China supports call to open Holy Doors

DOORS OF Mercy have been opened around China. In the Diocese of Beijing, the Holy Door was opened on 12 December at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception by Archbishop Joseph Li Shan of Beijing, writes Ellen Teague.

Surrounded by priests, nuns, seminarians and laity, the bishop urged the faithful to be “grateful to God for the opening of the Holy Door at the Vatican on 8 December with which Pope Francis inaugurated the Jubilee Year of Mercy”.  More than 5,000 people in the central Diocese of Zhouzhi attended the opening of the Door of Mercy of the cathedral on 8 December by Bishop Martin Wu Qinjing. Each of these dioceses also printed the Chinese edition of Misericordiae Vultus, the Bull of Indiction of the Holy Year, and distributed it at ceremonies. In Zhejiang, Bishop Zhu Weifang of Wenzhou Diocese opened a Holy Door on 9 December, after months of protesting strongly against the demolition of crosses and churches in the region.

Meanwhile, it has emerged that the world’s wealthiest Chinese person was one of the sponsors of a Vatican light show that was part of the opening programme for the Year of Mercy on 8 December. Hong Kong-based Li Ka-shing, 87, is ranked the richest Chinese and the seventeenth among world billionaires.

The three-hour event, “Fiat Lux: Illuminating our Common Home”, saw the colourful display of images of the natural world and impacts of climate change against the façade of St Peter’s Basilica. “It is such a privilege to participate in this project here,” said Mr Li, who is Buddhist.