Church lags behind population growth in China

Catholics in China in a Eucharistic celebration

The largest survey ever conducted of the Catholic Church in mainland China has indicated that the Catholic population has not kept pace with overall population growth. The results of the study, conducted by the Faith Institute for Cultural Studies (FICS), a Church-run organization based in Shijiazhuang, Hebei province, were published on Dec. 18. According to the survey, there are now about 5.71 million Catholics in mainland China, served by 3,397 bishops, priests and deacons.
A total of 3,268 priests are serving in more than 100 dioceses. The report says there are now 628 seminarians studying in 10 major seminaries plus another 630 in 30 minor seminaries. There are a total of 5,451 nuns from 106 congregations, and only 350 Religious men. A Church observer, using the pen name "Dade," says the survey shows how small the number of Catholics still is compared to China's 1.3 billion population. He says the Church needs to evangelize more for its overall development.
However, statistics compiled by Hong Kong diocese's Holy Spirit Study Centre (HSSC) in 2008 show a marked difference from FICS' figures. HSSC puts the number of mainland Catholics at about 12 million last year, more than double the figure given by FICS. Anthony Lam Sui-ki, HSSC's senior researcher, said his institute began collecting data from mainland dioceses in 1988, and there has always been a marked difference between its figures and the mainland Church's official figures. Lam says that according to HSSC's research, there are 80 Vatican-approved bishops, with about half of them not recognized by the Chinese government. There are fewer than 10 bishops in the government-approved Church community who do not have a papal mandate, he added.

Macau - China Missionary Meet

The participants of the Regional Gathering at Macau

The regional gathering of Claretians of Macau and China was celebrated on 26 December. The day began with the concelebrated Eucharistic celebration, presided by Fr. Rossa. The day was utilized for the study of “Men on Fire With Love – Called to Live Our Missionary Vocation Today” – the Declaration of the XXIV General Chapter. The sessions were animated by Fr. Marcellino Fonts, himself a Chapter member.

Fr. Fonts began with a brief description of how the Chapter was celebrated and what was the significance of the Chapter Declaration. The Declaration, elaborated in 65 numbers under three major divisions was briefly explained with an emphasis on further personal reading of the Declaration. Fr. Fonts who arrived in Macau on the Christmas Eve also met with all the missionaries working in the region.

MACAU Catholic University lays foundation for new campus

Macau chief executive Edmund Ho Hau-wah and Bishop Jose Lai Hung-seng have laid the foundation stone for a new Catholic university campus in Macau on 15 December 2009.

The newly named University of Saint Joseph campus shares the site with the senior secondary section of Saint Joseph Diocesan College, and Church authorities hope to create a "one-stop" Church educational service. The university changed its name from Macau Inter-University Institute (IIUM) to University of Saint Joseph this month. "With the new name, it will give the public a clear message that it is a Church-run tertiary educational institute," said Bishop Lai.

Bishop Jose Lai Hung-seng of Macau (fourth from left)
shares a stage with Macau chief executive Edmund Ho Hau-wah
(center) and other dignitaries at the foundation laying ceremony

Bishop Lai opined that he hopes the new name and new campus would lay the basis for the development of Catholic education in the territory. Through the new venture, the Church hopes that more people will "get to know Jesus Christ and the values of the Gospel". Pastoral service and evangelization are the two most important missions of the Church, the bishop said.

The new campus is at Ilha Verde in the northern part of the Macau peninsula. It covers an area of 1.5 hectares owned by the diocese and is expected to be completed by 2011. It can take in as many as 2,200 students for the university and 800 students for the diocesan college.Bishop Lai has also lobbied the Chinese government's State Administration for Religious Affairs to allow the enrollment of nuns and priests from mainland China.

- Courtesy: UCA News

Tamil Community Bible Released

Hats off to Claretian Communications, Chennai, India, on the occasion of the releasing of Tamil Community Bible

It was joyous moment for the Pastoral Bible Foundation to learn about the publishing of the Tamil Community Bible, as the Foundation had the opportunity to be associated with the Tamil Bible project in its initial stages. After the releasing of the Bible, Fr. Michael Francis, the Director of the Claretian Communications, Chennai, had sent the following message to Fr. Rossa:

"It is indeed a matter of great joy that the long awaited TAMIL COMMUNITY BIBLE is released on 13.12.2009 at Our Lady of Fathima Church, Tambaram, Chennai India . Four Bishops, Superior Generals from a few Congregations, Provincial Superiors, Bible Scholars, Priests, Nuns, Seminarians, Leaders from other Churches and around 1300 lay people gathered to solemnize the function.

"We are deeply indebted to Tamil Nadu Bishops who gave the definite approval. We thank Dr. Soosaimanikam, D.D, the President of Tamil Nadu Bible Commission, whose support was praiseworthy. We offer our heartfelt thanks to Fr. Dr. C. Hieronymus, the editor of the Bible. This Bible is the fruit of the hard work put in by many Bible Scholars who deserve our special thanks.

