Scandinavian Bishops Conference
Encyclopedia
The Scandinavian Bishops Conference is an episcopal conference
of Roman Catholic bishops covering the Nordic countries
of Sweden
, Norway
, Finland
, Denmark
and Iceland
. At present, it has 12 members who represent all seven of the Catholic dioceses in the Nordic countries. It is unusual for bishop's conferences to be organised across several countries, but this reflects the fact that there are fewer than a quarter of a million Catholics in these countries. The Conference states as its tasks:
The most important decision-making organ is the plenary session. This meets twice a year at different places in the Nordic dioceses and sometimes outside of Northern Europe. Besides that there is the Permanent Council which also meets twice a year to plan the plenary sessions and to decide on urgent matters. Between meetings it is the secretary general, currently Sister Anna Mirijam Kaschner, cps, - who coordinates the work and the contacts between the bishops (http://www.nordicbishopsconference.org/522/).
. The Vicars Apostolic of Sweden, Mgr. Johannes E. Müller (1877-1965); Denmark, Mgr. Josef Brems (1870-1958); and Norway, Mgr. Jan O. Smit (1883-1972), discussed themes of common interest such as the best way of dealing with the congregations of women religious, how to foment the spiritual life of their priests, but above all how to prepare for the announced Scandinavian tour of the Cardinal Prefect of the Roman Congregation Propaganda Fide, Willem Marinus van Rossum, the first such dignitary to enter Scandinavia since the Reformation
.
The next encounter took place in two stages: first in Stockholm
on August 12 1923, when Bishop Müller played host to Bishops Brems and Smit en route to Helsinki. During a festive reunion Bishop Müller launched a warm appeal for increased Nordic Catholic collaboration and announced that an important Scandinavian Catholic congress probably would soon be arranged in Copenhagen
. Nine years, however, were to pass before this became a reality.
The second stage was celebrated in Helsinki
on August 15, when Bishop M. J. Buckx, S.C.I. (1881-1946) received the episcopal consecration at the hands of Cardinal van Rossum. The only recorded subject for discussion during the following day's meeting was the Cardinal Prefect's earnest call for the founding of a minor seminary
in Scandinavia, a matter which the bishops decided to take very seriously in spite of the obvious difficulties involved.
The third meeting took place in Copenhagen
in February 1924 where, in addition to the above mentioned prelates, the Local Ordinary of the newly erected Prefecture Apostolic of Iceland, Rev. Marteinn Meulenberg, S.M., completed the Nordic representation. The discussions, referred to as being "private and of an informative character", seem to have been a continuation of the agenda from the previous encounters.
A further meeting was held in Stockholm in 1927 without, unfortunately, leaving anything for the record.
In August 1932 the announced Internordic Catholic rally finally took place in Copenhagen in the form of a Eucharistic Congress. All five countries were represented. Bishop Smit, who had resigned in 1927, was replaced by Bishop-elect Mgr. Jacques Mangers, S.M. (1889-1972), Vicar of South Norway, that country having in 1931 been divided into three jurisdictions. Among the many foreign dignitaries present for the occasion we find, once more, Cardinal van Rossum (who died only some weeks later) and Cardinal August Hlond of Gniezno
and Poznan
. It stands to reason that the busy programme of a Eucharistic Congress did not allow time for a formal Conference meeting.
More is known of the next encounter in Stockholm in April 1936, when Bishop Müller chaired a two-day meeting comprising Bishops Brems, Mangers and William Cobben, S.C.I., Finland's new Vicar Apostolic (1897-1985). Iceland was unrepresented.
The matters discussed were to re-emerge during later Conference Plenaries: the fomenting of vocations both to the priesthood and the religious life, as well as the spiritual and material well-being of candidates, the image of the Roman Catholic Church in the mass media of the day; basic principles for pastoral care; the production of fitting literature for Catholics, etc. In the compte-rendu consequently sent to the Propaganda Fide Congregation in Rome, three salient points were made:
Very soon after, the same ordinaries assembled again, this time in Copenhagen (July 1936) at the direct behest of the Propaganda Fide Congregation, in order to continue their deliberations. Alas, nothing came of the ambitious plan to establish a minor seminary. The project, however, has continued to haunt the Nordic bishops' meetings over the years.
