ASIA/CHINA - Immaculate Mary and St. Ambrose: models of authenticity of the Catholic academic research

Monday, 19 December 2016 culture  

Beijing (Agenzia Fides) - Mary Immaculate and St. Ambrose, Doctor of the Church, are the two models of authentic inner purity, of the search for truth and of the Catholic academic research without prejudices or personal interests, which accompanied the Ninth Forum on Catholic Studies for young Chinese scholars held on 7 and 8 December in Beijing, in the days of the liturgical feast of St. Ambrose and Mary Immaculate. As reported to Fides by Fr. Peter Jianmin Zhao, vicar of the Archdiocese of Beijing and director of the "Beijing Institute for the Study of Christian Culture", historical organizer of the annual academic appointment, "we have always chosen the date of 7 and 8 December just to entrust our work and our study to Mary Immaculate. We entrust our young scholars to St. Ambrose, invoking the intercession, accompaniment and protection of Mary Immaculate and St. Ambrose for our academic and religious path".
The 96 Chinese scholars of religion participated in the Forum, some came also from abroad. During the works they addressed issues of dogmatic theology, moral theology, inculturation of theology, Catholic ecology, anthropology, exegesis of sacred Scripture, history, Catholicism of Chinese ethnic minorities, publications and Catholic press, the study of dialogue between religion and art.
Since 2008, the "Beijing Institute for the Study of Christian Culture" has been organizing this annual forum in early December, gathering a growing presence of leading academics and scholars of Christianity, also internationally renowned. During the discussion, participants offered a number of proposals relevant to the mission of evangelization in Chinese society. All papers presented at the Forum are subsequently published in the Journal of Catholic Studies, volume published periodically by the Institute. (NZ) (Agenzia Fides 19/12/2016)


Share: