Troy native, missionary to China, to mark ordination anniversary

From Troy to China is quite a leap, but it was made by Rev. Peter J. Barry, who has been a Maryknoll missionary priest for 40 years.

A graduate of St. Mary's School and LaSalle Institute in Troy, he was sent to Taiwan and China after his 1965 ordination. He now serves at the Holy Spirit Study Center in Hong Kong. He also teaches theology in several Chinese seminaries.

A missioner is "someone who preaches the Good News of the Gospel to those that haven't heard it," he told The Evangelist. "I let God take over from there, because I see myself as just an instrument of the Lord."

Limitations

In China, missionaries minister to people in a country where their government involves itself with every aspect of their lives, including their religion.

Because the government allows only so much religious freedom, his work is limited.

"Right now, the government is very concerned with opening and maintaining international relations with other nations," the priest explained. "Part of the political and economic push right now is to also allow limited religious freedoms. But, at the same time, this is still a one-party political government, a communist state, and they want to maintain control."

Updating Catholics

Father Barry and other missionaries try to make current theology available in spite of the limitations and government supervision.

For example, he noted that the government controls the amount of time missionaries can teach or preach at seminaries. Because there are currently no diplomatic relations between the Chinese government and the Vatican, much of what the seminarians are learning is pre-Vatican II theology.

"Both John Paul II and our current Holy Father, Benedict XVI, have indicated that they want to keep the Catholic Church in China in union theologically with the universal Church," he said. "But, currently, there are few books on up-to-date theology being printed in the Chinese language."

Progress

Over the past 25 years, Father Barry said, the Catholic Church has managed to rebuild churches, and establish parishes, convents and seminaries. However, much work remains to be done.

He called the Holy Spirit Study Center, where he works, an outreach to the people of China, "mostly Catholics, but also others of Christian denominations."

"I enjoy the work," he declared, "because I am using Chinese to preach the Gospel, and, at the same time, I am helping to build up the local Christian community by training future generations of Chinese clergy. My hope is that young men who are wondering what to do with their lives would get involved in missionary work. It is exciting to preach God's Word to others.

"The people are wonderful -- and the food is great, too."

(Father Barry invites friends as well as classmates from St. Mary's School, class of '52, and from La Salle Institute, class of '56, to help him celebrate his 40th anniversary at the 11 a.m. Mass at Sacred Heart Church in Troy on July 3.)

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