Recently the St Theresa of Avila Catholic Parish in Lincoln Park, IL hosted a live webinar on the topic of “Catholics and the Church in Modern China.” The presenter of the webinar was Ian Johnson, correspondent for The New York Times, and author of the book, Souls of China: The Return of Religion After Mao.
In his presentation, Johnson touched on the following topics:
- The place of Catholicism in China today
- The history of Catholicism in China
- The future prospects for Catholicism in China
- The agreement between the Vatican and China regarding the appointment of bishops
Following the presentation, he responded to questions submitted by the webinar attendees.
For those of us in the Protestant community who are engaged in serving the church in China, it is easy to focus on our corner of Christianity, however it may be defined (house church, registered church, urban, rural, denominational), and completely miss the Catholic experience. This webinar is a helpful correction, providing us with a starting point to learn more.
