In 2016, Fr Joseph Enkh Baatar was ordained in St Peter and Paul Cathedral in Ulaanbaatar.

Like so many buildings in Mongolia's capital, the cathedral is modeled after the yurt - a round tent made of animal skin in which the peoples of the steppe have dwelled for millennia.

Fr Baatar is the country's first native priest.

There are fewer than 2,000 Catholics in Mongolia since missionary work began in earnest about 25 years ago, but their numbers are growing - albeit slowly.

And the seedling Church in Mongolia isn't alone.

As pews empty in traditionally Catholic nations, conversions are flourishing in unlikely corners of the world.

Sweden

The Lutheran state Church, like the Church of England, was established in the 16th century by royal decree.

The Catholic Church was subsequently outlawed and virtually wiped out.

And, although Sweden is heavily secularised (fewer than 30 per cent of Swedes describe themselves as religious), the Reformation's legacy continues to cause difficulties for the Church.

"The general level of knowledge about Catholicism is very low in Sweden, with a lot of bias and prejudice," Kristina Hellner, the Diocese of Stockholm's communications officer, told me.

Yet Catholicism is among the fastest-growing religions in the country.

There are 116,000 Catholics in Sweden, with 4,000 more registering each year and about 100 adult conversions.

In fact, Church officials believe the number may actually be twice as large: it doesn't take into account many immigrants, refugees and catechumens.

In any event, Sweden is one of only a handful of European countries where the Church is growing.

Recognising the Church's astonishing progress in Sweden, Pope Francis named Anders Arborelius the first Swedish cardinal last June.

Since then, he's become something of a celebrity.

"Cardinal Arborelius is very popular among journalists and has been interviewed literally everywhere," says Hellner. Fokus, the country's largest news magazine, named him "Swede of the Year" in 2017.

Arborelius was raised Lutheran and converted in his 20s, which is common for ethnically Swedish Catholics.

"Many of the most traditional and conservative Catholics in our parishes have converted from the Swedish Lutheran Church," says Hellner, adding that "they are also often the ones that are most active and ‘loud' on social media."

It's a reality that British and American Catholics know all too well.

According to the diocese, 70 catechumens will be received into the Church this Easter.

United Arab Emirates

Catholic immigrants are making their home in a very different country: the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

As Arab migrants and refugees pour over Europe's borders, Filipino, Indian, Syrian, Lebanese, Nigerian and French Catholics are moving to the Gulf States in search of work in the booming oil industry.

And the Emirates are perhaps the most liberal in allowing foreign workers to practise their faith.

Catholicism has grown rapidly in the UAE in recent decades.

In 1965, the Emirates granted the Church permission to build one parish and one school in Dubai to serve the needs of its faithful.

Today there are upwards of 700,000 Catholics, 40 priests and 10 parishes there.

Dubai alone claims 300,000, making it the largest parish in the world. Continue reading

• Image: Catholic Herald

There have been many attacks against the Swedish Jewish community over the past few years, with two during the past week.

It is thought the most recent events are connected with United States President Donald Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

In one of the violent events last week, masked youths threw molotov cocktails through a Goteborg synagogue window at people celebrating the Hannukah festival.

Hannukah runs from 12 December until 20 December.

Three men were arrested on suspicion of attempted arson.

Two days later, two bottle bombs were discovered outside the Jewish burial chapel in the southern Swedish city of Malmo.

This is the second time in recent years the Jewish chapel has been attacked. There was an arson attempt in 2009.

In addition to the attacks, hundreds of protestors gathered in Malmo last week, publicly shouting for violence against the Jewish community.

"We want our freedom back, and we will shoot the Jews," a radio station reported the crowd as saying.

The next day, protestors publicly burned an Israeli flag in Stockholm.

At another protest against Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital, protesters called for an intifada and promised "we will shoot the Jews."

A day later, during a demonstration in Stockholm, a speaker called Jews "apes and pigs." There were promises of martyrdom.

Malmo's Jewish community sees the recent events as "extremely serious."

"We strongly emphasize that we can never accept being subjected to threats and attacks," the Jewish assembly said.

Responding to the violence, the Bishop of Stockholm wrote to one of the affected communities, expressing solidarity.

The Bishop's concern was echoed by Cardinal Anders Arborelius.

"It's with deep sorrow that I have heard about the detestable attack on your parish," he wrote.

"I just want to express my sympathy in this difficult situation. I pray that God will help and protect all of you."

Antje Jackelen, the Lutheran Archbishop of Uppsala, said "I would like to assure you of the solidarity of the Swedish church in the fight against anti-Semitism and violence in the name of religion."

The Times of Israel reported Sweden's Prime Minister Stefan Lofven as saying "There is no place for anti-Semitism in Swedish society."

Sweden's Interior Minister for Justice, Morgan Johansson, is vowing to protect the Jewish community.

He said there is increased security around Jewish buildings around the country and police have been patrolling for anti-Semitic activity.

Source

• Catholic News Agency
• Arutz Sheva
• Hot Air
• Image: The Tablet

Their role would be similar to that of the College of Cardinals and would offer more opportunity for women's leadership in the church.

Francis made Arborelius Sweden's first cardinal in a consistory on Wednesday.

He said he thinks "it's very important to find a broader way of involving women at various levels in the church."

"The role of women is very, very important in society, in economics, but in the church sometimes we are a bit behind," Arborelius says.

In this respect he has wide support, including from the female advisory board for the Pontifical Council for Culture.

Their wish is to send an "electric shock" that will open discussion on women's roles in the Church.

"The Church is a male-dominated world, but the [wider] world in which it exists is both male and female," Consuelo Corradi, vice rector for research and international relations at the LUMSA University of Rome, told Crux.

"The global church needs to enter a continued dialogue with women," she says.

Arborelius noted the church has in the past sought women's advice, and mentioned that Pope John Paul II had often sought counsel from Mother Teresa and Chiara Lubich, founder of the Focolare movement.

"Maybe it could be made more official," he suggested.

"We have a College of Cardinals, but we could have a college of women who could give advice to the pope."

The College of Cardinals is the body of all the cardinals of the Catholic Church.

Cardinals are usually senior Catholic prelates who serve as bishops in dioceses or in the Vatican's central bureaucracy and have a special tie to the pope as the symbolic heads of Rome's parish churches.

Source

• National Catholic Reporter
• Crux
• Image: franciscanmedia.org