"We gratefully remember Fr. Bernard Hurault, the author of the Pastoral Bible Commentaries. We thank Fr. Ralph Berg, the then Provincial Superior and the Claretian Western Province for their partial financial support. We immensely thank Fr. Alberto Rosa for his valued patronage. We thank MISSIO for their partial financial assistance. CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEAR WISHES FROM CLARETIAN COMMUNICATIONS, CHENNAI"

Fr. V. Michael Francis, CMF, Director
Claretian Communications, Chennai, India

Christmas at Macau

The Christmas Celebrations for the Claretians in Macau this time has been a special one. Christmas is also an occasion for the family gatherings. For the Claretian Community in Macau too this Christmas was family gathering time. The Community had the joy of celebrating Christmas with the Claretians from China and Macau together with Fr. Marcellino Fonts, the Delegate Superior from Japan.

Participants in the Novena Mass at the Claretian House

The Community had earlier hosted a nine-day Novena Mass in preparation for Christmas from 16-24 December. The Mass celebrated at 5 am on the days of Novena were attended mostly by Philippino Catholics. We have joined the parish community of St. Lawrence, where Fr. Jojo serves as the Assistant Parish Priest, for the vigil Mass. The Following slide captures a few stills from our Christmas celebrations. Enjoy it!

Welcome to the China-Macau Bulletin, December 2009

Congratulations to the New Delegation Government!
Fr. Francisco Carin (Consultor), Fr. Marcelino Fonts
(Delegate Superior), Fr. Felix Martinez (Econome)
and Fr. Vincent Lee (Consultor)

The General Government, after receiving the soundings from the members, has re-appointed the Government of East Asian Delegation of the Claretians. The new government took charge on 16 November 2009 in Hirakata, Japan. We wish them the Heaven's Choicest Blessings and a fruitful term in the coming years.

Meeting Friends and Partners in Nanjing

Ms. Divine De Leon has been working with the Claretian Publications in the Philippines and later in Macau. Having monitored the entire publishing projects of the Claretian Publications with Fr. Rossa for years, she had the opportunity to work in close association with the Amity Press at Nanjing. Amity Press, located in the city of Nanjing, is one of the largest bible printing companies in the world. It is there where we print close to half a million copies of books every year. Last month, Divine visited the Amity Press and following is a brief account of her experiences

Fany, Delrita, Jill, Chunnong, Me, Mr. Zhu,
Roy, Gary and Tony

"I remember hearing from Fr. Rossa some years back how the Bible containers sail across the oceans, going to different parts of the world — and you would see in him the excitement. Now I know… I am appreciating more than ever this work and ministry. Father’s parish is really BIG – IT IS THE WORLD.

"Work becomes harder when you do not have reliable and good partners. Thanks really to technology: emails, chat, and SMS, we can deal faster with our clients and partners in this ministry. For me those at AMITY are not just clients and partners, they are friends.

"Nanjing is the capital of China's Jiangsu Province, and a city with a prominent place in Chinese history and culture. Nanjing (literally: 'Southern capital') served as the capital of China during several historical periods and is listed as one of the Four Great Ancient Capitals of China. Nanjing was the capital of the Republic of China before the Chinese Civil War in 1949.

With my “girls” Fany, Delrita & Yanyan in our
office at Amity Press

"The weather this time of the year is quite cold, but with the warm hearts of our friends, one would forget the weather! The Amity Press has a workforce of 400 plus people. There I met Chunnong, Gary and Mr. Zhu and the rest of the people. We had time to discus and work with father Rossa online. They assigned me an office where I could work for a day! We are now printing about 120,000 copies of Bibles and books that will be completed by February 2010.

CHINA Mainland clergy welcome Vatican letter

Fr. Rossa with a group of priests from Hebei, Mainland China

Vatican secretary of state Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone's letter, written for the Year for Priests, was published in the Vatican's Fides Service and Vatican Radio websites on Nov. 16. It was believed to be a result of the meeting of the Holy See's Commission for the Catholic Church in China in late March.

Half of the meeting was devoted to the formation of seminarians, priests and Religious.The document, dated Nov. 10, reiterates the importance of reconciliation within the Catholic community and reminded the clergy to find strength from the Eucharist. It also advised bishops to ensure adequate formation for their priests.

A procession of deacons before their priestly

ordination Mass in Jilin, China (File photo)

Father John Li Hongwei of Changsha, from the "open" Church community, said the letter was timely and useful in helping priests learn how to act according to the Gospel. Since Changsha diocese has had no bishop for nine years, his fellow priests have tended to work independently with little cooperation among themselves. Such lack of unity has caused many problems, he said. Father Paul Bai Chunlong of Jilin, also from the open Church community, appreciated the cardinal's reminder to bishops to pay "particular attention" to young priests working alone soon after ordination.

Commenting on the letter's emphasis on "reconciliation within the Catholic community" in China, he believes bishops from both Church communities should take the lead by contacting and accepting one other. "Three of my primary schoolmates became underground priests and we lost contact. But now we phone each other and meet up regularly," he said.

Courtesy - UCA News