CHINESE PRIEST

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20139, 8 January 1940, Page 2

CHINESE PRIEST

JOURNEY ROUND WORLD RECRUITING MISSION In the course of a world tour made under the instructions of the Apostolic Delegate to China, Monsignor Zanin, to recruit priests and sisters for work in China and to rouse interest in missit>«£ in the country, the Rev. Father Joseph Liu, a native Chinese missionary from the vicariate of Chumatien, Honan, has arrived at Auckland from Australia. Father Liu, who has. visited Japan, Honolulu, the United States, Canada, Ireland, Britain, Europe, the Near East and Australia in three years, is inspecting Roman Catholic educational and charitable institutions to learn methods for pse in China when conditions have returned to normal. At present churches and schools are occupied by refugees or are ruined, and the migration of penniless hosts has stripped Catholic missions of all means. /

. During his tour Father Liu has gained credentials from the Vatican and several Apostolic Delegates. On his arrival at Auckland he was given a letter of commendation from Bishop Liston. Father Liu stated that one of the objects of his visit to New Zealand, which will occupy two or three months and will include calls to most centres, would be to make people mis-sion-minded.

In China there were 500,000,000 people, 3,000,000 of whom were Roman Catholics, he said. There were 2000 native priests, more, than 300 native sisters and 7000 seminarians, but these numbers were not sufficient for the vast work to be done.

Referring to the severe loss sustained by missions in China by Japanese attacks, Father Liu said that in occupied areas there was no direct suppression of religious activities. At the same time the Japanese were carrying out their policy for the control of Asia, with no room for any foreigners. In this connection, he observed that the Japanese were strong adherents of the Buddhist creed.