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What makes for fruitful dialogue between religious traditions? In our last Book Circle discussion of 2024, participants discussed Bonnie Thurston's and John P. Keenan's evaluations of Thomas Merton's Catholic explorations of Buddhism. From Thurston and Keenan, we learned about the motivations behind Merton's dialogue with Catholicism and the ways in which we might go beyond it in our own understanding of Buddhism. The nature of interfaith dialogue was a timely topic for conversation, especially given the rise of people who identify as "spiritual but not religious" and the importance of spiritual maturity for such pursuits as the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals. Ultimately, this examination of Merton's dialogue with Buddhism illustrated how deep silence and listening is a prerequisite for authentic dialogue between traditions; this includes a respect for differences as well as recognition of shared truths. Catholic missionaries have not always exemplified this deep listening, and those of us who seek international friendship must keep it in view as we plant seeds for the future. As we move into 2025 with our mission of peace and friendship among Catholics in the US and in China, the USCCA is glad to announce that the Book Circle will resume in 2025 with a discussion of John C.H. Wu's book, Chinese Humanism and Catholic Spirituality . As we seek a way forward through the building of bridges, we hope to find inspiration in the philosopher and legal scholar John C. H. Wu, who drew comparisons and uncovered parallels between the spiritual traditions of the East and the West. We hope to see you there! If you are interested in participating in the USCCA Book Circle, please fill out the Book Circle Interest Form. For more opportunities to learn about history, philosophy, Chinese culture, and the life of the Church in China, we also invite you to save the date of December 7, when we will celebrate and continue the discussions of our 29th International Conference. Finally, to support USCCA initiatives like the Book Circle, we invite you to donate $35 to our Annual Appeal in celebration of 35 years of the USCCA. We appreciate your support and your interest in learning from dialogue with our brothers and sisters in China and the US. ---------------------- The USCCA is a 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization. Your donations are tax-deductible to the maximum extent allowed by law. The success of our work depends upon the generosity of people like you.

by Deacon Doug Lovejoy, Colonel, USA (Ret), MPA, Ph.D. The 29th USCCA Conference, held in Chicago on August 2–4, 2024, marked a significant step forward for the US-China Catholic Association. As an observer who has been involved with China for over 60 years, both as a soldier and as an ordained deacon of the Catholic Church, I have been personally involved with China and the efforts of the US. Catholic Church to develop open relations with the Church in China as the country has developed from the Mao era to the present day. The USCCA was founded in 1989 as a result of efforts by major Catholic religious orders to establish and expand relations with Chinese Catholics reached by their original mission work. This year's conference was the first held under new leadership, predominantly made up of lay people. As such, the conference set the stage for new and more cautiously expansive work in the future. More importantly, the Conference addressed the changing nature of the relationships between the Universal Catholic Church, the Church in China, and the involvement of the Church in the United States. The subjects and specifics of conference presentations reflected these changes and highlighted the areas of challenge and opportunity. Speakers represented the continuing work of the Association as well as new areas of interaction with China that reflected these challenges and opportunities. Representative Speakers included the acclaimed historian of China, Professor Anthony Clark, of Whitworth University; Bishop Junmin Pei of Liaoning Diocese in China; Notre Dame Professor George Enderle, who has organized a recent international conference in China on business ethics; and many more scholars and practitioners who addressed communication networks among Chinese Catholics, opportunities for teaching in China, and opportunities for sharing the faith with Chinese students in the US. The latter is an important, if not crucial, field of evangelization as well as simple intercultural and intellectual dialogue. The scope of the presentations and informal interactions represents the increasing width and depth of possible interactions and relations between the Churches in China and the US. Of equal, if not more, importance for the future was the active and extensive interchange between older and younger generations. Add on to this the promise of increased interaction between American and Chinese Catholics, especially clergy and consecrated religious, both working or studying here in the US and those in China itself. Deacon Doug Lovejoy is a USCCA Board Member, USCCA Executive Director Emeritus, US Army veteran, and specialist in Chinese politics who has taught at West Point and Princeton University. ---------------------- The USCCA is a 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization. Your donations are tax-deductible to   the maximum extent allowed by law. The success of our work depends upon  the generosity of people like you.

