Asia news by Fr. Lester

Da Vinci Code Takes a Hit in Asia

(July 2006) The response in most of Asia was not favorable to the movie "The Da Vinci Code." The Catholics have been very active in their fight against the blasphemous movie, and they acheived some success. In India the movie's May release was halted. The Indian Information and Broadcast Minister, Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi, said that he received so many complaints that he had to take them seriously. When the movie was finally released seven Indian states ended up banning it anyway. "The release of the movie could have led to demonstrations and trouble," said Andhra Pradesh's special chief secretary, Paul Bhuyan.

In the largely Catholic Philippines it also took hard hits. The board of censorship gave the movie an adult only (R-18) rating, so the youth could not see it. And the main cinema chain in the Philippines, SM City, does not show R-18 movies, so it was effectively pushed out of the mainstream. In the Capital City, Manila, the movie was outright banned by a city council resolution. The resolution states that the movie “is undoubtedly offensive and contrary to established religious beliefs which cannot take precedence over the right of the persons involved in the film to freedom of expression.”

In Korea and Thailand there was strong opposition at high levels to ban or censor "The Da Vinci Code", but decisions were finally made to release the movie anyway.

Chinese theaters halted screenings of "The Da Vinci Code" in June after the authorities acted on a warning from Chinese Catholics that the film threatened social stability. It ran for 22 days and became the largest grossing film ever in China, but a senior official at China Film said the government's Propaganda Department had ordered the film removed from screens.

It is very interesting that in the "Pagan" world of Asia Our Lord is given more rights than in the "Christian" West.

Sri Lanka: In Sri Lanka the rebel Tamil Tigers, one of the groups on the US list of top terrorist organizations in the world, are regularly carrying out attacks against government soldiers and police. They have supposedly had a ceasefire agreement since 2002, but both sides have lost over 100 soldiers in the past month alone. Since last November the situation has been growing steadily more dangerous. The whole country is a bit scared since they remember clearly the bus and airport bombings of only a few years ago carried out by the Tigers.

The Catholic Church in Sri Lanka is pushing steadily for peace and the rights of man. The problem is that they have lost the desire to promote the rights of Our Lord. For example, the weekly Arch-diocesan newspaper, in their Holy Week edition, celebrated already the Resurrection. They had several articles written by priests and religious explaining why on Good Friday we should celebrate the Resurrection of Our Lord. On the cover they even had a picture of Our risen Lord. They have completely lost the idea of the value of Our Lord’s sacrifice. This bad theology seems to contrast sharply with the public images of Our Lord and the saints which you can see everywhere. But these images are becoming a thing of the past, and the “new way” with its new theology is sweeping its destructive path even in the most remote parts of Christianity throughout the world, where even the priests don’t know their Faith anymore.

Indonesia: In Indonesia, a predominantly Muslim nation, there is a big fight against pornography. There is a congressional bill against pornography and over-exposition of women’s bodies in public. Unfortunately, the unified Catholic voice is opposing this bill!! Catholic leaders are quoted often as saying that “the way people dress is a matter of private morality, not to be controlled by the state,” or a “matter of cultural heritage.” These liberal Catholic leaders want to protect the primitive practices of wearing almost nothing in public. What would the old missionaries say, after they spent so many years trying to get these tribes in Asia to dress modestly? Let alone the fact that by opposing this bill they are allowing the continuance and growth of pornography and prostitution.

Korea: The Sacred Heart nuns, under the direction of Mother Gratia Kim Sook-hee, of Korea have decided upon a new apostolate: “As Mary, we will give our priority to gender equality and women's empowerment.” Out of all the beautiful things that nuns could devote themselves to in this world, they had to choose that one…

China: Over the past months there have been many arrests and torturing of Catholic priests and seminarians. Last December, the government, with the tacit approval of the National Church (the “Communist Catholics”) tried to stop the ordination of 7 deacons by arresting them and mildly torturing them for 2 weeks. This did not work, so in January they put the 85 yr. old bishop under house arrest until he allegedly signed an agreement not to perform the ceremony. He did it anyway, and most of the priests involved were arrested and tortured over the course of a few weeks.

It really makes you wonder how Cardinal Zen of Hong Kong could say, "The Church in China, apparently divided in two -- one official, recognized by the government, and one clandestine, which refuses to be independent from Rome -- is in reality only one Church because everyone wants to be united with the pope."

Commentary: The practices of the modern church, whose leaders are blind in the Faith, cause more and more destruction by their absolute liberalism and desire for enculturation. This could make us quite cynical if we didn’t have such a contrasting beautiful apostolate in Asia. We are teaching Latin and the Latin Mass to some priests in India and Sri Lanka. In Malaysia several youth have joined us after finding Tradition on the internet. In the Philippines our apostolate also continues to flourish, as can be seen by reading the most recent letter of Fr. Purdy.

And in every one of our chapels we find a spirit of modesty and generosity. So in the face of trials from governments, church officials, and daily needs, we are grateful that Our Lord gives us the consolation of a fruitful apostolic work.

The most populated and varied continent of Asia has some very interesting cultural, civil, and religious practices, which you may not have heard of before. Here are a few appealing examples:

Then there is the caning (yes, being beaten with a wooden rod on your bare backside!) that you can receive for vandalism, piracy, entering or staying in Singapore without a valid pass, overstaying a visa by more than 90 days, employing more than 5 illegal immigrants, importing or selling fireworks, etc...while murderers, drug-traffickers, and armed robbers are routinely hanged.

In India one newspaper article recently said that society will not improve until:

In Sri Lanka every newspaper is full of personal ads, exactly like these, taken directly from a recent paper:

While some bishops in the Eleventh Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops are pushing for a reversal of abuses and a return to tradition, the Asian bishops are fighting for "the importance of the inculturation issue for the Eucharist." Examples of this inculturation often include such abuses as placing dragon statuary, instead of angels, on each side of the tabernacle in China, and performing immodest pagan dances in India. Here are exerpts from some of the interventions:

ARCHBISHOP JAN PAWEL LENGA M.I.C. OF KARAGANDA, KAZAKHSTAN. "Among the liturgical innovations produced in the Western world, two in particular tend to cloud the visible aspect of the Eucharist, especially as regards its centrality and sacredness: the removal of the tabernacle from the center and the distribution of communion in the hand. ... Communion in the hand is spreading and even prevailing as being easier, as a kind of fashion. ... Therefore, I humbly propose the following practical propositions: that the Holy See issue a universal regulation establishing the official way of receiving communion as being in the mouth and kneeling; with communion in the hand to be reserved for the clergy alone. May bishops in places where communion in the hand has been introduced work with pastoral prudence to bring the faithful slowly back to the official rite of communion, valid for all local Churches."

Bishop Rafael Masahiro Umemura of Yokohama advocates "multiplying the ways of the Eucharistic celebration...in order to celebrate the mysteries of the life of the faithful in accordance with the various times and events." He says the Japanese people have a need for a Eucharist that "responds to the real situation of modern people." He emphasized the importance of local translations and adaptations of the liturgy, and he hopes that the Vatican will allow greater freedom regarding this.

India's Archbishop Maria Callist Soosa Pakiam of Trivandrum told the synod the Eucharist is "the sacrament which recognizes the basic 'dignity' of every human person." And he expressed his gratitude to St. Francis Xavier who was able to help his people discover that a "manifestation of genuine Eucharistic devotion" is "to promote 'the dignity' of every human being."