Sweden: no more than 8 people at Mass. Card. Arborelius to the congregation, “a drastic but painful step. And there are greater sufferings in the world”

“For us, as Catholics in Sweden, the latest restrictions on our opportunities to celebrate Mass are a hard blow and a cause of great pain. For me, it is one of the most painful things I have felt as a bishop”. Anders Arborelius, cardinal of Stockholm, wrote to his congregation after the enforcement of restrictions on November 24th that lay down a max limit of 8 people at Mass. “It is my hope and prayer that this will only apply for four weeks”, the cardinal adds. But “the spread of the infection has increased in such a remarkable way that this drastic step must be taken, even if some people do not find it easy to understand it”. In this letter, the cardinal calls people to pray, especially for the sick, for the people who are alone, for those who work in healthcare, and asks to keep “assisting the poor and the homeless, who are the most vulnerable ones right now”. “It is important that we do not let ourselves be carried away by our worries”, because, “in many parts of the world, people have been hit by greater sufferings: Honduras, Armenia, Ethiopia, Yemen, Lebanon”. And then he thanks “for all the support I receive from so many people, as well as for all the loyal, honest criticism that I truly appreciate”.
Valentina Bombelli