Pope: May China open itself to the Gospel

Visiting the church of Oies, the birthplace of the missionary Saint to China Josef Freinademetz, Benedict XVI proclaimed "faith is not an alienation for any culture or any people".

BRESSANONE (AsiaNews) - May China "open itself to the Gospel". On the eve of the beginning of the Olympics, for which, just last Sunday, he had wished success, in "respect for common dignity", Benedict XVI yesterday afternoon again addressed the topic of religious freedom, this time speaking of it directly.

The occasion for the pope's statement was his visit to the town of Oies, not far from Bressanone, in the mountains in Italy, where he is spending his summer vacation. Oies is connected to the memory of Saint Josef Freinademetz, a Divine Word missionary who in 1879 went to Hong Kong to live "as a Chinese among the Chinese", and who, before dying of typhus in 1908, wrote to his friend: "even in Paradise, I want to remain Chinese".

Benedict XVI said he is "saint of tremendous relevance, because we know that China is becoming increasingly important in political, economic, and intellectual life. It is important that this great country should open itself to the Gospel. Saint Josef Freinademetz shows us that faith is not an alienation for any culture or any people, because all cultures are waiting for Christ, and are not destroyed by the Lord, but rather come to their maturity".

In a small mountain church dedicated to the priest, represented with the long narrow beard and round hat characteristic of the Chinese of his time, the pope emphasized that "Saint Josef not only wanted to live and die as a Chinese, but wanted to remain Chinese even in heaven". "Thus", he concluded " he truly identified himself with this people, and with the certainty that this people would open itself to faith in Jesus Christ".

This is a concept that Benedict XVI also presented, in German, in the visitors' book of the saint's childhood home: "May the Lord, through the intercession of Saint Josef Freinademetz, give many spiritual vocations and increasingly open China to faith in Jesus Christ".

"China", in the introductory remarks to the visit delivered by the director of Vatican Radio, Fr Federico Lombardi, "is present to the universal Church. The Chinese people is so important for all of humanity, and therefore also for the proclamation of the Word of the Lord, that the Church always has its heart turned toward China, and so does the Holy Father.

"The figure of Freinademetz is very important: his journey of understanding and appreciation of Chinese culture was such that he was extremely well loved by the Chinese, and therefore I believe that he is a very significant figure precisely for the possibility of understanding each other, of dialogue, of bringing a spiritual message to China in full respect for the extraordinary culture of this great country".