On Saturday, August 3, 2024, at the 29th USCCA International Conference in Chicago, IL, speakers Sr. Xiaoping Guo, Fr. Jeremiah Li, and Fr. Joseph Yu Yang presented on the topic of "Clergy Leadership and Church Life in China." The video of this presentation is now available via our YouTube channel: About the Speakers Sr. Xiaoping Guo Xiaoping Guo is a religious sister from the Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Mary in China. She entered religious life at the age of 20. She was twice sent to the US to study theology, educational psychology, and religious education. She earned two Masters and a Ph.D. from Boston College. In the past thirty years of religious life, she has carried out various ministries, such as teaching at Catholic Seminary, leading retreat, and serving as general superior of the congregation. She is currently teaching at Sheshan Seminary in Shanghai. Fr. Jeremiah Li Rev. Jeremiah Jiangtao Li is a priest from Hebei, China. He was ordained to the priesthood in 2014. Before coming to the US for further studies, he served at Hebei Catholic Seminary as a faculty member. He earned his Licentiate (S.T.L.) in Biblical studies and the Master of Theology from Boston College. He is currently sponsored by the Maryknoll China Project and is a doctoral candidate in homiletics at Aquinas Institute of Theology in St. Louis, Missouri. Fr. Joseph Yu Yang Joseph Yu Yang entered the Beijing Theological Seminary in 1991 and went to the United States to study in October 1994 at the Manderland Theological Seminary of the University of St. Mary of the Lake in Chicago. He obtained a Bachelor of Theology (S.T.B.) in May 1998, a Master of Divinity (M. Div) in May 1999, and a Master of Systematic Theology (S.T.L.) in June 2000. Since July 2000, he has been teaching systematic theology at the National Catholic Seminary and Beijing Catholic Seminary in China. The main courses include: Introduction to Theology, Basic Theology, Revelation, Theological Anthropology, Catholicism, Ecclesiology, Holy Trinity, and Ancient Church History. He also serves at the Wangfujing Church (St. Joseph Church) in Beijing every weekend. Since 2011, he has been working for the Bishops’ Conference of the Catholic Church in China, and from August 2022 he has been the Secretary General of the Bishops’ Conference.

On Sunday, August 4, 2024, at the 29th USCCA International Conference in Chicago, IL, speakers Fr. Rob Carbonneau, Dr. Anthony E. Clark, and Dr. Kathy Stout presented on the topic of "Engaging Chinese Catholicism in Academia." The video of this presentation is now available via our YouTube channel: About the Speakers Fr. Rob Carbonneau, C.P., Ph.D. Since 2023, Fr. Carbonneau has been an Archival Specialist at the Ricci Institute for Chinese-Western Cultural History at Boston College. His research concentrates on the Passionist China Collection in Hunan, China, documenting the Republican era (1911-1949). Anthony E. Clark, Ph.D., FRHistS, FRAS Anthony E. Clark 柯學斌 is the Edward B. Lindaman Endowed Chair at Whitworth University, the Distinguished Combe Trust Fellow at the University of Edinburgh, and an elected Fellow of both the Royal Historical Society and the Royal Asiatic Society. He is regarded as one of the most influential scholars of China’s Catholic culture and history, and he has published dozens of books, articles, and reviews related to China’s long exchange with Christianity. Huili (Kathy) Stout, Ph.D. Dr. Stout received her Ph.D. in theology from the University of Dayton in December 2023. She has taught classes on theology and religious studies as well as Daoism, Buddhism, and Chinese traditions in general to undergraduate students at UD and the University of Oklahoma.

Did you know that the last USCCA Book Circle Discussion of the Fall semester will take place on November 16? Throughout the year, Book Circle participants have learned about Catholicism in dialogue with Eastern spiritual traditions through the writings of Thomas Merton and John C. H. Wu. On November 16, the USCCA Book Circle will discuss the perspectives of Bonnie Thurston and John P. Keenan on Merton's understanding of Buddhism. According to Bonnie Thurston, "The aspects of Buddhism which particularly attracted Merton were its articulation of the paths of spiritual development, its 'cultural alternative,' and its contribution to monastic renewal." Please fill out the Book Circle interest form if you are interested in receiving updates about the Book Circle (including Zoom links to Book Circle discussions). For gift ideas and holiday reading, we also invite you to purchase a Bilingual Bible and Lu Nan's On the Road through the USCCA. Lu Nan's On the Road , a book of photography portraying the life of the Church in China, can be purchased with a 20% discount with the discount code USCCAOnTheRoad20 . ---------------------- The USCCA is a 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization. Your donations are tax-deductible to the maximum extent allowed by law. The success of our work depends upon the generosity of people like you.

Celebration of Dutch Bishop Frans Schraven Martyrdom in Zhengding By Antonius 2 November 2024, All Souls Day At 8:00 PM on the evening of October 9, 2024, priests from Zhengding and Xingtai Dioceses, staff of the Faith Press, four deacons, two religious, and hundreds of Catholics gathered to celebrate a memorial mass for Bishop Schraven, C.M., a Vincentian Missionary, and his companions in Zhengding, praying for Bishop Schraven’s canonization. This year, many pilgrimage groups came to visit Zhengding.  The Chinese Christians pray together with the Church in the Netherlands to bear witness to the gospel of the Lord. The Church in Zhengding is now building a house to exhibit Bishop Schraven's witness to Christ’s love for the Chinese people. (Photo credit: Antonius. oP priests and deacons of the Diocese of Zhengding and Xingtai) On October 9, 1937, the Japanese conquered the city of Zhengding*, where Bishop Schraven was responsible for the protection of some 4,000 refugees, primarily women and children. The soldiers plundered the city and killed and raped at will. The Japanese authorities demanded that Bishop Schraven hand over some women ‘to fill the soldier's need for comfort.’ The Bishop refused their demand. In the evening of the day that the city fell, Bishop Schraven and nine priests were arrested and deported by truck. That same evening, the Japanese army was thought to have burned the bodies of all the killed not far from the   centuries-old Buddhist pagoda in Zhengding, Hebei Province . It took until 1973 before the fate of Bishop Schraven was discovered: he and others had been burnt alive on a pyre.   The parish priests and Christians in Zhengding want to let more and more Chinese people know about Bishop   Schraven’s love for the Chinese and his contributions to the Church in China and continue to share the story of the Vincentian’s mission to proclaim the Gospel to the Chinese and to protect women’s dignity. The Christians pray for Bishop Schraven's early canonization. They hope   to share the progress of his canonization with his family in the Netherlands. Christians not only come to Zhengding on the day of Bishop Schraven's martyrdom, but some also go weekly to sweep the tombstone of Bishop Schraven and pray in the Tianning temple. In recent years, the number of visitors to Zhengding has gradually increased, including individuals and groups from all over China. The local Christians tell them about Bishop Schraven’s protection of Chinese people, which led to his martyrdom.  Due to historical conditions in China, in 1947, Bishop Chen Zhiming of Zhengding led almost all the Zhengding diocesan priests to Brazil, and they never returned. Consequently, there were many difficulties in running the diocese that continue to this day. Christians in Zhengding are now working hard to make Bishop Schraven's deeds of justice and charity become public knowledge and encourage prayers for the canonization of Bishop Schraven.  (Photo of old Buddhist pagoda) The Chinese Christians pray together with the Church in the Netherlands to bear witness to the gospel of the Lord. The Church in Zhengding is now building a house to exhibit Bishop Schraven's witness to Christ’s love for the Chinese people. The yard of the house will be called Bishop Schraven (文致和主教之家). The Chinese Christians look forward to its completion soon. I also look forward to physically attending the Bishop Schraven canonization ceremony. Zhengding, originally Zhending, is a county in southwestern Hebei Province, North China, located approximately 260 km south of Beijing, the capital of China. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Shijiazhuang, the capital of the province, and has a population of 594,000. --------- Note: This is an occasional series of reflections from the Church in China shared with Tom McGuire, USCCA Board of Directors. --------- Our MISSION Inspired by the Gospel, the mission of the US-China Catholic Association is to build bridges of friendship and dialogue between the people of China and the United States by offering educational, service, and cultural programs supporting the Church and the larger society. Our VISION The US-China Catholic Association was founded in 1989 by concerned U.S. bishops Maryknoll, the Jesuits, and representatives of other religious orders to promote mutual support and fraternal ties between the Church in China and the U.S. Church. ________________ As USCCA looks forward to 2025 -- and our next 35 years  -- we remain dedicated to our mission of building bridges, fostering friendship, dialogue, and accompaniment through our core initiatives of : Chinese and American Friendship Ministry, for college and university students The Book Circle, meets monthly 30th International Biennial Conference (Summer 2026 - Houston, TX) Study Tours to China Speaker Series Mission Appeal The USCCA is a 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization. Your donations are tax-deductible to the maximum extent allowed by law. The success of our work depends upon the generosity of people like you. Please give to the USSCA's 2024 Annual Appeal. If you have enjoyed reading the USCCA website and want to learn more about our mission, please get in touch with Gerald Doyle, Interim Chief Administrative Officer, at director@uschinacatholic.org .

Our Hope is in Christ: Theme of the 29th International Conference. I n August 2024, we celebrated the 35th year since the founding of the USCCA at the 29th International Conference, which gathered 150+ lay and religious individuals in Chicago from over a dozen countries, including the U.S. and China.  Spanning three days, four keynote speakers, a range of pastoral reflections, academic panels, and other events, the Conference fostered a deeper conversation surrounding Christianity, culture, and the friendship between the Church in China and the U.S. Take a moment to watch a 90-second over of our three-days together. Conference & Vigil Mass in St. Vincent De Paul Church At the conference, one of the participants remarked that "... by meeting each other, we can support each other." Through the generosity of your support and partnership, the USCCA continues to build bridges of friendship and understanding among Catholics in the United States and in China through programs like the Chinese and American Friendship Ministry, USCCA Book Circle discussions, Mission Appeal, Study Tours, a Speaker Series, International Conferences, and a weekly Blog Series for reflection, meditation, and discernment. Following the conference, a Chinese religious sister wrote about the need for trust. "There needs to be more trust at both the interpersonal and state levels in the U.S. and China. The Biblical nature of God relates to trusting humans. We are living in an era of a crisis in trust. In an era when tensions within the U.S., especially as the Presidential Election Day draws near, across the Gulf region, throughout the Americas, and beyond to the Pacific seek to drive people apart, the USCCA’s mission of dialogue, accompaniment, faith-in-friendship, encountering and belonging, welcoming, and mutual respect is more relevant than ever. We must ask ourselves, "What does it mean to Trust in Jesus' Call to Friendship ?" Supporters like you keep the USCCA moving forward through our collective prayer, dialogue, and friendship! We graciously and humbly ask for your support. The upcoming Fall 2024 Annual Appeal will run through December 2024. To enrich and extend the impact of the USCCA, we have set the 2024 Annual Appeal campaign goal at $100,000; during the pre-campaign/silent phase, the USCCA has received pledges or gifts of nearly $60,000+. With your help, we will exceed our goals. To support the USCCA, please visit Donate: 2024 Annual Appeal . If you want to help more directly in this outreach effort and share your ideas, please get in touch with Interim Chief Administrative Officer Gerald Doyle at Director@USCatholicChina.org . Once again, thank you for your prayers and generous commitment to the mission and vision of the USCCA. Peace, blessings, and HOPE! All of us at the USCCA ---------------------- The USCCA is a 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization. Your donations are tax-deductible to the maximum extent allowed by law. The success of our work depends upon the generosity of people like you.

by Simeiqi He, Ph.D . Having spent over two decades in China seeking to understand the Chinese soul, the Jesuit scientist and theologian Pierre Teilhard de Chardin wrote on September 8, 1949, “[w]e wonder…why so few deep conversions are effected in China despite the flood of missionaries.” To such a question, he gave a simple answer, “it is because…our magnificent Christian charity lacks what it needs to make it decisively effective, the sensitizing ingredient of Human faith and hope without which, in reason and in fact, no religion can henceforth appear…other than colorless, cold, and inassimilable.” For Teilhard, China is more than simply a place of exile and misfortune, but a call and a benediction. It served as a source of inspiration and the principal locale for the inception of his most important writings, including The Mass on the World , The Divine Milieu , and The Human Phenomenon . The key ideas of these writings, among others, played a dominate role in shaping the agenda of the Second Vatican Council, especially the drafting of Gaudium et Spes . As the American theologian John F. Haught points out in his Commonweal article, Teilhard has proved in most respects to be a decidedly postconciliar interpreter of the Christian faith. Teilhard’s encounter with Chinese people, landscape, geology, and material cultures opened for him a universal horizon. His life in China demonstrated his profound obedience – and sometimes a painful one – to what he called a “mysterious Affection of the World to serve and to make serve.” What inspired him was the impetus “to discover the new spirit that is struggling to emerge from the ruins of the old … to recognize and reveal that specific and essential element which the East must bring to the West so the Earth will be complete.” Another Jesuit, Pope Francis, is deeply influenced by Teilhard, and has appealed to the latter both in his social encyclical Laudato Si and his homily during his apostolic journey to Mongolia. As part of his message for the World Mission Day, Pope Francis spoke of mission as “a tireless going out to all men and women, in order to invite them to encounter God and enter into communion with him.” The call to encounter and communion is a constant theme in the teachings of Pope Francis, who has been building on the efforts of his predecessors to enliven a civilization of love. In Laudato Si , Pope Francis has evoked a universal horizon of love that invites everyone into a deep communion with all creation, a vision inspired by Teilhard. Further, in Fratelli Tutti , he called for the growth of a culture of encounter fostered through love and capable of building a new world. Thus, the Church must set her missionary gaze on the transformation of the world toward a culture of encounter and civilization of love. It can only be achieved if the Church is continuously transformed by the love of God. More fundamental than “to go out” and “to invite,” there is also a return to what Pope Francis called as the most central, essential, indispensable, beautiful, grand, appealing, and necessary message, that is love, who is God, the beginning and ultimate horizon of mission. This return is a process of absolute openness toward both God and the world, the fruit of which is the creation of an open society and a new culture with inexhaustible creativity and is set ablaze by a living flame. Such is the new civilization of love — so central to Catholic social teaching — whose living core is capable of withstanding even the bitterest of winters. Simeiqi He 何斯美琪 is a theological ethicist and Catholic laywoman from mainland China. She holds a Ph.D. in Christian ethics from Drew University. -------- Our MISSION Inspired by the Gospel, the mission of the US-China Catholic Association is to build bridges of friendship and dialogue between the people of China and the United States by offering educational, service, and cultural programs supporting the Church and the larger society. Our VISION The US-China Catholic Association was founded in 1989 by concerned U.S. bishops Maryknoll, the Jesuits, and representatives of other religious orders to promote mutual support and fraternal ties between the Church in China and the U.S. Church. ________________ As USCCA looks forward to 2025 -- and our next 35 years  -- we remain dedicated to our mission of building bridges, fostering friendship, dialogue, and accompaniment through our core initiatives of : Chinese and American Friendship Ministry, for college and university students The Book Circle, meets monthly 30th International Biennial Conference (Summer 2026 - Houston, TX) Study Tours to China Speaker Series Mission Appeal The USCCA is a 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization. Your donations are tax-deductible to the maximum extent allowed by law. The success of our work depends upon the generosity of people like you. Please give to the USSCA's 2024 Annual Appeal. If you have enjoyed reading the USCCA website and want to learn more about our mission, please get in touch with Gerald Doyle, Interim Chief Administrative Officer, at director@uschinacatholic.org .

