Rome Newsroom, Mar 25, 2023 / 14:40 pm (CNA).
Bishops from the five Nordic countries have released a letter on the traditional Christian teaching on sexuality, upholding the “embodied integrity of personhood” against modern transgender ideologies.
“Now, notions of what it is to be a human, and so a sexual being, are in flux. What is taken for granted today may be rejected tomorrow. Anyone who stakes much on passing theories risks being terribly hurt. We need deep roots,” the eight members of the Nordic bishops’ conference say in the letter, which was released Saturday.
“Let us, then, try to appropriate the fundamental principles of Christian anthropology while reaching out in friendship, with respect, to those who feel estranged by them,” they continue. “We owe it to the Lord, to ourselves, and to our world, to give an account of what we believe, and of why we believe it to be true.”
The pastoral letter is being read aloud at Masses this weekend at Catholic churches in Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, and Iceland. EWTN Norway provided CNA with a copy of the letter.
Cardinal Anders Arborelius, the bishop of Stockholm, Sweden, is among the document’s eight signers.
The others are: from Norway, Bishop Erik Varden of Trondheim, Bishop Berislav Grgić of Tromsø, and Bishop Bernt Eidsvig of Oslo; from Denmark, Bishop Czeslaw Kozon of Copenhagen; from Iceland, Bishop Dávid Tencer of Reykjavik and Bishop emeritus Pierre Bürcher of Reykjavik, and from Finland, Father Marco Pasinato, apostolic administrator of Helsinki.
“Our mission and task as bishops is to point towards the peaceful, life-giving path of Christ’s commandments, narrow at the outset but growing broader as we advance,” the bishops state in the letter.
“We would let you down if we offered less,” the bishops say, adding, “we were not ordained to preach little notions of our own.”
The bishops explain that there is room for everyone in the Church, which, according to a 4th-century text, is “the mercy of God descending on mankind.”
“This mercy excludes no one. But it sets a high ideal,” the letter states.
The pastoral letter begins by recalling the 40 days and nights of rain which flooded the earth in the days of Noah.
It says that when Noah and his relatives stepped back onto the cleansed earth, God made his first covenant with man, promising that a flood would never again destroy the earth.
God asked mankind, instead, to revere God, to construct peace, and to be fruitful, the bishops said. To ratify the covenant, God created a sign: a rainbow.
“This covenantal sign, the rainbow, is claimed in our time as the symbol of a movement that is at once political and cultural,” the bishops note. “We recognize all that is noble in this movement’s aspirations. In so far as these speak of the dignity of all human beings and of their longing to be seen, we share them.”
“The Church,” the letter continues, “condemns unjust discrimination of any kind, also on the basis of gender or orientation. We declare dissent, however, when the movement puts forward a view of human nature that abstracts from the embodied integrity of personhood, as if physical gender were accidental.”
The bishops also say in the letter they protest that such a view is imposed on children as “not a daring hypothesis but a proven truth.”
Transgenderism is “imposed on minors as a heavy burden of self-determination for which they are not ready,” the bishops lament, calling it “curious” that in an intensely body-conscious society, the body is in fact taken too lightly.
People now refuse to see the body “as significant of identity, supposing that the only selfhood of consequence is the one produced by subjective self-perception, as we construct ourselves in our own image,” they observe.
The bishops explain that we are, instead, created in the image and likeness of God, in both body and soul.
“The image of God in human nature manifests itself in the complementarity of male and female,” the letter states. “Man and woman are created for one another: The commandment to be fruitful depends on this mutuality, sanctified in nuptial union.”
The letter goes on to say that the union of a man and a woman, as an image of God’s communion with mankind, is not always easy or painless.
“For some it seems an impossible option,” the bishops acknowledge. “More intimately, the integration within ourselves of masculine and feminine characteristics can be hard. The Church recognizes this. She wishes to embrace and console all who experience hardship.”
