Comments on: Reflections on a Beijing Mass http://catholicexchange.com/2009/10/05/122412/ Catholic News, Catholic Articles, Catholic Apologetics, Catholic Content, Catholic Information Fri, 10 Feb 2012 12:09:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.2 By: inveritate http://catholicexchange.com/2009/10/05/122412/comment-page-1/#comment-43085 inveritate Tue, 06 Oct 2009 03:10:27 +0000 http://catholicexchange.com/2009/10/05/122412/#comment-43085 My wife and I too have attended Mass in various parts of the world, selecting our hotels on the basis of how close they were to a Catholic church and appreciating the universality of the Roman liturgy. (If Mass were celebrated in Latin rather than the vernacular, universality would even be more manifest.) When in Beijing, we went to the Saturday vigil Mass at the Canadian embassy. (Mass for the diplomats and the expatriate community is usually held at the Filipino embassy, but when we visited Beijing it was at the Canadian one.) We decided not to go to one of the accessible Chinese Catholic churches, but not because of the validity/invalidity of the sacrament. (If I understand anything of the complex situation in China, quite a number of the bishops and priests of the "patriotic" church are in communion with Rome, and their sacraments are perfectly valid.) Rather, we acted as we did out of solidarity with the underground Church and the sufferance it has gone and is still going through. In writing this, I am obviously not pointing the finger at anyone, all the more so as we have a comparatively easy life as Catholics within our country, while our fellow Chinese have it much harder. May the Holy Spirit continue helping them. My wife and I too have attended Mass in various parts of the world, selecting our hotels on the basis of how close they were to a Catholic church and appreciating the universality of the Roman liturgy. (If Mass were celebrated in Latin rather than the vernacular, universality would even be more manifest.) When in Beijing, we went to the Saturday vigil Mass at the Canadian embassy. (Mass for the diplomats and the expatriate community is usually held at the Filipino embassy, but when we visited Beijing it was at the Canadian one.) We decided not to go to one of the accessible Chinese Catholic churches, but not because of the validity/invalidity of the sacrament. (If I understand anything of the complex situation in China, quite a number of the bishops and priests of the “patriotic” church are in communion with Rome, and their sacraments are perfectly valid.) Rather, we acted as we did out of solidarity with the underground Church and the sufferance it has gone and is still going through. In writing this, I am obviously not pointing the finger at anyone, all the more so as we have a comparatively easy life as Catholics within our country, while our fellow Chinese have it much harder. May the Holy Spirit continue helping them.

]]> By: jm06 http://catholicexchange.com/2009/10/05/122412/comment-page-1/#comment-43079 jm06 Mon, 05 Oct 2009 17:20:45 +0000 http://catholicexchange.com/2009/10/05/122412/#comment-43079 Christi Here is a link to an article that may answer some of your questions. http://www.catholic.com/thisrock/2009/0903fea5.asp Christi

Here is a link to an article that may answer some of your questions.

http://www.catholic.com/thisrock/2009/0903fea5.asp

]]> By: Christi Derr http://catholicexchange.com/2009/10/05/122412/comment-page-1/#comment-43078 Christi Derr Mon, 05 Oct 2009 12:48:49 +0000 http://catholicexchange.com/2009/10/05/122412/#comment-43078 Mr O'Malley - thank you for this article - a wonderful reminder of the universality of our faith. My husband traveled to China a few times and he did not know where to go to Mass. Do you know the status of the "underground" Catholic church vs. the "patriotic" Catholic church? Are the Masses at the Patriotic Church licit? Obviously, it would not be a good idea for an foreigner to show up at a underground Mass. Are you aware of anything the Pope has written recently on this? Thank you! Mr O’Malley – thank you for this article – a wonderful reminder of the universality of our faith. My husband traveled to China a few times and he did not know where to go to Mass. Do you know the status of the “underground” Catholic church vs. the “patriotic” Catholic church? Are the Masses at the Patriotic Church licit? Obviously, it would not be a good idea for an foreigner to show up at a underground Mass. Are you aware of anything the Pope has written recently on this? Thank you!

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