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Month: July 2021

Feast of Chinese Martyrs an opportunity to pray for persecuted Christians in China

Posted by | Jul 9, 2021 | , |

Chinese pilgrims attend the general audience in St. Peter’s Square, Oct. 12, 2016. / Daniel Ibanez/CNA.

Denver Newsroom, Jul 9, 2021 / 15:15 pm (CNA).

Today, July 9, the Church celebrates the feast day of Chinese Martyrs, 120 faithful Catholics assassinated for their faith between 1648 and 1930.  86 of them died in 1900, during the so-called “Boxer Rebellion,” a Chinese anti-Western revolt that caused the killing of Catholic, Evangelical and Anglican missionaries as well as other Europeans and Americans. 

Of the group canonized by Pope John Paul II on October 1st of 2000, 87 were Chinese laypeople and 33 were missionaries.

The feast is an occasion for the Chinese Catholic diaspora, and for the Universal Catholic church as a whole, to pray for Christians currently persecuted in Communist China, especially those Catholics who despite being a minority in Hong Kong, constitute the backbone of the freedom movement and are currently being jailed such as Catholic convert Jimmy Lai, owner of the pro-democracy paper Apple News; or those forced to exile, like pro-democracy Catholic leader Joseph Cheng.

“Chinese men and women of every age and state, priests, religious and lay people, showed the same conviction and joy, sealing their unfailing fidelity to Christ and the Church with the gift of their lives,” said St. John Paul II during the canonization.

“Resplendent in this host of martyrs are also the 33 missionaries who left their land and sought to immerse themselves in the Chinese world, lovingly assimilating its features in the desire to proclaim Christ and to serve those people.”

Of the 33 foreign-born missionaries, most were priests and religious, including members of the Order of Preachers, Friars Minor, Jesuits, Salesians and Franciscan Missionaries of Mary.

One of the more well-known native martyrs was a 14-year-old Chinese girl named Ann Wang, who was killed during the Boxer Rebellion when she refused to apostatize. She bravely withstood the threats of her torturers, and just as she was about to be beheaded, she radiantly declared, “The door of heaven is open to all ” and repeated the name of Jesus three times.

Another of the martyrs was 18-year-old Chi Zhuzi, who had been preparing to receive the sacrament of Baptism when he was caught on the road one night and ordered to worship idols. He refused to do so, revealing his belief in Christ. His right arm was cut off and he was tortured, but he would not deny his faith. Rather, he fearlessly pronounced to his captors, before being flayed alive, “Every piece of my flesh, every drop of my blood will tell you that I am Christian.”

Augustine Zhao Rong was the first native Chinese priest to become a martyr. Born in 1746, he served as one of the soldiers who escorted Bishop John Gabriel Taurin Dufresse to his martyrdom in Beijing. The witness of the bishop led Augustine to seek baptism at age 30. He was ordained a priest five years later and was martyred in 1815.

During the canonisation Mass, Pope John Paul II thanked God for blessing the Church with the heroic witness of the 120 martyrs, whom he called “an example of courage and consistency to us all.”

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Minneapolis parish planning affordable housing project

Posted by | Jul 9, 2021 | , , , , |

St. Olaf in downtown Minneapolis purchased the Exodus Residence in the early 1990s, and in partnership with Catholic Charities, provided “supportive housing” for more than 25 years, said Michael Griffin, the parish’s director of social ministry. “But in the last couple of years, it was recognized that the building had seen some better days, and was in need of some TLC on both a grand and a small scale,” he said.

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Carpenter and artist combine talents to create large icon of St. Joseph

Posted by | Jul 9, 2021 | , , , , , , , |

Following a Catholic Father’s Day Mass on June 19, Bishop Andrew Cozzens helped lead a 1.5-mile eucharistic procession and rosary from Maternity of Mary in St. Paul through city streets. Men took turns carrying a large Pilgrimage Icon of St. Joseph, Husband, Father, and Worker.

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Filipino bishops elect government critic as conference president

Posted by | Jul 9, 2021 | , |

Bishop Pablo Virgilio Siongco David of Kalookan, who was elected president of the Filipino bishops’ conference July 8, speaks in Manila Sept. 1, 2019. Credit: Gerard Carreon for LiCAS.news.

