February 2008

Dear Friends:

On the Solemnity of Pentecost, May 27, 2007, the Holy Spirit bestowed a special grace upon the Roman Catholic Church in China. On that day, Pope Benedict XVI issued a letter to the bishops, priests, consecrated persons, and lay faithful in China. In his letter, the Holy Father sets forth new guidelines and directives for the Church that is in China. The Roman Catholic Church in China that is in full communion with the Pope and with the universal Church, although mostly underground, still illegal in China, and still under persecutions from the Chinese government, is very grateful for this immense grace that comes from the Successor of Peter and humbly and happily, as she always does, submits to his teaching.

One of the missions of the Cardinal Kung Foundation since its inception 16 years ago has been to raise the world's awareness about the continued persecution in China. We have issued many press releases to the world media about this persecution and suffering of the Roman Catholic Church that is in China, including the many arrests of the underground Catholic bishops and faithful. In fact, we were the first to report to the world media the mysterious death on September 9, 2007 of Bishop Han Dingxiang, the Bishop of Yong Nian in Hebei, China. Bishop Han died at the end of his almost 8 years imprisonment by the Chinese authority and was not allowed a Catholic burial. His body was immediately cremated and his ashes were buried in a public cemetery - all within 6 hours of his death! You may read the full story at http://www.cardinalkungfoundation.org/press/070910.htm

“It must not be forgotten that many Bishops have undergone persecution and have been impeded in the exercise of their ministry, and some of them have made the Church fruitful with the shedding of their blood,”

said Pope Benedict XVI in his aforementioned letter.  Indeed, the Pope manifested six times directly and indirectly the suffering and persecution of the Roman Catholic Church in China in virtually the last six decades.

In his deep love for China, His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI , has established a special Day of Prayer for China:

“Dear Pastors and all the faithful, the date 24 May could in the future become an occasion for the Catholics of the whole world to be united in prayer with the Church which is in China. This day is dedicated to the liturgical memorial of Our Lady, Help of Christians, who is venerated with great devotion at the Marian Shrine of Sheshan in Shanghai.”  (J Kung note: Please view Our Lady of SheShan http://www.cardinalkungfoundation.org/prayerRoom/SheShan.htm )

“I would like that date to be kept by you as a day of prayer for the Church in China. I encourage you to celebrate it by renewing your communion of faith in Jesus our Lord and of faithfulness to the Pope, and by praying that the unity among you may become ever deeper and more visible. I remind you, moreover, of the commandment that Jesus gave us, to love our enemies and to pray for those who persecute us, as well as the invitation of the Apostle Saint Paul: "First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all men, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life, godly and respectful in every way. This is good, and it is acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim 2:1-4). 

“On that same day, the Catholics of the whole world - in particular those who are of Chinese origin - will demonstrate their fraternal solidarity and solicitude for you, asking the Lord of history for the gift of perseverance in witness, in the certainty that your sufferings past and present for the Holy Name of Jesus and your intrepid loyalty to his Vicar on earth will be rewarded, even if at times everything can seem a failure.”

The late Ignatius Cardinal Kung had a very special devotion to Our Lady of SheShan that is in Cardinal Kung's Diocese of Shanghai. In fact, at the height of the persecution in 1953, and knowing that the whole-scale persecution of the Roman Catholic Church in China was inevitable, the then Bishop Kung of Shanghai led all the priests of the Shanghai Diocese to make a pilgrimage to SheShan. Every clergyman, together with Bishop Kung, made a solemn pledge before Our Lady of SheShan that he would not betray his faith and his duty to the Church and to his faithful. History has witnessed that, with few exceptions, most priests of the Shanghai Diocese refused to join the independent, national church called the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association, and chose long years of imprisonment and labor camp. Many were martyred. The late Cardinal Kung was imprisoned for more than 30 years from age 55 to age 87 until his exile to the United States.

The Cardinal Kung Foundation together with its benefactors all over the world has been sponsoring an annual Mass for many years to pray for the end of persecution of the Roman Catholic Church in China. This annual Mass has been held on each Sunday closest to October 1, which is the national day of China when the persecution of the Roman Catholic Church began in China. In union with the Holy Father's intention, the Cardinal Kung Foundation has decided to move this Mass to May 24. You may offer a stipend directly to your parish or to any other church and request your parish or other church to offer a Holy Mass on May 24, or some other date close to May 24 to pray for China with the detailed intentions as described in the next paragraph. Please let us know if you have requested this Mass so that we could tabulate them. Thank you.

May we invite you, your family, and your friends to join us, together with millions of others all over the world, on May 24 to pray for the well-being, evangelization, and growth of our Church in China in order to demonstrate our "fraternal solidarity and solicitude" for our brothers and sisters in China and to ask God for rewarding their "perseverance in witness," in the certainty that their "sufferings past and present for the Holy Name of Jesus" and their "intrepid loyalty to his Vicar on earth will be rewarded." We also request that we pray together for the ending of religious persecution in China that has been going on there for the last 58 years, the renewal of genuine religious freedom in China, and the exoneration of all criminal charges against religious prisoners, including many Roman Catholic bishops, priests, and faithful, and their release from jails and labor camps in China. We do need your prayers.

A synopsis on the Roman Catholic Church in China specifically written for this occasion can be obtained from our website http://www.cardinalkungfoundation.org/AnnualMass/2008.htm.

Ave Maria.

Yours sincerely in Christ,
Joseph Kung
President
Cardinal Kung Foundation

INVITATION

In his letter to China last year, our Holy Father established a “Day of Prayer” for China on May 24, the feast of Our Lady, Help of Christians, This is for Catholics of the whole world to pray. (Please refer to details on page 2 of this newsletter.)

There will be a Holy Mass offered at St. John the Evangelist Roman Catholic Church in Stamford, Connecticut, at 12:10 p.m. on Saturday, May 24, 2008 for China. I hope you, your family, and friends can join us.

A Chinese buffet will be arranged in a nearby restaurant after the Mass. We hope that this gathering will give us a chance to meet for a Q & A session on recent development in China and programs of the Foundation. The lunch will be $10 per adult, $5 per child under age 10, and free for children under age 3. Free for all religious. For those attending the buffet, please RSVP by Wednesday, April 30 at PO Box 8086, Stamford, CT 06905, or call at 203-329-9712, or email Joseph Kung.

St. John Church is located at 279 Atlantic Street, Stamford, Connecticut.