A further conference was not convened until after the Second World War, when Bishop Müller in June 1946 chaired a meeting in Stockholm. Participants were the aforementioned bishops, except for Denmark where Bishop Theodor Suhr, O.S.B. (b. 1896) had replaced Bishop Brems. In addition, the Apostolic Prefects of Middle Norway, Antonius Deutsch, SS.CC. (1896-1980) and North Norway, Johannes Wember, M.S.F. (1900-1980) were also present. Only Iceland was missing. Several points of interest were brought up: especially marriage questions seemed to have been a matter in need of clarification.
A final meeting took place in Oslo
in September 1951, where marriage questions were again on the agenda. Various items were discussed, amongst others, the growing conviction that the time had now come for the Apostolic Vicariates to become fully fledged diocese
s. It was decided that a request to this effect be forwarded to Rome
. As we now know, this was soon to be granted.
The prehistory of this informal conference activity came to a close when in 1959 Pope John XXIII
decided to send a permanent Apostolic Visitor
to the five Nordic Countries (Archbishop M.H. Lucas), an arrangement which was soon to end in the formal establishment of the Apostolic Delegation to Scandinavia on March 1 1960 with Mgr. Lucas in charge.
The establishment of the Scandinavian Episcopal Conference followed only two months after that of the Apostolic Delegation. Convoked by the Apostolic Delegate, the entire hiererchy of the five countries met in Bergen
(South Norway) on May 1 1960 with the prime purpose of founding a proper Bishops' Conference. Some participants were still the same as in 1951 (Bishops Cobben, Mangers Suhr and Wember). Newcomers were Bishops Ansgar Nelson, O.S.B., of Stockholm (b.1906) Johannes Gunnarson, S.M.M., of Iceland (1897-1972), and Johannes Rüth, SS.CC., of Central Norway (1899 - 1978).
After some days of preliminary clarifications, the "Conventus Ordinariorum Scandiae" was formally established on May 4. After a secret vote, Bishops Suhr and Nelson were elected chairman and vice-chairman respectively.
The meeting, which lasted a full week, bore most of the marks of proper Episcopal Conferences such as they have developed as a result of the Second Vatican Council
. Agreement was reached on several issues, such as common days of fasting and abstinence, clerical clothing, Internordic jurisdiction for hearing confessions, a common Catholic Directory, the canonical form for marriage, altarboys' societies, a yearly vocations' Sunday and other items of mutual interest and uncertainty.
It should be noted here that the erection of episcopal conferences was as yet by no means obligatory. This, then, was a freely agreed-upon instrument of mutual help and cooperation. And as such it was in advance of most European Conferences, which were in fact only established in connection with the Second Vatican Council
(1962-1965). Rome, though praising the Scandinavian initiative by sending a high-level congratulatory telegram, did not formally recognise this or any of the existing conferences. Nor did the Holy See
as yet use them as consultative bodies, but all this was to come. The necessities arising from Vatican II brought about the change.
The Ecumenical Council assembled approximately 2500 Major Prelates from all five continents. It soon became clear that a dividing up of this large body was necessary. But how to go about carrying out this division? The answer was by resorting to the already partly existing structures, i.e., the Bishops' Conferences. These would normally coincide with national boundaries, as had long been the case with the German Episcopal Conferences, which had existed for over 100 years. A hurried establishment of such entities, willed by the Holy See to be ad hoc, was effected for the sole purpose of facilitating the working out of common stands on the Council documents. Any bishop who presented a paper in the Council aula in the name of such a conference was granted priority.
The Council itself decided that episcopal conferences were practical and useful bodies which should carry on in an institutionalised way. It was also clear that the Holy See, which traditionally had had to deal with individual dioceses, liked the idea of sharing some of the burden of labour and responsibility with these much larger units. After long discussions and several attempts at formulating practical guidelines, the Council could finally lay down a framework for such conferences in its Decree Christus Dominus
(about the Pastoral Responsibility of Bishops), promulgated on October 28 1965. This framework was followed by a more detailed set of rulings in the Papal motu proprio Ecclesiae Sanctae of August 6 1966. Although there was now a set of guidelines common to all bishops' conferences, each is obliged to work out its own statutes, which, however, need the subsequent approval of the Holy See.