On Saturday, October 19, 2024, the USCCA Book Circle gathered to discuss Thomas Merton’s essay “A Christian Looks at Zen,” written as the Introduction to John C. H. Wu’s book The Golden Age of Zen . New and familiar faces from different locations around the world found fertile ground for discussion of comparisons between Zen Buddhism and the Catholic Christianity espoused by Wu and Merton. Much of our discussion followed from Wu’s and Merton’s observations on the complementary nature of Eastern and Western spiritual traditions: The supernatural kerygma and the metaphysical intuition of the ground of being are far from being incompatible. One may be said to prepare the way for the other. They can well complement each other, and for this reason Zen is perfectly compatible with Christian mysticism. (p. 12) Here, Merton challenges the notion of Zen as a “rival system of thought,” or as a “competing ideology” (p. 3). Indeed, as participants discussed Merton’s essay, some shared the ways in which their own understanding of the Catholic faith has been enhanced by Zen Buddhism’s high valuation of personal experience; whereas Western Christianity sometimes emphasizes words and thoughts to the detriment of spiritual experience, Zen can help us appreciate mystical experiences associated with the Eucharist, or experiences such as those recounted by Thérèse of Lisieux. Participants also drew compelling connections between today’s reading and other sources of spiritual wisdom. One participant, for example, observed how Zen can make sense of the flow state necessary to make beautiful art, such as the landscape paintings discussed in last week’s Book Circle reading. Other participants noted connections with topics ranging from the day’s liturgy (Paul’s letter to the Ephesians—“I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened”) to the spiritual insights of Barbara Holmes , John Vervaeke’s discussions on the meaning crisis, and a recent Word on Fire article about John C. H. Wu . In a world where screens and devices are constant sources of potential distraction, Zen Buddhism challenges us to “pay attention, to become aware, to be mindful, in other words to develop a certain kind of consciousness that is above and beyond deception by verbal formulas” (p. 5). Perhaps, when we do so, we will learn something of the wisdom of the Buddhist patriarchs, deepening our relationship with Catholicism in the same breath. The next Book Circle discussion will be held on November 16, 2024, at 7 am PT / 8 am MT / 9 am CT / 10 am ET / 11 pm China Standard Time. Please sign up for updates if you are interested in participating in the USCCA Book Circle. -------- Our MISSION Inspired by the Gospel, the mission of the US-China Catholic Association is to build bridges of friendship and dialogue between the people of China and the United States by offering educational, service, and cultural programs supporting the Church and the larger society. Our VISION The US-China Catholic Association was founded in 1989 by concerned U.S. bishops Maryknoll, the Jesuits, and representatives of other religious orders to promote mutual support and fraternal ties between the Church in China and the U.S. Church. ________________ As USCCA looks forward to 2025 -- and our next 35 years  -- we remain dedicated to our mission of building bridges, fostering friendship, dialogue, and accompaniment through our core initiatives of : Chinese and American Friendship Ministry, for college and university students The Book Circle, meets monthly 30th International Biennial Conference (Summer 2026 - Houston, TX) Study Tours to China Speaker Series Mission Appeal The USCCA is a 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization. Your donations are tax-deductible to the maximum extent allowed by law. The success of our work depends upon the generosity of people like you. Please give to the USSCA's 2024 Annual Appeal. If you have enjoyed reading the USCCA website and want to learn more about our mission, please get in touch with Gerald Doyle, Interim Chief Administrative Officer, at director@uschinacatholic.org .

In Athens, Greece, you can find statues of Socrates and Confucius facing each other, signifying a kinship between the quests for wisdom celebrated in the East and the West. These statues inspired Tom McGuire, USCCA Director Emeritus, to invite us to reflect on John C. H. Wu's words in Beyond East and West : Mencius had a wonderful insight into the workings of providence. He said, "Whenever Heaven wants to confer a great work on anyone, it first drenches his heart with bitterness, submits his nerves and his bones to weariness, delivers his members and his whole body to hunger, reduces him to the most extreme indigence, thwarts and upsets all his enterprises. By this means, it wakens in him good sentiments, fortifies his patience, and communicates to him what was still lacking in him." He illustrated this principle with the events of history. "From these things," he concluded, "we see how life springs from sorrow and tribulations, while death results from ease and pleasure." One can hardly imagine how deeply this philosophy of suffering has influenced the Chinese outlook on life. During the last war, the most popular poster seen on the walls in China was: "When you hear of victory, don't be elated. When you hear of defeats, don't be disheartened." This, I submit, is the secret magic that has pulled China through so many national crises. Any philosophy that keeps one humble in prosperity and hopeful in adversity cannot be very far from the spirit of Christianity. (emphasis added) Do you see parallels between Christian teachings, Western philosophy, and these Eastern teachings of Mencius as described by John