Posted on 03/22/2006 5:15:59 PM PST by NYer
Bishop Sees Hope as Government Opens Up to Democracy
KOENIGSTEIN, Germany, MARCH 22, 2006 (Zenit.org).- Mongolia's only Catholic bishop says there is more hope for the Church in the country as the government opens up to democracy.
"When the first Catholic missionaries, one from Belgium and two from the Philippines, arrived here in 1992, almost nobody in Mongolia had ever heard about Jesus," Bishop Wenceslao Padilla said during a recent visit to Aid to the Church in Need.
"Since then, we have established three parishes with currently about 300 baptized Mongolian Catholics," said the 56-year-old prelate.
"And now that the government is opening up to democracy, there is much hope for the Catholic Church in this vast country," he added. "This year, we expect 80 to 100 new baptisms."
Mongolia, which is about the size of Alaska, has a population of 2.7 million, according to one estimate.
Bishop Padilla, a Filipino missionary who is the apostolic prefect of Ulan Bator, the Mongolian capital, stated that despite a "strong influence from industrialized nations such as Japan and South Korea," the average living standard "is still very low."
"Almost every Mongolian household has a breadwinner working abroad," he observed.
The prelate added: "The government has permitted Catholic education; they even asked us to assist them in the fields of education and social work.
"But for evangelization, much patience is needed. Today, 56 missionaries from 14 African, Asian, European and Latin American countries are active in Mongolia."
Praise be to God! ... what an extraordinary story.
That is FAbulous!! Please put me on your Catholic Ping List.
One of the young women from my neighborhood participated in a mission in Mongolia that resulted in a Christian church getting government approval ~ the first in the history of Mongolia.
What a breath of fresh air this story is! I get so depressed when I read about European Cathedrals being empty.
Soak it up! Christianity is blossoming in the Near East, especially China and North Korea.
About five years ago, we had a Mormon missionary for dinner at our home in California. He was from Mongolia (Ulan Bator) and proselyting in the United States so they are returning the favor. We called him Elder Bookbot although that wasn't how he spelled it. Wonderful guy. If he is any indication of his fellow Mongolians, the Christian churches will be strengthened by their presence.
There's no central heating, far from major residential areas, and if you attend regularly they'll start making you pay taxes to support them.
Gosh, I hate to be a wet blanket and it's great the Christianity is apparently spreading over there, but is 300 out of 2.7 million really a lot? The seed, of course, has been planted, but it will take a long time for it to really bear fruit.
I'm imagining a Roman Empire bureaucrat reading dispatches from the provinces.
Mongolian Catholic teenagers worshipers clean delta of Tos river from garbage during action of Catholic's church near Ulan Bator, July 20, 2003, Mongolia. In Mongolia the Catholic mission has appeared 11 years ago and now the community totals 170 Catholics. (Photo by Oleg Nikishin/Pressphotos) 
I used to travel to Ulaan Baatar often; The church and convent are located few miles from American Embassy.
A co-worker stationed in UB used to assist with repairs and maintenance of the facilities and finally he married a Mongolian catholic girl.
Many Mongols are resentful of the Christians and are starting to discriminate against them; however the community there is growing!
***About five years ago, we had a Mormon missionary for dinner at our home in California.***
Was he tasty? /Sarc off.
Can Bingo be far behind?
Didn't Mongolia use to have a large number of Nestorian Christians? What happened to them?
From the Catholic Encyclopedia on Persia:
The last of the race of Christian kings — probably Christian only in name — was slain by Jenghis Khan about A.D. 1202. Jenghis had a Christian wife, the daughter of this king, and he was tolerant towards the Christian faith. In fact the Mogul conquerors were without much religion, and friendly towards all creeds. The wave of carnage and conquest swept westward, covered Persia, and overwhelmed the Caliph of Bagdad in 1258. This change was for a time favourable to Christianity, as the rulers openly declared themselves Christians or were partial to Christianity. The patriarch of the Nestorians was chosen from people of the same language and race as the conquerors; he was a native of Western China; he ruled the Church through a stormy period of seven reigns of Mogul kings, had the joy of baptizing some of them, and for a time hoped that they would form such an alliance with the Christians of Europe against the Mohammedans as should open all Asia, as far as China, to Christianity. This hope did not last long; it ended in a treat of ruin: the Nestorians were too degraded, ignorant, and superstitious to avail themselves of their opportunity. After a time of vacillation the Moguls found Mohammedanism better suited to their rough and bloody work. The emperor, having decided, flung his sword into the scale, and at his back were 100,000 warriors. The whole structure of the Nestorian Church, unequal to the trial, crumbled under the persecutions and wars of the Tatars. With Timu-Leng (A.D. 1379-1405) came their utter ruin. He was a bigoted Moslem, and put to the sword all who did not escape to the recesses of the mountains. Thus did Central Asia, once open to Christian missions, see the utter extermination of the Christians, not a trace of them being left east of the Kurdish Mountains. The Christian faith was thrown back upon its last defenses in the West, where hunted and despised, its feeble remnant of adherents continued to retain, as it were, a death-grip on their churches and worship.
Touche'. ;o)
In 1989, according to Operation World, there were only four known Christians in Mongolia. The Southern Baptist International Mission Board went in first. ... By 1994 the number of Christians in Mongolia stood at 2,000.
***About five years ago, we had a Mormon missionary for dinner at our home in California.***
Hope that dinner wasn't on a Friday. It's Lent ya' know. Sarcasm off
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.