Filipinos inject vitality to Norwegian Catholic church - Oslo Bishop

By MACEL INGLES
ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau


Oslo Bishop Bernt Eidvig extolled the presence of Filipinos in the country saying that they and other Asian communities inject vitality to the Roman Catholic Church in Norway.


Speaking before a meeting of Norwegian church leaders at Kirkens Hus in Oslo, Bishop Eidsvig who spoke on the Filipino Migrants in a Diaspora Church, said that "the effect of the migration of Filipinos and other Asians to Norway on the Catholic Church has been vitality."

He pointed out that "the Norwegian parishes, as we remember them thirty years ago, were small and a little helpless before the Asians arrived. Had it not been for the Germans and Dutch sisters, the church would have been totally helpless. In many cases, we can almost say that the Asians have taken the parishes over."


He also acknowledged the important role of Filipino women who had been instrumental in creating an ecumenical community within the Norwegian Christian churches by marrying men from the Lutheran Church. He cited that 25% of conversions into Catholicism in Norway are made by men married to Filipino women.


Bishop Eidsvig also spoke fondly of the Filipinos saying he finds them "different from the other groups of immigrants because they do not live in remote hamlets, they manage Norwegian farms and they have met the expectations of Norwegian family life. It is the only group that has managed to do that successfully."


He also said that this is probably due to the fact that their English is good, on average most are highly-educated and are "well-mannered."


"(Filipinos) do not frighten Norwegians as other groups do," for reasons, he added, he cannot explain. And that most Norwegians find them "peaceful and polite" and "people are happy to receive them."


Catholics comprise only 1% of the predominantly Protestant Norway. The Diocese of Oslo reports a total of 4,066 registered Filipino Catholics in the city in 2006 making them the largest Catholic community in the diocese besides the Norwegian Catholics.

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