C. H. Wu? Wu continues: Perhaps the most celebrated aphorism of Mencius was: "The great man is one who has not lost the heart he had as a child." This prepared my mind to appreciate the words of Christ: "Believe me, unless you become like little children again, you shall not enter the kingdom of Heaven." Indeed, both Jesus and Mencius teach on the importance of a childlike heart in the spiritual life. What could they mean by these sayings? Wu further discusses the thought of Mencius on virtuous character: On the cultivation of the interior life, Mencius has said something which has influenced me profoundly: What belongs to the superior man cannot be increased by the largeness of his sphere of action, not diminished by his dwelling in poverty and retirement...What belongs to his nature are love, justice, propriety and knowledge. These are rooted in the heart; they manifest themselves as a mild harmony appearing in countenance, a rich fullness in his back. They spread even to the four limbs; and the four limbs seem to understand without being told. This tallies very well with the spiritual doctrine of St. Benedict and St. John of the Cross. Whenever I think of Confucius and Mencius, Buddha and Lao Tse, I am inclined to call them—as St. Justin Martyr called Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle— "Pedagogues to lead men to Christ." Could Christ be the Truth towards which Confucius and Mencius, Socrates and Plato were striving? Could these figures help us to understand the Catholic faith in a deeper way? With his experience of coming to Christianity from a background of Eastern thought, John C.H. Wu can help us make sense of why statues of Confucius and Socrates appear as friends in the Agora of Athens. -------- Our MISSION Inspired by the Gospel, the mission of the US-China Catholic Association is to build bridges of friendship and dialogue between the people of China and the United States by offering educational, service, and cultural programs supporting the Church and the larger society. Our VISION The US-China Catholic Association was founded in 1989 by concerned U.S. bishops Maryknoll, the Jesuits, and representatives of other religious orders to promote mutual support and fraternal ties between the Church in China and the U.S. Church. ________________ As USCCA looks forward to 2025 -- and our next 35 years  -- we remain dedicated to our mission of building bridges, fostering friendship, dialogue, and accompaniment through our core initiatives of : Chinese and American Friendship Ministry, for college and university students The Book Circle, meets monthly 30th International Biennial Conference (Summer 2026 - Houston, TX) Study Tours to China Speaker Series Mission Appeal The USCCA is a 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization. Your donations are tax-deductible to the maximum extent allowed by law. The success of our work depends upon the generosity of people like you. Please give to the USSCA's 2024 Annual Appeal. If you have enjoyed reading the USCCA website and want to learn more about our mission, please get in touch with Gerald Doyle, Interim Chief Administrative Officer, at director@uschinacatholic.org .

Did you know that Dr. Naomi Thurston, author of Studying Christianity in China: Constructions of an Emerging Discourse , presented the closing keynote speech at the 29th USCCA International Conference? We invite you to watch the video of her presentation, "Echoes of Hope: Chinese-Christian Debates in Republican and Post-Reform-Era China": Naomi Thurston, Ph.D. teaches and researches the history of Christianity in China and contemporary Chinese Christianities at The Chinese University of Hong Kong. Her recent research traces the theological reception of the German Reformed theologian Jürgen Moltmann in Chinese scholarship. She has translated the writings of contemporary Chinese scholars and introduced the emerging discourse of “Sino- Christian studies” in Chinese academic discourse today. She is the sole author of the book Studying Christianity in China: Constructions of an Emerging Discourse (Brill, 2018) and co-editor with Jason Lam of Moltmann in China: Theological Encounters from Hong Kong to Beijing (Brill, 2023). Dr. Thurston received her Ph.D. from University of Wales Trinity Saint David. -------- Our MISSION Inspired by the Gospel, the mission of the US-China Catholic Association is to build bridges of friendship and dialogue between the people of China and the United States by offering educational, service, and cultural programs supporting the Church and the larger society. Our VISION The US-China Catholic Association was founded in 1989 by concerned U.S. bishops Maryknoll, the Jesuits, and representatives of other religious orders to promote mutual support and fraternal ties between the Church in China and the U.S. Church. ________________ As USCCA looks forward to 2025 -- and our next 35 years  -- we remain dedicated to our mission of building bridges, fostering friendship, dialogue, and accompaniment through our core initiatives of : Chinese and American Friendship Ministry, for college and university students The Book Circle, meets monthly 30th International Biennial Conference (Summer 2026 - Houston, TX) Study Tours to China Speaker Series Mission Appeal The USCCA is a 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization. Your donations are tax-deductible to the maximum extent allowed by law. The success of our work depends upon the generosity of people like you. Please give to the USSCA's 2024 Annual Appeal. If you have enjoyed reading the USCCA website and want to learn more about our mission, please get in touch with Gerald Doyle, Interim Chief Administrative Officer, at director@uschinacatholic.org .

