CATHOLICS IN CHINA

New Zealand Tablet, 8 April 1915, Page 59

CATHOLICS IN CHINA

If one did not read the Catholic papers one would never guess the extent of the Catholic foreign missions (remarks the Boston Pilot), There is a studied resolve in some sections to ignore them. A few nights ago a Protestant minister from Hankow, told the Churchman's Club of Providence about the progress of missionary work in China. He said,: ! The early missionaries thought that if after 100 years had passed there were 1000 converts it would be a miracle. To-day there are, outside the number who have become Roman Catholics, 400,000 Christian communicants.' ■■'■•'■."•. "■'" You may interpret that remark as you will: But let us have a few facts about the Catholic missions that are so dismissed by way of parenthesis. We find this paragraph in The Workers Are Few: '.China, with her 401,000,000 inhabitants, in 1800 had but five poor missions, and the Catholics there were reduced to 202,000. Today in China we have one diocese, 41 vicariates, and four prefectures apostolic, respectively governed by 43 bishops and four prefects apostolic. In China to-day there are 1,200,000 Catholics, 1379 missioners, 631 native priests, 1886 nuns, and about 7802 catechists. Besides these there are some 10,000 churches and chapels, and 154 seminaries.' This, was in 1911. We have in China three times as many communicants as have all the Protestant denominations put together. Yet, we repeat, unless one reads the Catholic papers one would be led to believe that the Catholic Church is a negligible factor in China. When we get the facts we see how much reason we have to rejoice at the progress of our missions. And yet we Catholics are just beginning to realise what we could accomplish.