Chinese: Father Joseph

Father Joseph’s Battle

In a small classroom in the basement of the Church of St. Teresa, we introduce ourselves to Father Joseph, a Chinese priest in the Lower East Side. Father Joseph begins by illustrating his long battle with the Chinese government: he was originally prohibited from returning to China after he travelled to Rome to become a priest. His experience reflects the experience of many due to the communist government’s interference with religion, specifically Catholicism, in China.

“The government does not want the people to believe in god because they want to be the god,” says Father Joseph, explaining its control over religious institutions. According to the New York Times, “China and the Vatican have not had formal ties since 1951” when Mao Zedong expelled the papal nuncio, essentially the vatican’s foreign ambassador, to Hong Kong. Because of its split from the Vatican, the Chinese government created the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association, which began to take on duties usually taken on by the pope. The association mandates church law and appoints bishops based on government’s approval, not the Pope’s, leading to the Vatican’s excommunication of several bishops. In Chinese law, it is illegal to teach children under 18 about God and Jesus and it is illegal for three or more believers to gather for religious purposes without government approval.

Due to these strict regulations, a plethora of unofficial churches began to form in order to practice Catholicism in correspondence with Vatican law, not Chinese law. Currently, “the official Chinese Catholic Patriotic Church has nearly six million adherents, but some experts say the number of Chinese Catholics practicing in unofficial churches is twice that.”  As a result of the government’s attempts control Catholicism by establishing regulations,an entire network of underground churches has formed, operating completely independently. “Catholics do not want to practice in China if they cannot have religious freedom,” says Father Joseph. Therefore, Catholic Chinese are pulled to America both to escape religious persecution and to freely practice religion.

When they come to America, Father Joseph is waiting with open arms. He delivers masses and leads religious education in three Chinese dialects and assists his parishioners with their assimilation into the community. He talks about how many immigrants come here alone, and how many Chinese-- 60%-- speak English less than very well. Because they are sometimes unfamiliar with American culture and New York City life, St. Teresa provides a place for Chinese immigrants to congregate and practice their faith in an uninhibited, familiar way. Not only does it provide support for current Catholics, but it also instills faith in first generation immigrants experiencing culture shock. For an immigrant having to work 10 hours a day, 6 days a week, a church service can be his only opportunity to relax, reconnect with his culture, and create connections with others in the same situation. For an isolated immigrant in an unfamiliar country, churches like Saint Teresa can be an invaluable resource.