Posted on 04/04/2005 2:16:37 AM PDT by franksolich
Norway mourns the death of the pope
Thousands of Norway's Catholics streamed to special services over the weekend while Norwegian leaders hailed the memory of Pope John Paul II, who died Saturday night after a long illness. Flags waved at half-mast at the country's Catholic churches and organizations.
The flag hanging at half-mast outside a cloister in Oslo's Majorstuen district was just one example of the expressions of sorrow on Sunday, as news spread of the pope's death. St Olav's Church in Oslo had already held a special mass on Saturday, while the pope lay dying, and will also hold a requiem mass at 6pm on Thursday.
Crown Prince Haakon, acting as Norway's regent while his father, King Harald, is on sick leave, sent formal condolences to the Vatican on Sunday. Haakon wrote that it was "with deep sorrow" that he had received the news of Pope John Paul II's death.
In his sympathy declaration to Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the crown prince said he extended his heartfelt sympathy and deepest condolences.
'An apostle of peace'
Norwegian Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik called the pope "an apostle of peace," who sought "fairness for everyone who suffered."
Bondevik was Norway's first prime minister to ever have an audience with a pope, when he met John Paul II at his summer residence outside Rome in September 2003. The meeting came just weeks before John Paul II marked 25 years as the leader of the Roman Catholic Church.
"I met a strong spiritual and moral power in a physically weakened man," wrote Bondevik in an article in newspaper Aftenposten over the weekend. "He had been a mountain hiker and skier who kneeled down and kissed the ground when he arrived in a new country for the first time. Now he had to receive his guests sitting down.
"It was sad to see him like that, but his handshake was firm and his eyes were clear."
Visited Norway in 1989
Pope John Paul II is also remembered in Norway for his visit in June 1989, when he conducted an outdoor mass on the grounds across from Oslo's ancient Akershus Castle and Fortress. The event attracted thousands, and was the pope's first visit to a country with a Lutheran state church.
His trip included visits to Oslo, Trondheim and Tromsø and he later sought out a Norwegian living in Rome to teach him more of the language. Pope John Paul II was a talented linguist who enjoyed greeting people in their own language. He also conducted part of his masses in Norway in Norwegian.
While the late Polish pope was hailed for his contributions to bringing freedom and democracy to Eastern Europe, he was also often criticized for his conservative views on many issues such as women's rights, birth control and abortion. Some said he contributed to the spread of AIDS by refusing to endorse the use of condoms.
'Radical and reactionary'
"He was both a radical and a reactionary," said former Oslo Bishop Gunnar Stålsett. "He took the pulse of contemporary life around him, but opened up for strongly conservative theological and political forces, in such a way that in many ways it's now a weakened Catholic Church that seeks a new leader."
The pope led the fight against communism in Eastern Europe. He also was strongly opposed to the US-led invasion of Iraq and to the death penalty.
"But he didn't manage to change the church's traditional taboos tied to women and sexuality," noted Stålsett. "The Catholic Church's rejection of birth control has had tragic consequences for millions of people who live with HIV and AIDS. Nor did he manage to reform the church regarding women's place in it."
Stålsett, a former leader of a worldwide Lutheran federation, met the pope several times, also privately, in an effort to improve the climate between the churches.
It seems more fitting to remember him later, as the months and years pass, rather than over-remembering him right now, and then forgetting him a couple of weeks from now.
As for the criticism of John Paul II from those who disagreed with some of his stances, I am confused. Number one, religion is SUPPOSED to be as unlike the physical world as much as possible, and number two, the best way to change the world is by NOT becoming a part of the world.
One cannot help but notice that denominations that become hip, trendy, cool, with it, "relevant," inevitably inevitably decline and wither away.
From reading the Aftenposten, I learned three things news to me.
John Paul had visited Norway in 1989 (something I probably knew of at the time, but long ago forgot).
The current prime minister is the first leader of Norway to have met a pope.
And there appears to be a substantial community of Vietnamese refugees in Norway, which was a surprise to me.
Chileans too.
You got to be kidding.
Chileans in Norway too?
I was surprised to find there are tons of Irish in Norway.
Norway is such a small country, located on the edge of the world, that while, yeah, sure, I figured there were probably a few non-Norwegians around--maybe half a dozen here, a couple dozen there--that the population was, essentially, probably 99.9% ethnically Norwegian.
Thank you for that report. How about a Catholic ping, NYer?
I'm not Catholic but I loved and admired this Godly man, who, indeed, was a prominent figure in these end times. I hope the next Pope is as concerned for the people as this one was. God bless Him!
When I was there in the early 1980's with my mom who was dying of cancer (she was born in Oslo), I was surprised at the number of Pakis (Pakistanians) who had migrated there.
«As I have noted on many occasions, it is marriage and the family which come under greatest threat. For this reason I continue to urge both religious and civil leaders to uphold the sacred institution of marriage, willed by God in the very act of creation, with its concomitant of stable domestic life.»
Catholic Ping - Please freepmail me if you want on/off this list
Give the MSM an event and they will overdo it. Like a dog with a bone. (I, too, am Catholic, and thank God for letting us have this great man.)
These are people who would like nothing better than to destroy the Church. Since they're not in a position to stomp it out, next best thing is to remake it in their own image.
The WSJ had an editorial on the Pope today, A Man for All Seasons - The very modern papacy of John Paul II, and they understand his measure:
We had our own disagreements with this pope, notably over America's efforts in Iraq in two wars. But even in disagreement we have always understood that this pope was no schizophrenic. It is possible, as many who otherwise admire him do, to disagree with Pope John Paul's teachings on marriage and homosexuality, on abortion, and so on. But it is impossible to understand him without conceding the coherency of his argument: that the attempt to liberate oneself from one's nature is the road to enslavement, not freedom.
News to me that ARE Catholics in Norway!! To hear my Norwegian (by descent) father-in-law talk, you'd think they had cleared the country of 'em!!
There is about probalby 30000
It's my understanding that there's a pretty big Roman Catholic cathedral in Oslo, St. Olav's or something; so there are at least enough Roman Catholics in Norway to warrant a bishop.
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