The Nordic Episcopal Conference had its statutes already worked out and approved by its members in 1962. When the Vatican Council institutionalised and imposed conferences generally, new statutes had to be elaborated - a task which, starting with the first revision over four conference sessions in 1965, has continued at regular intervals. This is because Rome prefers to approve such rulings for a maximum period of five years, ad experimentum, as the formula goes. When the new body of Canon Law became effective on the first Sunday of Advent 1983, most of these statutes had to undergo at least revisory touches. And so the newly updated statutes of the Nordic Episcopal Conference, approved by the bishops in its Plenary Session in Stella Maris
near Helsinki
on September 27 1984, were duly transmitted to Rome and received their unqualified approbation on 19 January 1985.
Episcopal Conference
In the Roman Catholic Church, an Episcopal Conference, Conference of Bishops, or National Conference of Bishops is an official assembly of all the bishops of a given territory...
of Roman Catholic bishops covering the Nordic countries
Nordic countries
The Nordic countries make up a region in Northern Europe and the North Atlantic which consists of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden and their associated territories, the Faroe Islands, Greenland and Åland...
of Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
, Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
, Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
and Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
. At present, it has 12 members who represent all seven of the Catholic dioceses in the Nordic countries. It is unusual for bishop's conferences to be organised across several countries, but this reflects the fact that there are fewer than a quarter of a million Catholics in these countries. The Conference states as its tasks:
- to further the common pastoral work in the region
- to enable the bishops to consult with another
- to coordinate the work of the Church in the dioceses
- to make possible common decisions on the regional level
- to facilitate contacts with the Catholic Church in Europe and in the whole world
The most important decision-making organ is the plenary session. This meets twice a year at different places in the Nordic dioceses and sometimes outside of Northern Europe. Besides that there is the Permanent Council which also meets twice a year to plan the plenary sessions and to decide on urgent matters. Between meetings it is the secretary general, currently Sister Anna Mirijam Kaschner, cps, - who coordinates the work and the contacts between the bishops (http://www.nordicbishopsconference.org/522/).
History of the Scandinavian Bishops Conference
The first known episcopal encounter took place in May 1923 in GothenburgGothenburg
Gothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 519,399, with 549,839 in the urban area and total of 937,015 inhabitants in the metropolitan area...
. The Vicars Apostolic of Sweden, Mgr. Johannes E. Müller (1877-1965); Denmark, Mgr. Josef Brems (1870-1958); and Norway, Mgr. Jan O. Smit (1883-1972), discussed themes of common interest such as the best way of dealing with the congregations of women religious, how to foment the spiritual life of their priests, but above all how to prepare for the announced Scandinavian tour of the Cardinal Prefect of the Roman Congregation Propaganda Fide, Willem Marinus van Rossum, the first such dignitary to enter Scandinavia since the Reformation
Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...
.
The next encounter took place in two stages: first in Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
on August 12 1923, when Bishop Müller played host to Bishops Brems and Smit en route to Helsinki. During a festive reunion Bishop Müller launched a warm appeal for increased Nordic Catholic collaboration and announced that an important Scandinavian Catholic congress probably would soon be arranged in Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
. Nine years, however, were to pass before this became a reality.
The second stage was celebrated in Helsinki
Helsinki
Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
on August 15, when Bishop M. J. Buckx, S.C.I. (1881-1946) received the episcopal consecration at the hands of Cardinal van Rossum. The only recorded subject for discussion during the following day's meeting was the Cardinal Prefect's earnest call for the founding of a minor seminary
Minor seminary
A minor seminary is a secondary boarding school created for the specific purpose of enrolling teenage boys who have expressed interest in becoming priests. They are generally Roman Catholic institutions, and designed to prepare boys both academically and spiritually for vocations to the priesthood...
in Scandinavia, a matter which the bishops decided to take very seriously in spite of the obvious difficulties involved.
The third meeting took place in Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
in February 1924 where, in addition to the above mentioned prelates, the Local Ordinary of the newly erected Prefecture Apostolic of Iceland, Rev. Marteinn Meulenberg, S.M., completed the Nordic representation. The discussions, referred to as being "private and of an informative character", seem to have been a continuation of the agenda from the previous encounters.
A further meeting was held in Stockholm in 1927 without, unfortunately, leaving anything for the record.
