest seminary is the Stockholm Catholic Diocese’s educational body for future priests in the Catholic Church in Sweden. The seminary is located in central Uppsala.
- 3“A statement came from COMECE, i.e. the bishops’ conferences within the EU, to which the Nordic Bishops’ Conference belongs. There the believers were exhorted to vote in such a way as to influence politics in accordance with the gospel and the church teaching. As Catholic Christians, one can choose different approaches to work for the inviolability of life and human rights, for justice and peace. In Sweden we have Catholics who have been quite disinclined to get involved in party politics, not least because of the parties’ views on abortion. Instead, we have tried to influence people’s consciences, not least through the Respect Organization, so that they respect each person’s right to life from conception to natural death. It can also be completely fitting to get involved in political life to try to create better opportunities to help those who are in difficult situations who need support to allow for the child to be born to life. There are various legitimate ways to react and engage with the abortion issue. The important thing is that you really get involved in words and actions in different ways in order to try to save the lives of the weakest among us. It is my hope that many more believers in different ways want to stand up for the inviolability of life.”
- 4“I think for us as Catholics, it’s a bit different in Sweden. We have always been a bit outside of society, but for us, the situation has become better and better in recent years. Since the year 2000, we are recognized as a religious body in Sweden. Before that, the Church was a private foundation, but we can now get the help of the state through taxpayer funds. For us, this is a development, and we can buy churches and wherever we open a church, people come. It’s a time of development in a positive sense. Of course, we have the challenges, — [passing on the faith] to the next generation, living in a secular space, but still it’s a more hopeful situation than before.”
- 5Johannesson was appointed the Church of Sweden’s Bishop of Uppsala in 2019 and before that was a professor at Uppsala University, focused on philosophy of religion.
- 6I’ll take a silly example from our parishes. Some people here want to have the picture created by St. Faustina in every single church; for them having that is the most important thing. Some people want to have the Old Mass everywhere, all the time. It can be a temptation to think that my preference must be universal, for everyone. But of course, that’s not Catholic. So there can be a tendency, then, to bring a kind of a party system into religious faith. And that’s very dangerous, because it’s not truth.”
- 7In August 2019, Veritas Förlag published the entire Catholic social teaching (from 1891 to 2015) in a Swedish translation. Catholic social teaching in Swedish can be found, among other things, at Katolsk Bokhandel in Stockholm and Lilla Thérèse bookshop in Gothenburg. DOCAT is a “popular science” presentation of social studies given by Catholica förlag.
- 8“Religion, of whatever kind, ought to be a source of inspiration for a culture of encounter and dialogue. Unfortunately, we can also see that some people misuse and abuse the holy name of God to spread hatred and contempt towards people of other creeds, or at least stop believers of different backgrounds from growing closer to each other. This is also the reason why faithful of good-will, regardless of religious affiliation, must work together to foster a culture of encounter and dialogue. In order to prevent this spirit of confrontation that seems to pop up all over the place to grow, new means of proclaiming interfaith solidarity have become ever more necessary. This book would like to make a humble contribution to a renewed interreligious solidarity and friendship.”
“This culture of encounter between different faith-communities must be made concrete on the local level. Even if a global effort is needed all over the world, we have to see how it can be incarnated in various local cultures and traditions. Here we want to show how this initiative is realized in the City of Stockholm, even if this city is supposed to be one of the most segregated capitals of Europe. An important source of inspiration comes from another city, Buenos Aires, where Archbishop Bergoglio and Rabbi Skorka and others were able to establish a profound spiritual friendship between faithful of various religions. It is our hope that the encounter taking place in Stockholm can have a similar effect.” - 9The Presidium of the Christian Council of Sweden comprises: Anders Arborelius, Cardinal Stockholm Catholic Diocese; Martin Modéus, Archbishop Church of Sweden; Lasse Svensson, Church leader Equmenia Church; Benjamin Dioscoros Atas, Archbishop Syriac Orthodox Church; Sofia Camnerin, Secretary General Christian Council of Sweden
