Franciscans in China

ROME, JAN. 25, 2010 (Zenit.org).- When the Franciscans can count a significant group of native Chinese among there number, a goal of the order will have been achieved and the Church will have a working model of inculturation.

This was one of the reflections made by Father José Rodríguez Carballo, superior-general of the Franciscans, at a study day last week in Rome.

The superior of the Friars Minor observed that Chinese society is going through "a historic period of transition toward ever greater collaboration with the Western world, especially in the economic realm."

This transition, Father Rodríguez Carballo suggested, has a particular manifestation in young people: "The youth seem empty of values, and among the most sensitive, there is the search for a new spirituality that can give meaning to their lives.

"In this connection, it seems to many people that Christianity, insofar as a foreign religion, can offer something new and something more in relation to already known or experienced religions or ideologies in China.

"And this explains in part the relative growth of Christianity in the continent, and also the participation of Buddhists in the most important celebrations of the Catholic Church"..More>>