Vatican restores ties with Scandinavian lands

The Vatican said Monday it has restored full diplomatic relations with Denmark, Sweden, and Norway for the first time since the Protestant Reformation swept Northern Europe four centuries ago.

The announcement was carried in a brief front-page report in the Vatican daily l'Osservatore Romano. The decision to upgrade relations with the three Scandinavian countries, which are overwhelmingly Lutheran, was made through a ''desire to promote and develop mutual and friendly relations,'' the Vatican said.