The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1912-04-27
CATHOuC|TY IN DENMARK

Iigious Freedom Guaranteed by
Frederick VII in 1e49 - Progress
Made by The Church.
There are many Catholics, not only
in the United States, but also in the
old country, who do not know that
there is Catholic mission in Den
mark. Everybody believes that the
Danes are Protestants without excep-
tion, but that is not entirely true says
writer in the Catholic Transcript
There was time when all the
Danes were heathens. That was the
case until the year of 826 when St.
Ansgar, Bishop of Bremen in Ger
many, went to Denmark to convert the
people to the Catholic Church. At
that time Denmark was governed by
King Harald Klak. The first Danish
king to become Christian was Harald
| Blaatand. To commemorate his con-
version he set up big stone on which
is carved the Oldest pictures of Jesus
Christ in the North, and the Oldest in
scription in runic characters. AL
though the Danes after the introduc-
ton of Christianity retained many of
| their old heather manners and GUS
toms, the new teachings they had
heard and learned softened little by
little their old hardened and wild char
acter. In the course of time these
fearful vikings became good and true
Christians. There we're quite a num-
ber of great Northern kings that all
became model Catholics, for instance,
Olaf den Hellige (St. Olaf, Knud den
Hellige, (St. Knud). Attention may
be called to the fact that Denmark
was one of the great powers in
Europe, and remained such so long
as it continued to be true to the Catho-
lie faith. 1t cannot be denied that
Denmark collapsed, that it lost it's
former important position amongst the
nations of Europe in consequence of
| it's change of faith when the so-called
Reformation was introduced. The first
king who allowed the reformers to
come to Denmark was Frederick I. He
gave Hans Tavsen, an apostatized
monk, permission to preach the re-
formed Gospel in the Church of st.
Nicholas in Copenhagen. But the first
ruler to embrace Professionalism and to
abolish entirely the old Catholic faith
was Christian III.
The Work of the Reformation.
On the sixth of August, 1886, he
put three Catholic bishops, that were
in Copenhagen, in Jail and ordered
that all the bishops throughout the
country should be imprisoned as long
as they refused to comply with his
demands, that is to say, as long as
they resisted the Introduction of the
Reformation.
From that time the Gospel was
preached exclusively in the reformed
manner in all the churches of the coun
try and the old Catholic faith ceased
to be taught and practiced. In pos
session of power and influence, the
reformers pushed through a law for
bidding everybody, under pain of cap
ital punishment, to remain, or to be
come again, a Catholic. That law was
in vogue until about the year 1848
But with the beginning of the nine
teenth century it was not so strictly
enforced; when in these later years
there occurred the very rare case o1
a conversion to Catholicism the con
vert was not put to death but exiled
and his property was confiscated.
i No wonder that under such circum
stances the Catholic faith in the king
dom of Denmark was completely extir
pated.
Religious Freedom Granted.
This state of conditions was entire
ly changed in the year 1848.. In thai
year absolutism was abolished and
King Frederick VII. gave his people
constitution in which was granted
and guaranteed not only political, but
also religious freedom to all. 1t was
, at that time that the Catholic Church
was allowed to resume her mission
, of saving souls in that nation where
Professionalism had reigned absolutely
since the introduction of the Reforma
, tion. Nevertheless, as it may be wei
J understood, it was no easy task fol
|. the first Catholic missionaries to pene
trate this exclusively Protestant
/ domain. But these men undertook
) that difficult work with a fearless ani
apostolic spirit and therefore they me-
i with astonishing success.
When they arrived in Denmark
| they found only two Catholic Churches
which were allowed to exist there al
: exceptions to the above mentioned
rule. The one was in Fredericia, ;
. little fortress in the western part o
! Denmark, and the other In Copen
: hagen. The former was the parisl
= church of little Catholic communi
3 ty of about one hundred and thirt,
O Yromhnrc thn remainder nf an nFi ci