austraLasia 802
SALESIAN L.A. CENTRE
ORGANIZES MAJOR ASIAN GATHERING FOR 'THE YEAR OF THE
MONKEY'
LOS ANGELES: 5th February -- Fr. Joseph
Cheng, Salesian director of St. Bridget Chinese Centre in Los Angeles, has
organized, in conjunction with Cardinal Mahony and others from the Archdiocese,
a major bringing together of the Asian Catholic Community in an example of
cultural integration which respects and strengthens the distinct elements
involved. The Chinese New Year mass, celebrated at Los Angeles' Cathedral
of Our Lady of the Angels 'helped restore our traditions', said Fr.
Cheng.
He was not the only enthusiast to comment on the
gathering. San Francisco Auxiliary Bishop Ignatius Wang, the main
celebrant for the occasion, said "we celebrate the Chinese people, their culture
and their way of life". They did so in ways that recalled the veneration
Chinese have for their ancestors. After Communion, Cardinal Mahony, Bishop
Wang and a third Bishop participated in an ancestral veneration ritual along
with elders from the Chinese community. One member of the congregation was
Lena Fung, a sprightly 97 years of age. She had helped found the Chinatown
mission in 1941.
This is the first time that such liturgical solemnity
has been invested in the Chinese New Year, at least for California, and has been
recognised by the Asian community there as an important sign of acceptance of
that community by the Church.
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