God Speaks Chinese Too!!!

Yesterday I took part in a programme on Radio Maria. This is the Panamanian branch of a movement

which is world wide and which offers Catholic programmes to its listeners. Earlier this year, if I am not mistaken, Radio Maria began to broadcast in Ireland. This is not an entirely Marian radio station - it seeks to engage with issues such as spirituality, theology, family and social issues, as well as a broad variety of different current affairs programmes. Mass is broadcast on a daily basis for those who are housebound and there are also a number of reflections on the daily readings, christian living, and similar topics.

The programme that I was involved with is called: "God Speaks Chinese Too!". As the name suggests, this is a programme that caters for the needs of the Chinese community here in Panama. Here in Panama this is a very large community and very vibrant - many people are first or second generation Panamanians and still have family in China. Chinese is the favoured language of many of these people and, since there are many Catholics among their number, this programme goes some way to meeting their spiritual needs. There is also a Mass, twice a month in Chinese. Attempts have been made in the past to have a Mass every week, or perhaps even a Chinese parish here but the major difficulty has been the availability of a priest who speaks Chinese.

I was invited by Claudina Siu, one of the many people who attend Mass in the Augustinian parish who are of Chinese extraction. Obvoiously, I wasn't speaking Chinese, but I was invited to be interviewed to discuss, among other things, the differences I notice between the church in Ireland and in Panama, the work I am doing in the seminary, and also a little bit about the studies I have been able to do in the area of theology. The programme also involved me giving a Sunday reflection. The programme was being pre-recorded because I have class at the time of its transmission - it will be going out on next Thursday at 11am (Panamanian time) so if you want to tune in I'm sure you can find the details on Radio Maria Panama's website - a great chance to brush up on your Spanish and your Chinese!!!

Together with myself and Claudina was a lady who read messages in Chinese and also another lady who has links with the Chinese community here, who was the second interviewer. The programme lasted 50 minutes and while I expected it to be difficult to fill the time, it actually flew by.

I'm not sure what listenership Radio Maria has in Ireland but I do know that in Panama it is widely listened to. It is an important tool for the evangelisation effort of the Panamanian church and is also a great way for communities to be in touch with each other by knowing what each other is doing. They also have a very good Catholic newspaper here, called Panorama Católica - run by the only Irish priest resident in Panama (Fr. Sean Rooney, from Belfast). This is really well laid out and there is a section for each part of the country as well as current church events, catechesis, parish resources, and stuff for children.

All in all, very interesting to see the effective use being made of radio and printed media in a conscious effort to evangelise. There is probably much we could learn for application in the Irish church.