_____Dossier___________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________

 Accepting the Challenge of Re-Evangelization
A new Catholic university aims to bring the Gospel into Europe’s most secularized society.

By Alberto Carosa

At a time when the commitment to “dialogue” and “ecumenism” is the order of the day, many Catholic leaders seem hesitant to follow the call of Pope John Paul II for a “re-evangelization” of Europe. Yet in one of the most secularized areas in the world, Scandinavia—in Sweden, to be more precise—a group of Christians headed by Bishop Anders Arborelius of Stockholm has boldly embarked on a project of re-evangelization by opening the Newman Institute for Catholic Studies.

This will be the first institute of Catholic higher education established in this part of the world since the Reformation. It is an innovative venture, boldly designed to challenge the prevailing secular mentality in this country.

“Positively exotic”
“In modern Sweden,” Bishop Arborelius says, “Catholic church-goers are often classed as abnormalities.” The bishop, a member of the Carmelite order, reflected on his plans shortly after having returned from a visit to Chicago, where he had presented his initiatives to an audience of American Catholics. He explained to his listeners there what it is like to be viewed as an insignificant religious minority—an abnormality—in a country where religious belief has lost much of its former strength.

Bishop Arborelius told his American audience:

Swedish Catholics are few in number, but they are culturally diverse, well informed, and they give serious thought to moral and ethical issues. We have drawn upon their expertise to establish an institute never before seen in Sweden—one that offers university level courses in philosophy, theology, and ethics with an international Catholic perspective. There are Swedes who find this approach positively exotic.

To strengthen the curriculum of the Newman Institute, which is now beginning its first academic year, Bishop Arborelius hopes to establish cooperative exchanges with other Catholic universities. So he has met with academic bodies elsewhere, urging them to help him meet the challenge of bringing Christian education to secularized Sweden. “Efforts such as the Newman Institute,” says the bishop, “are like salt, seasoning a ‘God-is-dead’ society.”

Sweden is nominally Protestant, and the established Lutheran state church is responsible for ”administering” religion. But as the founders of the Newman Institute point out, the Lutheran administration has not encouraged philosophical, ethical, and theological reflection. A press release put out by the young institution left no doubt about its objectives:

If we are to reverse the catastrophic process of de-Christianization of the countries in the Nordic region, we must begin by creating a center of higher Christian learning. Therefore, the Institute’s specific purpose will be to bring about the re-evangelization of this part of the world, by gathering the Roman Catholic and other Christian intellectuals in one academic center of learning, by training them, and by providing a forum for their research and teaching.

Following Newman’s lead
The Newman Institute is named, of course, for Cardinal John Henry Newman. The Institute’s director, Father Philip Geister, SJ, says that just as Cardinal Newman did in his time, this new Institute will spark dialogue between the Catholic tradition and the challenges of modern science and 21st-century life. Cardinal Newman was convinced that an intense academic dialogue between the modern world and the Church would both deepen understanding of the faith and serve as a powerful form of evangelization. Father Geister sees his young Institute fulfilling the same role in secularized Sweden.

As to curricula, the Institute has opened its first term with seven classes in philosophy, theology, ethics, Catholic social teaching, and modern literature. Alongside these classes, a variety of seminars and academic conferences are also offered. The topics for these events have included the history of Christian mysticism and the controversial question of what constitutes humanity—in the light of modern scientific knowledge and Christian faith. The latter conference drew 300 people.

“In the long run we are looking for a cooperation with the Swedish universities, so that our program can be complementary to theirs,” Father Geister says. In other words, the Newman Institute will not seek to compete with existing schools in fields such as science and engineering. Rather, the president explains: “Our program would, naturally, mainly focus on philosophy, ethics, and theology.”

For now, the Newman Institute is located in Stockholm and Uppsala (whose university is the oldest in the country, dating back to the Middle Ages). But there is already strong interest in expanding to offer classes in other cities.

Alberto Carosa is a free-lance writer based in Rome.