AMERICA/UNITED STATES - CHINESE CATHOLICS OVERSEAS ATTEND PASTORAL MISSIONARY CONGRESS IN SAN FRANCISCO: RELATION BETWEEN CHRIST AND CONFUCIUS, INCULTURATION, MISSION:

San Francisco (Fides Service ) –The 2nd Pastoral and Mission Congress of Chinese Catholics Overseas held in San Francisco (USA) closed on 5 September after reflecting on the theme “Confucianism, prelude to the Gospel”. More than 120 representatives of some thirty communities of overseas Chinese Catholics all over the world took part in the event which was previously scheduled for July in Toronto, Canada. Due to the SARS emergency the appointment was postponed and the venue changed. San Francisco was chosen because it has the largest Chinese community in the United States.
One of the organisers of the congress was Father Paolo Pang OFM, head of the Office for the promotion of and apostolate for overseas Chinese Catholic Communities opened by the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples.
Delegates present were pleased with the Congress which offered opportunities for fruitful exchange of experience among delegations from the different countries who illustrated how the faith is lived in a foreign land and above all in a foreign culture. Reflection focused on Christianity and Confucianism, a philosophy/religion professed by many Chinese. The congress also discussed problems of inculturation, and the challenges of mission for Chinese Catholics overseas.
The first Pastoral and Mission Congress of Chinese Catholics Overseas was held in Rome during the Great Jubilee 2000. The second Congress demonstrated that since then the overseas Chinese Catholic communities around the world have made great progress in the fields of cultural, spiritual and missionary formation. (NZ) (Agenzia Fides 5/9/2003 Lines: 26 Words: 270)