The Irish standard., 1900-11-17
Seventy Catholics are Employed
by Government.
NORWAY BA smecsaT,c couuIu
Danes Enjoy Religious Liberty
for Many Years.

The London Tablet publishes an ar
ticle on Catholic Progress in Scandi-
navia, by Wilifred c. Robinson, from
which we take the following:
OF the three northern Kingdoms, Nor
way, Sweden and Denmark, Sweden
is the least advanced towards Catho-
licity. Out of population of four mil
lions only 1000 are Catholics. Stock
holm has four missions. At Gottenburg
found fairly good-sized Catholic
church. served by two resident priests,
with congregation of over 200 souls.
Attached to the mission was a hospital
served by nuns. There are Catholic
missions also at Malm1 and in four
other places. The first Catholic mis-
sion in Sweden was opened in the
French embassy Mt Stockholm In 1916.
But long after this the laws were SO
intole1nt III regard to Catholics that
even rs recently as the days of Napo-
leon Ill. the priest was obliged to give
notice Mt the door of the chapel, when
Il Te Deum was to be sung for the
French, emperor, that it was penal for
n Lutheran to assist ut 1t. In 1880 the
penal laws against Catholics and dis
senters from the Lutheran church
were mitigatcd. But for another nine
years anyone attempting to convert a
Lutheran was liable to n fine, impris-
onment or exile. But now matters are
mending. Some seventy Catholics have
been admitted to employment under
government In the upper house of
the diet, or parliament, there are now
several Catholics. The master of the
horse of King Oscar III. is Catholic.
The king himself ls well disposed to-
wards Catholics. Among recent con-
versions in Sweden is that of the wife
of the dean of the university of Upsala,
and that Of the daughter Of the drama
tist Strindberg. The lattcr has recently
written two thoroughly Christian dra-
mas, breathing quite different spirit
from that Of his earlier productions.
This is n good symptom.
In Norway things are better. There
Lutheransm is rather the state than
the national church. 1t was imposed
on the Norweglnns by Danish mon
arch, and long after its imposition they
kept, in their hearts, to the old faith.
For years after they had been robbed
of their religion, members of the an
cient clergy fingered on in their midst,
cherished and concealed by the hardy
Norwegian peasantry. 10 this day the
traveller, as the steamer carries him
across the mirror-like Nordsjoe, may
have pointed out to him, some hundred
feet above the lake, in the side Of the
rocky, pine-covered mountain, the
Grotto of st. Michael. There once stood
n Catholic church. There in the depths
of the grotto lies buried Sylvester, the
last of the old Catholic clergy. His
church had been destroyed and his par
ish, united to another, was occupied by
n Danish Lutheran preacher-a vete-
ran of the Danish army.
| This fanatic held the livings of two
parishes, but he had no hold on the
parishioners. They came no more to
church, but frequently found their way
to the Grotto of St. Michael. From that
grotto, often and often before dawn,
bright light cleaned. The soldier,
turned parson, determined to find out
the mystery of this light. One night
he had himself rowed across to the
foot Of the hill from which he saw the
light stream forth. His oarsman re-
fused to climb to the grotto. He climb
ed to the grotto sword in hand. When
he got to it's entrance the light had
disappeared. He groped his way into
the cave, amid the darkness, invok-
ing the help of God. Hardly had he
uttered the Lords name when a stone
| was rolled back and flood Of light
dazzled the intruder. Then he saw be.
fore him an altar with crucifix and
lighted candles, and before the altar
stood hoary old man vested for say
ing mass. The fanatical ex-soldier was
about to strike the old man with his
sword: but the priest calmly faced the
ex-soldier and gently reproached him
for what he would do. The words Of
the holy old man disarmed the fanatic,
and he left Norway's last Catholic
priest to live in pence In his grotto.