In August 1932 the announced Internordic Catholic rally finally took place in Copenhagen in the form of a Eucharistic Congress. All five countries were represented. Bishop Smit, who had resigned in 1927, was replaced by Bishop-elect Mgr. Jacques Mangers, S.M. (1889-1972), Vicar of South Norway, that country having in 1931 been divided into three jurisdictions. Among the many foreign dignitaries present for the occasion we find, once more, Cardinal van Rossum (who died only some weeks later) and Cardinal August Hlond of Gniezno
Gniezno
Gniezno is a city in central-western Poland, some 50 km east of Poznań, inhabited by about 70,000 people. One of the Piasts' chief cities, it was mentioned by 10th century A.D. sources as the capital of Piast Poland however the first capital of Piast realm was most likely Giecz built around...
and Poznan
Poznan
Poznań is a city on the Warta river in west-central Poland, with a population of 556,022 in June 2009. It is among the oldest cities in Poland, and was one of the most important centres in the early Polish state, whose first rulers were buried at Poznań's cathedral. It is sometimes claimed to be...
. It stands to reason that the busy programme of a Eucharistic Congress did not allow time for a formal Conference meeting.
More is known of the next encounter in Stockholm in April 1936, when Bishop Müller chaired a two-day meeting comprising Bishops Brems, Mangers and William Cobben, S.C.I., Finland's new Vicar Apostolic (1897-1985). Iceland was unrepresented.
The matters discussed were to re-emerge during later Conference Plenaries: the fomenting of vocations both to the priesthood and the religious life, as well as the spiritual and material well-being of candidates, the image of the Roman Catholic Church in the mass media of the day; basic principles for pastoral care; the production of fitting literature for Catholics, etc. In the compte-rendu consequently sent to the Propaganda Fide Congregation in Rome, three salient points were made:
- The necessity of adapting Roman Catholic institutions to the high level of culture in the North.
- The urgent necessity of establishing a minor seminary.
- The fact that nothing damages Catholicism more than immoral behaviour and scandal within the Church itself.
Very soon after, the same ordinaries assembled again, this time in Copenhagen (July 1936) at the direct behest of the Propaganda Fide Congregation, in order to continue their deliberations. Alas, nothing came of the ambitious plan to establish a minor seminary. The project, however, has continued to haunt the Nordic bishops' meetings over the years.
A further conference was not convened until after the Second World War, when Bishop Müller in June 1946 chaired a meeting in Stockholm. Participants were the aforementioned bishops, except for Denmark where Bishop Theodor Suhr, O.S.B. (b. 1896) had replaced Bishop Brems. In addition, the Apostolic Prefects of Middle Norway, Antonius Deutsch, SS.CC. (1896-1980) and North Norway, Johannes Wember, M.S.F. (1900-1980) were also present. Only Iceland was missing. Several points of interest were brought up: especially marriage questions seemed to have been a matter in need of clarification.
A final meeting took place in Oslo
Oslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
in September 1951, where marriage questions were again on the agenda. Various items were discussed, amongst others, the growing conviction that the time had now come for the Apostolic Vicariates to become fully fledged diocese
Diocese
A diocese is the district or see under the supervision of a bishop. It is divided into parishes.An archdiocese is more significant than a diocese. An archdiocese is presided over by an archbishop whose see may have or had importance due to size or historical significance...
s. It was decided that a request to this effect be forwarded to Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
. As we now know, this was soon to be granted.
The prehistory of this informal conference activity came to a close when in 1959 Pope John XXIII
Pope John XXIII
-Papal election:Following the death of Pope Pius XII in 1958, Roncalli was elected Pope, to his great surprise. He had even arrived in the Vatican with a return train ticket to Venice. Many had considered Giovanni Battista Montini, Archbishop of Milan, a possible candidate, but, although archbishop...
decided to send a permanent Apostolic Visitor
Apostolic visitor
In the Catholic Church, an apostolic visitor is a papal representative with a transient mission to perform a canonical visitation of relatively short duration...
to the five Nordic Countries (Archbishop M.H. Lucas), an arrangement which was soon to end in the formal establishment of the Apostolic Delegation to Scandinavia on March 1 1960 with Mgr. Lucas in charge.
The establishment of the Scandinavian Episcopal Conference followed only two months after that of the Apostolic Delegation. Convoked by the Apostolic Delegate, the entire hiererchy of the five countries met in Bergen
Bergen
Bergen is the second largest city in Norway with a population of as of , . Bergen is the administrative centre of Hordaland county. Greater Bergen or Bergen Metropolitan Area as defined by Statistics Norway, has a population of as of , ....
