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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