Shang Luo (Fides Service) - Fr Shen Don Wen a Korean Catholic priest from Pusan diocese in south Korea has been working for several years with a group of Korean nuns to alleviate the suffering of lepers in mainland China. The leprosy Centre is in the woods of a mountain region near Shang Luo in the Province of Shaanxi in central western China. The centre consists of a clinic for medical treatment, a research laboratory, wards for the sick and also rooms for staff.
Fr Shen Don Wen provides not only for the medical care of the inmates, he is concerned most of all about their spiritual welfare. He strives to restore their self esteem and dignity and, once they are cured, help them return to their families and find their place in society. In fact lepers are usually regarded with horror by families and friends, but these "angels of lepers" , as Fr Shen and his co-workers are called, have never hesitated to reach out to these poor people in need. One of the patients was so depressed that he was determined to commit suicide. Fr Shen and the Sisters made sure there was always someone with him day and night and gradually they helped him face the illness with courage and hope The man recovered serenity and is now a spiritual guide for the other patients. This is only one of many cases at the Leper Centre where patients and staff feel they are one real family. Although they are missionaries, the nuns and Fr Shen have never spoken to the patients about the Gospel, there is no need: their way of life speaks more than many words.
The Church in Korea supports the work of Fr Shen and the sisters. On the occasion of Lunar New Year, several Korean parishes collected funds for the Leper Centre, described in a Korean diocesan bulletin as a "family home rather than a hospital". (Fides Service 19/2/2003 EM lines 21 Words: 321)