Manila, Philippines, Jul 9, 2021 / 11:31 am (CNA).

The Filipino bishops’ conference on Thursday elected Bishop Pablo Virgilio Siongco David of Kalookan, a staunch critic of the government’s war on drugs, as its president.

The conference elected Bishop David July 8 during its biannual plenary assembly. He had been vice president of the conference since 2017.

Since taking office on June 30, 2016, Philippine President Duterte has carried out a war on drugs that has resulted in the deaths of close to 30,000 suspected drug users and peddlers, according to Human Rights Watch.

Filipino authorities, however, said only 5,903 individuals were killed in police anti-drug operations from July 1, 2016 to September 30, 2020. 

Human Rights Watch maintained that the number did not include the deaths of those killed by unidentified gunmen who are believed to operate in cooperation with local police and officials.

Kilusang Mayo Uno, a trade union center, lauded the election of Bishop David, saying that he has “always sided with the poor and the oppressed, particularly the victims of extrajudicial killings.”

“Amidst the chaos brought about by the current health and economic crisis, we were greeted with positive news of Bishop [David]’s election.”

“Just as he continues fighting for human rights, we hope that he also works hand in hand with the workers in advocating for labor rights,” read the group’s statement.

Bong Labog, chairperson of the labor center, said the Filipino labor movement hopes that Bishop David will join in the campaign “for a just and livable national minimum wage, government aid and support for all.”

 

“As attacks on workers continue to intensify under the Duterte regime, we need more exemplary figures like Bishop [David] who will stand firmly against state repression,” said Labog.

He said Bishop David “can lead the way for the Catholic Church to unite as an institution that will stand up against corruption, criminality and brutality especially on unabated killings.”

Akbayan, a democractic socialist party, described Bishop David as “a person of integrity and has lived his life exemplifying a spirit of service to others.”

“This is a welcome development,” the group said in a statement.

“His long track record in defending human rights, and his staunch and consistent opposition to extrajudicial killings makes him the ideal leader of the [bishops’ conference] to help lead the Church and shepherd its flock back to the path of democracy,” it added.

Bishop David has been the target of the ire of Duterte in the past. He was among several priests and bishops who were accused of sedition by the government. The charges have since been dropped.

The prelate had also received several death threats following his condemnation of the spate of killings in the country.

In 2018, Duterte accused Bishop David of corruption. “You, David, you be quiet. You go on asking for contributions. … Where does the people’s money go?” the president said.

“You don’t have to go to church to pay for these idiots,” said Duterte, referring to bishops who have condemned the wave of drug-related killings in the country.

Bishop David has repeatedly asked the Filipino faithful to pray for Duterte because he is a “very sick man.” He made the statement after the president called saints “fools” and “drunkards.”

Bishop David’s pronouncement angered the president, who said the bishop “might be into drugs.”

Reacting to Duterte’s statement, Bishop David posted on Facebook: “No sir, I’m not into drugs of any sort, whether legal or illegal. Never been.”

“I only help in rehabilitating people addicted to drugs … Thank God I am not even taking any maintenance drugs yet,” the bishop said.

Bishop David, 62, was born in Betis in Pampanga province. 

He was ordained a priest of the Archdiocese of San Fernando in 1983, at the age of 24, and was appointed auxiliary bishop of the archdiocese in 2006. 

His episcopal consecration took place July 10, 2006, and he was appointed Bishop of Kalookan in 2015.

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Mexican bishop seeks priest exorcist

Posted by | Jul 9, 2021 | , |

Credit: Pro church media/Unsplash.

Tampico, Mexico, Jul 9, 2021 / 10:50 am (CNA).
Bishop José Armando Álvarez Cano of Tampico is seeking an exorcist for the diocese.A July 7 article in the diocesan magazine said the exorcist must “attend to cert…

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Woe Canada: The Land of the Burning Church

Posted by | Jul 9, 2021 | , , , |

Another day, another church vandalized. Welcome to Canada, the land formerly called glorious and free. It turns out not everyone in Canada is obsessed with hockey, maple syrup, and saying “sorry” needlessly. Arson, vandalism, and violence are now legitimate pastimes. […]

The post Woe Canada: The Land of the Burning Church appeared first on OnePeterFive.

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