Mary Help of Christians, protector of Chinese Catholics
The trust of Chinese Catholics in Mary s help does not diminish despite the difficulties
The Marian procession at the shrine of Our Lady of Sheshan in May 2011. (Photo supplied)
As Christians celebrate the Feast of Mary Help of Christians on May 24, Catholics are also marking the 13th day of prayer for the Church in China. Pope Benedict XVI established it on May 27, 2017, with his letter to Chinese Catholics. It was celebrated for the first time the following year when Pope Benedict composed a special prayer for Our Lady of Sheshan.
The shrine of Our Lady of Sheshan, not far from Shanghai and named after Mary Help of Christians, is the most popular shrine in China. It is on top of a hill and many faithful climb the hill on their knees, pausing on the 14 Stations of the Cross.
Draw lessons from St Ignatius cannonball experience, pope says cruxnow.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from cruxnow.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
London, England, May 22, 2021 / 15:01 pm (CNA).
Nazir Afzal, a prestigious Muslim barrister with a history of prosecuting gangs engaged in sexual abuse and grooming, is the head of the latest effort by the Catholic Church in England and Wales to ensure better prevention of sexual abuse of children and to address ongoing allegations in all Catholic institutions and groups.
“The Catholic Church has recognized the failures of the past and the need to put things right,” said Afzal, the new chair of the Catholic Safeguarding Standards Agency. “This is what attracted me to the role.”
“To make a difference, you have to act differently. It usually takes great courage to do so,” Afzal, said May 17. “When I helped deliver justice to thousands of victims of abuse, I realized that they were the most courageous of all.”
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The British government announced in May a new initiative aimed at protecting free speech on university campuses, a move that follows several high-profile instances of de-platforming and cancellation of controversial speakers and opinions. Predictably, the political left and right disagree, not only about the nature and scope of the threat, but whether it is even real. Mercifully, we are not likely to address this sort of problem in the United States through national legislation. But that doesn’t mean that the same social forces polarization and ideological partisanship are not at work here.
America has attempted to meet the challenge by publishing diverse opinions, an approach we have formalized in a new editorial initiative, “The Conversation.” (The conversation we initiate in this issue centers on the future of Catholic theology.) The choice to showcase diverse viewpoints stems not only from the fact that ideological partisanship is this editor in chief’s well-know