The Nordic bishops say they recognize that “the yearning for love and the search for sexual wholeness touch human beings intimately” and they want to be there to accompany everyone as they gradually grow in wisdom and virtue.
“We are called to become new women and men,” they say in the letter. “In all of us there are elements of chaos that need to be ordered. Sacramental communion presupposes coherently lived consent to the terms of the covenant sealed in Christ’s Blood.”
They point out that circumstances may mean, therefore, that a Catholic is unable to receive the sacraments for a time. But “he or she does not therefore cease to be a member of the Church. Experience of internal exile embraced in faith can lead to a deeper sense of belonging. Exiles often turn out that way in Scripture. Each of us has an exodus journey to make, but we do not walk alone.
The bishops’ letter also offers some advice to those who are perplexed by the traditional Christian teaching on sexuality.
“First: Try to acquaint yourself with Christ’s call and promise, to know him better through the Scriptures and in prayer, through the liturgy and study of the Church’s full teaching, not just of snippets here and there. Take part in the Church’s life,” the bishops counsel.
“Secondly,” they add, “consider the limitations of a purely secular discourse on sexuality. It needs to be enriched. We need adequate terms to speak of these important things.”
The Church, they say, “shall have a precious contribution to make if we recover the sacramental nature of sexuality in God’s plan, the beauty of Christian chastity, and the joy of friendship, which lets us see that great, freeing intimacy can be found also in non-sexual relationships.”
You can read the full text of the bishops’ letter and watch a video of the letter being read below.
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Who would ever have thought that bishops from Scandinavia would be in the forefront of defenders of the Catholic faith? There truly is a God!
Perhaps because they were among the first to go head long into degeneracy and now see the wreckage left behind? I was a child during the 80’s, but my mother, the daughter of a Swedish immigrant, said the Swedes were a sexually degenerate bunch.
Not to be pedantic, well to be a little pedantic, the word Nordic was carefully chosen as Finland doesn’t consider itself part of Scandinavia.
Impressive. We could stand to hear more from these bishops.
Praise God – at long last, sound Christian commonsense from Catholic Episcopes, who clearly show they are worthy of The Name.
“. . advice to those who are perplexed by the traditional Christian teaching on sexuality:
“First: Try to acquaint yourself with Christ’s call and promise, to know him better through the Scriptures and in prayer, through the liturgy and study of the Church’s full teaching, not just of snippets here and there. Take part in the Church’s life.
“Secondly, consider the limitations of a purely secular discourse on sexuality. It needs to be enriched. We need adequate terms to speak of these important things.”
The Church, they say, “shall have a precious contribution to make if we recover the sacramental nature of sexuality in God’s plan, the beauty of Christian chastity, and the joy of friendship, which lets us see that great, freeing intimacy can be found also in non-sexual relationships.”
How beautiful to have fresh, pure, Holy Spirit water flushing away all the abominable innovations that have recently been floated by seemingly scripturally illiterate Catholic hierarchs and media-darling priests and nuns.
How lovely is Truth! II Corinthians 13:8 – “For we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth.” John 18:37b – “Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to My voice.” John 8:31b-32 – “If you continue in My word, you are truly My disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”
All achieved by the Nordic Bishops with deeply considerate and loving care for everyone concerned, yet without compromising the core values of our faith.
Thanks be to God!
Um, why are the Nordic bishops issuing this statement?
Doesn’t the Vatican have anything to say about the apostasy of the German Synodal Synod on Sin?
Nordic bishops say the disordered stole our rainbow. This would not have occurred if there weren’t widespread sexual gender disorder South. Nor does it portend that the same disorder doesn’t exist where they are. It’s only that these bishops, most but not all Norsemen, unlike elsewhere, unlike our own USCCB are united in the one true faith.
