DENMARK—The Position of the Church

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXXV, Issue 1, 3 January 1907, Page 31

DENMARK— The Position of the Church

- „ Rev. Charles Hangauer, of Odense, Denmark, was recently on a visit to Philadelphia. In a brief interview with a representative of the ' Catholic Standard and Times ' he spoke hopefully of the outlook for the Church in Denmark, where as late as 1849 it was a,capital offence . for, a Catholic priest to officiate, and ■ft here the ■ Danes ■even later were forbidden to be present at the services"" held in the ' chapels attached to--the embassies of Catholic countries: The -Catholic population of Denmark is .about ten thousand but of a . total of two o.ncl a half millions. Of the - Catholics, about" three; thousand are in the. capital city,' Copenhagen where there arc six churches, includia^ the* dihedral and a church in charge of the Jesuit -Fathers. Many of the Catholics are converts from Lutheranism, who, Father liangauer says, make excellent. Catholics. He 's^oke of one' mission which began with ten Cathoiics and shortly after numbered live hundred,: nearly -all of them converts. Of the ten thousand „ CathoKcs of Denmark, six thousand are natives.