Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Tai Pei (Agenzia Fides) - The Chinese Regional Bishops' Conference in Taiwan issued a pastoral letter for the year 2007, dated Dec. 25, 2006, in which they suggest practical ways for Catholics to perform charitable work. The letter, written in Chinese, is titled Social Concern and Evangelization. The bishops say they reflected on Pope Benedict XVI's encyclical Deus Caritas Est (God is love) during the Bishops’ conference's general meeting Nov. 20-23. "As we believe that God is love ... we have to show our concern for our brothers and sisters so as to respond to God's love," they wrote.”.
The Letter has two parts. “The heart of our faith”, quoting Deus Caritas Est “God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him” (1 Jn 4:16). These words from the First Letter of John express with remarkable clarity the heart of the Christian faith: the Christian image of God and the resulting image of mankind and its destiny. In the same verse, Saint John also offers a kind of summary of the Christian life: “We have come to know and to believe in the love God has for us”. Consequently Christians must show concern for all men and women ”.
Practical suggestions for charitable work include: concern for the family, for young people, children, the elderly, immigrants, public society. The Bishops identify the family as the "cornerstone" of education and service to others, saying the level of stability in families affects the development of society, humanity and quality of life. In line with this, they suggest that dioceses and parishes set up family-ministry groups to visit families and help them strengthen their faith and their relationships with one another. Noting that adolescents are full of energy but also vulnerable to temptation, the bishops urge parents to spend more time with their children to help them discern true values from the distorted pseudo-values promoted by what they called the cultures of death, consumption and entertainment. Parishes can become meeting places for young people and can inspire them to serve Church and society, the Church leaders remind Catholics. The bishops call for the establishment of special schools where elderly people can share their wisdom with young people and act as role models for them, which they say benefits both groups. In their letter, the bishops urge Catholics, especially those working in Church organizations and the public sector, to bring Gospel values to their workplaces. “For Christians social concern and evangelisation are channels to help people realise God’s love for every person. Practicing the faith Christians lead others to discover God who is Love”. The Bishops end by asking the people to pray that Catholic community commitment “may render the Kingdom of God present in Taiwan”. (NZ)(Agenzia Fides 09/01/2007 Righe: 33 Parole: 415)
