Archdiocese hosts
international Chinese pastoral convention
LOS ANGELES: 1st September -- More than
100 international and local Catholic clergy, religious and lay leaders will
gather at Mater
Dolorosa Retreat
Center in Sierra Madre Sept. 2-5 for
the second Worldwide Overseas Chinese Pastoral and Evangelization Convention.
Salesian Father Joseph Cheng, director of
St. Bridget Chinese Center of Los
Angeles, attended the first WOCPEC convention held in
Rome during the 2000 Jubilee Year.
He said this year a number of Southern California Chinese Catholic communities
are working together to host the event, which was switched from its original
location in Toronto due to concern
about the SARS epidemic.
Drawing representatives from all over the
world, including North and South America,
Europe,
China,
New Zealand,
Malaysia,
Singapore,
Australia and
Taiwan, the
convention will address the theme of "Confucianism, Prelude to Gospel."
Speakers for the convention include
Franciscan Father Paul P. Pang, director of the Holy See's Worldwide Overseas
Chinese Apostolate, St. John the
Baptist Father Thomas Sung, a leader in the Chinese Cursillo movement based in
New York, and Salesian Sister
Maria Ko, a theology professor currently teaching in
Rome. San Francisco Auxiliary Bishop
Ignatius Wang, the first Asian bishop ordained in the
U.S., and San
Gabriel Region Auxiliary Bishop Gabino Zavala are also scheduled to attend.
Talks will center on shared values
between Confucianism and Catholicism, such as love for one's neighbors. Many
tenets of Confucianism are "very close to the Gospel," said Father Cheng.
Participants will have the opportunity to
visit local Chinese Catholic communities in Los
Angeles and
Orange counties.
At the conclusion of the convention, Los
Angeles Chinese Catholic community members from St. Bridget Chinese Center, St.
Thomas Aquinas Church in Monterey
Park, and St. Elizabeth Ann Seaton Church in
Rowland Heights as well as participants from Orange
County Chinese Catholic communities will offer a program of entertainment,
including a concert. An optional visit to the Grand
Canyon is also planned.
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