Chinese Catholic Story on NPR
As I blogged the other day, NPR is running a series this week on the role of religion in China, and each day will be devoted to one of the five recognized faiths in China. Monday was Protestant Christianity and Tuesday was Catholic Christianity. The rest of the week will have stories about Buddhism, Daoism, and Islam.
Louisa Lim focuses on the divisions between the Patriotic Church and the Underground Church, terms used by people who want to emphasize differences. Ever since reading this FAQ from Hong Kong Diocese's Holy Spirit Centre I tend not to use them myself, and especially since my own direct experiences with the Catholic Church in China have mostly been about the finding the unity within the Universal Church. To name a few situations, how about the start of the Pauline Year in Shenzhen, praying the Pope's prayer for China on May 24, and the most amazing Good Friday just this year at the Seminary. Lim only mentions the blurring between registered and un-registered, but when Dr. Clark was in Guizhou, he really saw first hand how blurry this can be. I am amazed, though, that Lim was able to interview and photograph Bishop Shi, even pay visit to his church of residence. As I have blogged before, I do not have much experience with the underground or unregistered churches because I do not need to make their situations worse.
I could go on, as you know. The report is good, but it is just a piece of a very large complicated picture.
Louisa Lim focuses on the divisions between the Patriotic Church and the Underground Church, terms used by people who want to emphasize differences. Ever since reading this FAQ from Hong Kong Diocese's Holy Spirit Centre I tend not to use them myself, and especially since my own direct experiences with the Catholic Church in China have mostly been about the finding the unity within the Universal Church. To name a few situations, how about the start of the Pauline Year in Shenzhen, praying the Pope's prayer for China on May 24, and the most amazing Good Friday just this year at the Seminary. Lim only mentions the blurring between registered and un-registered, but when Dr. Clark was in Guizhou, he really saw first hand how blurry this can be. I am amazed, though, that Lim was able to interview and photograph Bishop Shi, even pay visit to his church of residence. As I have blogged before, I do not have much experience with the underground or unregistered churches because I do not need to make their situations worse.
I could go on, as you know. The report is good, but it is just a piece of a very large complicated picture.
Comments
Today's on female imams in Chinese Islam was fascinating, and rather than being a modernist, feminist innovation as some would want to portray, it is actually part of Chinese Islam tradition.