Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Rome (Agenzia Fides) - The 3rd Overseas Chinese Catholic Community Congress on Evangelisation and Pastoral Care will take place 17 - 21 November in Singapore to reflect on the theme “The descendents of Emperors Yan and Huang, object of Evangelisation” Fides was told by Fr. Paolo Peng, OFM, responsible for the overseas Chinese Catholic communities, recently in Rome for a short visit. The Congress programme includes the following conferences: “The Culture of Yan Huang” (presented by Mgr. Li Zhen, former rector of the Fu Ren Catholic University); “Evangelisation Today” (Rev. Luke Tsui Kam Yiu, diocesan priest of Hong Kong for years in charge of vocation and pastoral formation in mainland China). Delegates from different communities will illustrate their experience.
“With this initiative we intend to recall that Jesus commanded us to go out to evangelise the whole world, and we wish to reflect on the challenges facing the Church in Asia. The object of our evangelisation are not only overseas Chinese, but the whole Chinese world. We intend also to reflect on the 1st Asian Mission Congress” Fr Paolo Peng told Fides. “The organising committee in collaboration with the Catholic communities in Singapore and Malaysia, has invited all overseas Chinese Catholics, bishops, priests and lay persons to take part in the congress to discuss evangelisation and pastoral care, share personal and community faith experience, identify ways to strengthen the structure of the overseas Chinese Catholic communities for a better future from the spiritual point of view and missionary growth of the overseas Chinese Catholic Community”. Fr. Paolo told us about the organisation: “Already 135 participants have enrolled. The Archbishop of Singapore will preside the opening of the Congress. We received a message of encouragement from Cardinal Ivan Dias, Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples”.
The first two Congresses were held in Rome in 2000 and San Francisco in the United States in 2003. The Congress in Rome, 27 September - 3 October, during the Great Jubilee of 2000, coincided with the canonisation of China’s martyr Saints. That 1st Congress brought together 117 participants to reflect on the theme “Walking Together towards Christ in the Chinese Culture”. The participants took part in all the religious celebrations of the canonisation and shared experience of Christian life, focussing especially on the growth of the overseas Chinese Catholic communities. The second Congress on the theme “Kong and Meng Culture, Preface to Evangelisation” in San Francisco 21 - 25 September 2003, brought together 120 participants. (Agenzia Fides 25/10/2006 Righe: 36 Parole: 440)
