ASIA/CHINA - Catholics quick to offer aid and solidarity to victims of natural disasters in recent weeks: “It is the responsibility of the Church and the duty of Christians to help the affected people ”

Beijing (Agenzia Fides) - In the last two months of July and August, as every year, various parts of southern China were affected by floods, typhoons and earthquakes and as usual Catholic communities everywhere offered spiritual and material support help and assistance to the affected families with love, solidarity. These tragedies revealed the growing maturity of Catholic charity work in China and improved collaboration with national and foreign organisations for example Jin De Caritas, Charity Foundation, an ecumenical structure whose members are Christians, Chinese civil personalities, Caritas Germany, Caritas Spain, and the Lazarist missionaries. According to the widely read Catholic publication in Chinese Faith when natural disasters strike people see Christians living the Christian spirit in word, prayer and deed. Basic Ecclesial Communities from Beijing to Shang Hai, Tian Jin, Chong Qing, He Bei, He Nan, Xin Jiang, Fu Jina, Yun Nan, inner Mongolia, spontaneously acted to help those in need, reaching out to people suffering and grieving. Jin De Caritas demonstrated all its competence to manage an emergency and co-ordinate aid.
The diocese of Shang Hai, informed of the damage in the diocese of Wen Zhou by a typhoon in mid August, collected 100 thousand Yuan (about 10,000 Euro) to help people of all faiths, ethnic origin or social condition. The diocese worked with Jin De Caritas and sent personnel to assess needs and coordinate aid to help 18 Catholic families among the worst affected communities. Jin De Caritas representatives said “these people need blankets, food and medicine. An estimated 32,100 were affected by the typhoon.” On 13 August the diocese of Nan Jing, under the guidance of the Bishop Lu X in Ping, started offering daily special prayers for people suffering because of the earthquake in Yun Nan and floods in the south, and also sent material aid. The Bishop said “it is the responsibility of the Church to help people suffering people and a duty for all Christians. This helps us to strengthen and mature our faith and our sense of Christian charity helping us to love the Lord and neighbour. It is also a way to bear witness in civil society of Christian values and to make Christ known and welcomed.” A priest in inner Mongolia, Fr Yang Zhen Jie, said: “On Sunday 6 August we told the faithful of the disaster in the south asking them to pray during Mass give generously in the collection. Although our parish is small and the people are not rich, we collected 1,237 Yun”. One local Jin De Caritas volunteer said: “From 10 to 24 August Catholics collected 25,217 Yuan and non Chinese Catholic communities in Beijing collected 17,000 Yuan. At the end of the month we will visit the affected areas with members of German and Spanish Caritas to assess needs and plan how to help with the work of rebuilding”. (Agenzia Fides 30/08/2006 Righe: 41 Parole: 494)