Having stolen God’s covenant sign the disordered, laity, and most significantly clergy, highest in command are fueling this disorder. An infernal fire kindled by the Evil One. A deceptive lie that evil is good and that its resistance is evil. Our weaponized Justice Dept supporting the disordered prosecuting the faithful, blind to the assaults against Christians.
Moral barbarians have entered our ranks making resistance ever more difficult. Perhaps the Nordic bishops like their fierce ancestors might make an invasion or two to the South [and W to the US] teaching, holding seminars, boldly witnessing to Christ. Realistically, it’s a start. An opportunity to make aright.
Well said, dear Father Peter, in consonance with the whole court of Heaven!
That Great Cloud of Faithful Witnesses is hoping & praying for decent Catholics to make a stand for the truth and stop rolling over like a stunned mullet when faced by outright, wicked distortion of The Faith.
As a trillion-dollar corporation, found to be betraying its divine charter, our CEO will be held responsible by Judge Jesus; & surely should be held responsible by us.
Ever in the love of The Lamb; blessings from marty
Too bad that the American Bishops and Cardinals are unwilling or unable to speak Truth by pronouncing the same support for Church teaching. Where have our prelates gone off the rail, for too long they have failed the Church of which they are leaders and the laity. Wonder why Catholics are confused, leave the Church, don’t believe in the Eucharist as true Body and Blood, all you have to do is listen to and look at failed leadership amongst our clergy.
Well said, dear David.
However, if you think American Catholicism is rotted out, here in Australia the decay is even worse.
LORD HAVE MERCY! CHRIST HAVE MERCY! LORD HAVE MERCY!
In Germany where the Church receives tax monies directly from the government, she is is popularizing herself out of existence. Wherever the Church is NOT the official, state religion, she seems to be stronger. However, in the United States, where the U.S.C.C.B. holds extremely lucrative federal contracts for a variety of social work endeavors, our bishops are terrified of offending their state financiers.
Timothy, I agree fully with your point about the USCCB. Why can’t it do the right thing and forswear federal funding and its entangling federal partnerships?
I assume the counter argument one would get from the USCCB is that the federal funds are necessary for its social welfare work. In other words, it’s just another NGO looking for federal $. Not, it seems to me, to be a necessary or proper part of its mission.
Spot on; but it’s even worse in Australia, dear Tom.
How many archbishops, bishops, priests, nuns, & other religious leaders are closer to their bureaucrat lodge mates than they are to Christ and His faithful sheep.
Unravelling this perverted administrative pagan infiltration should be the primary focus of all of our present Catholic Church synods.
Ever in the love of Jesus Christ; blessings from marty
I am wondering if the Nordic Bishops are trying to pre-empt the contamination probably coming their way from Germany? In fact, this would be a pointed letter to send to all the German Bishops who are moving toward schism. Especially the part which said “we were not ordained to preach little notions of our own.” Excellent.
So it is possible, after all, that bishops are capable of speaking up in support of the teachings of our Catholic faith. Wow! So much to be grateful for!
Creating rebukes for modernists seems to be more complicated than it needs to be and is often excessively deferential to the offenders who don’t deserve a courtesy that doesn’t do their souls any good. Pride is the motherload of evil, but this should be obvious knowing that Catholics used to be told to make it a daily practice to examine themselves for pride, along with daily prayer. The object of both is to sustain a heightened awareness that we never insult God.
Natural law in and of itself is a reminder that it comes from God Who is in charge and always has been in charge of what is true enabling us to identify what is the product of our vanity. Knowing natural law, we know that it is impossible for God to have misled His creation on how to order their lives together centuries ago any more than today. Case closed. God doesn’t mislead or change His mind, the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
Having a Pope that believes, along with prominent dumb theologians of the VII and post VII era, that God does change His mind is a real problem that cannot be ignored. Ignoring the cancer of bad theology for more than half a century has been a metastasizing problem but is nothing new in Church history. Refuting such idiocy is not complicated. Along with the undisputed circulated sentiment that God is love is the equal corollary that God is truth.