Support these brave Chinese Catholics by donating at LifeFunder.com
(LifeSiteNews) — A group of persecuted Chinese Catholics told LifeSiteNews of its hopes to reach tens of thousands of uncatechized souls in China with the good news of the Gospel.
Psalm 42 Ministries was established in October 2020 to bring faithful Catholic teaching to an online audience in China whom they hope to fully catechize, despite the Chinese Communist Party’s attempts to control and suppress the influence of religion there.
The program is currently working with 1,400 catechesis teachers and thousands of students. In addition to those children, Psalm 42 Ministries also reaches almost 5,000 people directly via podcasts and messaging platforms in China.
At the moment, the group cannot register as a non-profit due to persecution and targeting from the CCP, whilst government officials have already shut down one platform used to distribute the catechetical program.
Despite these hurdles, the director of Psalm 42 Ministries told LifeSiteNews that “the truth of the Church must be taught!”
“There are billions of people in Asia and the only way for the Catholic Church to grow and flourish is for programs like this to be available,” the director, who maintains anonymity, said. “Soon the Catholic Church in Asia will just be another propaganda source for Asian governments. We must act now while the people are open to learning the true faith.”
“Many young Chinese Catholics feel isolated, confused, and trapped in a society that lives by hostile values, so our mission is to connect Catholics in China with the worldwide Catholic family and its catechetical resources,” he continued. “As a Chinese Catholic, I have always been convinced that not only there is much room for growth in this crevice, but also no lack of faith vitality among the Chinese Catholics.”
Religious education is severely restricted in China, with not only broadcast and print media publications subject to censorship, but also online content since this year’s implementation of the CCP’s New Internet Information Regulations.
Support these brave Chinese Catholics by donating at LifeFunder.com
Online publishers of religious content are now legally required to hold a service license to continue their activities, something that is driving groups like Psalm 42 Ministries to alternative platforms.
The group says its educational priorities in 2022 will be training more catechists and developing local teaching materials, while also maintaining its three weekly podcasts that have already attracted thousands of listeners.
“In addition to self-produced programs, we also cooperate with external media to bring global media content to China, such as 40 days Lenten retreat, Holy Spirit Advent 10-Day retreat and Catholic Daily Reflection,” the director of Psalm 42 Ministries told LifeSiteNews.
The group says the Chinese government’s powerful information firewall, keeping out Western information and issuing strict controls on religious content, has forced it to find more secure ways of reaching their audience.
Psalm 42 Ministries is now creating its own platform to share materials with a growing audience: an independent space where Chinese people can learn more about the Catholic faith and share their experiences of God.
“The platform will publish the online courses we have produced, and students can share materials and their works; the platform supports free uploading of songs, readings, and other text, image, audio or videos, and volunteers can spontaneously translate and record explanations, whilst listeners and authors can freely comment and interact,” the director of Psalm 42 Ministries said. “In addition, the platform will introduce more content from partners, so that our platform becomes a window with one-stop access to global Catholic quality resources for those in mainland China.”
This brave new group is now asking for support in its attempts to bring the Catholic faith to a largely uncatechized people.
“The current target of €25,000 euros can solve the daily media operation expenses for the next year, while the establishment of educational institutions, remuneration of teachers, using and editing the teaching materials, and developing the new media platform requires a large amount of continuous investment,” the director of the group said.
With over a billion souls living in China, the gargantuan task of spreading the Gospel in such hostile territory now rests on the shoulders of apostolates like Psalm 42 Ministries.
Support these brave Chinese Catholics by donating at LifeFunder.com