Models of Sanctity, from Martyrdom to Dying to Oneself By Chiaretto Kin Sheung Yan On All Saints Day, we venerate saints, those who have been recognized (canonized by the Church), and those known only to God, whose life is a source of inspiration for us to live a meaningful life and not to settle for a mediocre existence. Those holy persons known only by God are like seeds, similar to the martyrs, buried in the ground and to bear fruits in due time.  On the Feast of All Saints, I think of my friends, parents, and relatives who lived simple Christian lives, now gone before us to eternal life. I think of Matteo Ricci and Paulus Xu Guangqi, whose friendship has contributed to the appreciation and exchanges between the cultures of East and West, between Chinese humanism and Christian spirituality. Source of Photo:  A saint could be crowned with a red crown, symbolizing martyrdom for their faith, or a white crown, symbolizing a life of heroic virtue. I remember the martyrs of China who offered their lives for Christ, their faith, and the Gospel. I also remember those who are witnesses to the world around them. For example, Fr. Josef Freinademetz, a missionary to China with heroic virtues, a living witness for Christ and to the people he served, living as he said, “I have come to love my Chinese… I would die for them a thousand times over.” It is relevant today that Pope Francis canonized fourteen new saints on October 20, 2024, three nineteenth-century founders of religious orders, and the eleven Martyrs of Damascus who in 1860 refused to renounce their Christian faith in the Holy Land. Their testimony is especially meaningful to people who are suffering due to the ongoing war and violence in the Middle East.  Thinking of the many divides, hatred, and egoism in the world today, we need all the more testimonies of mutual understanding and friendship. Holiness without self-interest, dying to self, and sometimes losing one’s ideas for the love of others in living a daily Christian life. On the Feast of All Saints, I think of my friends, parents, and relatives who lived simple Christian lives, now gone before us to eternal life. I think of Matteo Ricci and Paulus Xu Guangqi, whose friendship has contributed to the appreciation and exchanges between the cultures of East and West, between Chinese humanism and Christian spirituality. Let’s pray that they will be recognized as saints. They are a gift to the world today, a symbol of mutual friendship and dialogical relationships among peoples and cultures. -------- Our MISSION Inspired by the Gospel, the mission of the US-China Catholic Association is to build bridges of friendship and dialogue between the people of China and the United States by offering educational, service, and cultural programs supporting the Church and the larger society. Our VISION The US-China Catholic Association was founded in 1989 by concerned U.S. bishops Maryknoll, the Jesuits, and representatives of other religious orders to promote mutual support and fraternal ties between the Church in China and the U.S. Church. ________________ As USCCA looks forward to 2025 -- and our next 35 years -- we remain dedicated to our mission of building bridges, fostering friendship, dialogue, and accompaniment through our core initiatives of : Chinese and American Friendship Ministry, for college and university students The Book Circle, meets monthly 30th International Biennial Conference (Summer 2026 - Houston, TX) Study Tours to China Speaker Series Mission Appeal The USCCA is a 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization. Your donations are tax-deductible to the maximum extent allowed by law. The success of our work depends upon the generosity of people like you. Please give to the USSCA's 2024 Annual Appeal. If you have enjoyed reading the USCCA website and want to learn more about our mission, please get in touch with Gerald Doyle, Interim Chief Administrative Officer, at director@uschinacatholic.org . Source of Photo:  https://www.custodia.org/en/news/martyrs-damascus-image-canonization/