(South Norway) on May 1 1960 with the prime purpose of founding a proper Bishops' Conference. Some participants were still the same as in 1951 (Bishops Cobben, Mangers Suhr and Wember). Newcomers were Bishops Ansgar Nelson, O.S.B., of Stockholm (b.1906) Johannes Gunnarson, S.M.M., of Iceland (1897-1972), and Johannes Rüth, SS.CC., of Central Norway (1899 - 1978).
After some days of preliminary clarifications, the "Conventus Ordinariorum Scandiae" was formally established on May 4. After a secret vote, Bishops Suhr and Nelson were elected chairman and vice-chairman respectively.
The meeting, which lasted a full week, bore most of the marks of proper Episcopal Conferences such as they have developed as a result of the Second Vatican Council
Second Vatican Council
The Second Vatican Council addressed relations between the Roman Catholic Church and the modern world. It was the twenty-first Ecumenical Council of the Catholic Church and the second to be held at St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. It opened under Pope John XXIII on 11 October 1962 and closed...
. Agreement was reached on several issues, such as common days of fasting and abstinence, clerical clothing, Internordic jurisdiction for hearing confessions, a common Catholic Directory, the canonical form for marriage, altarboys' societies, a yearly vocations' Sunday and other items of mutual interest and uncertainty.
It should be noted here that the erection of episcopal conferences was as yet by no means obligatory. This, then, was a freely agreed-upon instrument of mutual help and cooperation. And as such it was in advance of most European Conferences, which were in fact only established in connection with the Second Vatican Council
Second Vatican Council
The Second Vatican Council addressed relations between the Roman Catholic Church and the modern world. It was the twenty-first Ecumenical Council of the Catholic Church and the second to be held at St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. It opened under Pope John XXIII on 11 October 1962 and closed...
(1962-1965). Rome, though praising the Scandinavian initiative by sending a high-level congratulatory telegram, did not formally recognise this or any of the existing conferences. Nor did the Holy See
Holy See
The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...
as yet use them as consultative bodies, but all this was to come. The necessities arising from Vatican II brought about the change.
The Ecumenical Council assembled approximately 2500 Major Prelates from all five continents. It soon became clear that a dividing up of this large body was necessary. But how to go about carrying out this division? The answer was by resorting to the already partly existing structures, i.e., the Bishops' Conferences. These would normally coincide with national boundaries, as had long been the case with the German Episcopal Conferences, which had existed for over 100 years. A hurried establishment of such entities, willed by the Holy See to be ad hoc, was effected for the sole purpose of facilitating the working out of common stands on the Council documents. Any bishop who presented a paper in the Council aula in the name of such a conference was granted priority.
The Council itself decided that episcopal conferences were practical and useful bodies which should carry on in an institutionalised way. It was also clear that the Holy See, which traditionally had had to deal with individual dioceses, liked the idea of sharing some of the burden of labour and responsibility with these much larger units. After long discussions and several attempts at formulating practical guidelines, the Council could finally lay down a framework for such conferences in its Decree Christus Dominus
Christus Dominus
Christus Dominus is the Second Vatican Council's Decree on the Pastoral Office of Bishops. It was approved by a vote of 2,319 to 2 of the assembled bishops and was promulgated by Pope Paul VI on October 28, 1965. The title in Latin means "Christ the Lord," and is from the first line of the...
(about the Pastoral Responsibility of Bishops), promulgated on October 28 1965. This framework was followed by a more detailed set of rulings in the Papal motu proprio Ecclesiae Sanctae of August 6 1966. Although there was now a set of guidelines common to all bishops' conferences, each is obliged to work out its own statutes, which, however, need the subsequent approval of the Holy See.
The Nordic Episcopal Conference had its statutes already worked out and approved by its members in 1962. When the Vatican Council institutionalised and imposed conferences generally, new statutes had to be elaborated - a task which, starting with the first revision over four conference sessions in 1965, has continued at regular intervals. This is because Rome prefers to approve such rulings for a maximum period of five years, ad experimentum, as the formula goes. When the new body of Canon Law became effective on the first Sunday of Advent 1983, most of these statutes had to undergo at least revisory touches. And so the newly updated statutes of the Nordic Episcopal Conference, approved by the bishops in its Plenary Session in Stella Maris
Stella Maris
Stella Maris may refer to* Polaris * A title of the Blessed Virgin Mary, known in English as Our Lady, Star of the Seaplaces or organizations named for the Virgin Mary:...
near Helsinki
Helsinki
Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
on September 27 1984, were duly transmitted to Rome and received their unqualified approbation on 19 January 1985.