Madrid, Spain, Nov 23, 2004 / 22:00 pm
Archbishop Anders Arborelius of Stockholm, Sweden, said this week Swedish and other European Catholics need to recover their pride in belonging to the Church, and he lamented that sometimes Catholics can be too “timid.”
During a visit to the Department of Theology at the University of Navarre, Spain, Archbishop Arborelius said Europeans “lack the courage to bear witness” to the faith, but he expressed his confidence that Catholicism will be strengthened in Europe through the spiritual life.
“It is important to help all the baptized to discover that they live in continual communion with Jesus Christ and that their daily lives are an act of service and adoration,” he said.
The Archbishop said, “The laity should be encouraged to bear witness in their daily environment. Because the dignity and value of each human being as the image of God is a necessary contribution in a world of consumerism.”