xinde.org
Beijing (Agenzia Fides) - A Chinese edition of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the great and rich official exposition of all catechesis and Catholic doctrine, compiled under the supervision of then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger and approved by John Paul II in the 1990s. This is the welcome gift that Xiamen Catholics received at the entrance of the cathedral, on the day in which the "Year of Catechism" began in their diocese. Invoking the patronage of St. Joseph, "who does not say bad things and does good things", the Chinese diocese of Xiamen inaugurated the special year dedicated to catechism on Monday May 1, the liturgical feast of St. Joseph the Worker. Under the motto "Announcing the good news of the Lord's salvation", the "special time" dedicated to the Catechism began with a solemn Eucharistic liturgy presided over by Bishop Joseph Cai Bingrui, a celebration attended by all the diocesan priests, nuns and lay representatives of the parishes. The Diocesan Pastoral Care and Evangelization Commission has made public the program of initiatives and appointments planned to experience the Year of Catechism with the aim of walking together in faith and also recognizing in the study of the Catechism a precious opportunity to announce the Gospel. "Armed with the Catechism and strengthened by the Word of God, we respond to the mandate of the Lord Jesus to proclaim the good news of his salvation" - reads the pastoral letter of indiction of the Special Year, signed by the Bishop. In the liturgy that inaugurated this special time, all the participants in the mass crossed the "holy door" of the church - with a gesture that symbolized the beginning of the shared journey - receiving a copy of the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
In recent days, even in Tanghsan, hundreds of Catholics intensely shared the various moments of the Eucharistic Congress convened by the local ecclesial community. There was a procession, Eucharistic adoration, prayers and songs of Taizé, a final blessing, and listening to thirteen testimonies of men and women who publicly gave testimony of their faith, recounting with realism and without rhetoric the facts and the moments and circumstances that led to their encounter with Jesus. (NZ) (Agenzia Fides, 5/5/2023)