Faith of Chinese impresses pastor

He was wrong.

"What started out to be a study tour turned out to be a retreat, a time during which I was able to see Jesus in the lives of persons whose culture is so different from anything that I ever had experienced," he said.

Orientation

"I thought it would be a good opportunity for me in terms of Propagation of the Faith," he said.

He had always been fascinated by the complex history of the Church in China. While missionaries arrived in China in 1294, the Vatican didn't formally establish the Chinese Church hierarchy until 1946. Communism came three years later to the country. From 1949 until 1966, the Communist government indirectly took control of Church affairs. The outcome was that two brands of Catholicism developed: the official government-sanctioned Church known as "registered Churches" and the unofficial, underground Catholicism known as the "unregistered Church."

In 1966, with the dawn of Mao Tse Tung's Cultural Revolution, all religion was ostracized and attacked. Religious leaders of every faith were persecuted mercilessly.

Impressions

"I was overwhelmed that these people kept the faith alive for 50 years without total freedom and without bishops, priests or women religious," he said. "It was the people themselves."

Because two forms of Catholicism exist in China, the situation is complex, he said, adding: "It's not black and white. It's gray."

There are some Catholics in China who will not worship in any church, or with any priest or bishop that has registered with the government, he explained. There are also those who fear any connection with Rome and cherish the ideal of a Catholic Church that is independent of Rome.

Faith in China

The priest said this was best summed up by a young woman he met. When asked about her involvement in a "registered Church," this woman, originally from the "underground" Church, said: "The Chinese Catholics are faithful to God, to the universal Church and to the Pope. We are one Church, although we are separated in two parts. We aim toward a goal which is to bring us to reconciliation and unity.

"Don't call our Church `patriotic Catholic Church.' Nobody does not love her or his country, but it really hurts us when people point to us as a patriotic Church. The Patriotic Association is a lay organization, but our Church is the Roman Catholic Church. It is true that we haven't had the normal diplomatic relationship with Rome, but it is a problem between two states, Vatican and China; it is not a problem between Chinese Catholics and the Pope. We confess that we are loyal to the Pope; we are members of the whole universal Church."

Familiar elements

"All of the Masses I participated in were in registered churches," he said. "The liturgy was the liturgy of Vatican II. And just as we say the Renew prayer, they said the Holy Father's prayer for the millennium.

"They struggle with the same things we do," he said, including the education of the young -- "how do we attract them to the Church?"

During the trip, familiar hymns like "Amazing Grace" were heard, although they were sung in Chinese. The priest found these songs strengthened the bond of unity he felt with Chinese Catholics.

Gift of chalices

At the National Seminary in Beijing, he presented Bishop Joseph Liu, rector, with the late Rev. Steve O'Connor's chalice. The chalice had been given by Father O'Connor's family to the Propagation of the Faith Office to be used for the missions. The bishop held the chalice to his heart and told Father Farano through an interpreter that he would pray for Father O'Connor's soul when he used it.

The other chalice, which belonged to a priest ordained in the 1920s, was presented to Bishop Anthony Li Du'an of Xian. It had an inscription on the bottom that was worn and barely readable. Bishop Li was thrilled to receive it, Father Farano said.

Sites

"I think I did not see an acre of uncultivated land," he said. "Even the space between the railroad tracks and road seemed to be growing some sort of vegetable."

Farming is much more primitive in China, he said. Plowing is done mostly with water buffalo, rather than with tractors. "The shoulder yoke, a pole with a bucket on either end, appeared still to be the way of watering the small patches of vegetable gardens," he said.

"Usually, the food was very good," he said. "I learned to eat a few new things -- like tofu and pig's ear."

The priest's horizons were expanded in other ways. "The trip taught me not to rush to judgment when I read things," he said. "I appreciate that there are people living in a state of development. People can transcend ambiguity in their lives and focus on the Lord. They suffer with it, but they don't let it get them down, and they live the faith the best they can."

(03-04-99) [[In-content Ad]]