ASIA/CHINA - Chinese Catholic communities care for “brides from far away”, women wounded by life

by Marta Zhao

Shijiazhuang (Agenzia Fides) - They are called “brides from far away”. They mostly belong to ethnic minority groups and often live in conditions of extreme poverty. They suffer from abuse and forms of domestic and social violence. Sometimes they can be considered victims of human trafficking, a scourge that must be fought and which affects millions of people around the world, as recalled by the World Day that the UN dedicates to them on July 30 of each year. The phenomenon of "brides from far away" is very common in less developed and more isolated regions of mainland China.
These are vulnerable and defenseless women, marginalized and often mistreated and forgotten by the very family into which they have been integrated through marriage. Many of them have found the thread of hope and healing in their encounter with the Chinese Catholic communities who care for them. Professor Kang Zhijie, a researcher at the Macau Institute of Jinan University, is the author of a report titled “Study on Catholic Care for brides from far away.” The study shows how certain phenomena and aspects of Chinese society and mentality - the numerical imbalance between the sexes, the preference for sons over daughters and the concept of continuity of lineage - drive some men from remote areas and less developed people to try to marry women from other regions.
In certain cases, “brides from far away”, who are not directly known to their future husband, become the object of a real purchase and sale managed by their family clan.

For many Catholic communities, especially in rural areas, the reality of “brides from far away” has become a new frontier where they can bear witness to the liberation proclaimed by the Gospel. Their condition of fragile and battered women represents one of the “existential peripheries” often evoked by Pope Francis as places where the proclamation of the Gospel must be carried with more solicitude and the healing power of the grace of Christ manifested. in works of charity and mercy, even in a secularized society.
The research carried out by Professor Kang attests that, since the opening of China in the 1980s, the Catholic Church of the People's Republic of China has worked extensively on behalf of leprosy victims, AIDS patients, and orphans or children from disadvantaged families. Groups of fragile people are today joined by “brides from far away”. Some of them, after receiving baptism, testify in a surprising and impressive way to the impact of faith on their lives. A testimony that moves and comforts the local Church, releasing a gratitude that gives energy and breath to works of charity. In some parishes, pastoral groups dedicated to “brides from far away” have emerged, such as the “Sarah Bible Group”, named after Abraham’s wife. The priest who chose this name also explained the reasons for his choice to the researcher: “Sarah suffered many humiliations and offenses, but in the end she was blessed. Even brides who come from far away, like Sarah, can become people embraced and healed by grace. The intention is very simple: by following Sarah's example, they can begin to live a luminous life, illuminated by the light of God.
The communities organize catechism classes and Bible reading meetings, helping them to integrate into the local context, taking into account their needs and conditions (cultural level, available time, family situation). Some of them were also able to free themselves from the hardness of character and the closures caused by the suffering endured, even finding harmony with their husbands. There were also moments of conviviality where the “brides from far away” prepared dishes typical of their region of origin, and were thus able to feel involved in a family and fraternal atmosphere. Some of them were part of the animation team of the whole group, also working as catechists, to “bring to others the love of Jesus, according to the teaching of the Gospel”. (Agenzia Fides, 19/7/2024)

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local churches

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women

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human trafficking

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evangelization

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charity

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works of mercy

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