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  Catholicism flourishes in Tibetan village  By Mu Qian (China Daily)  Updated: 2006-01-10 14:13  Yang, himself of the Miao ethnic group, is experienced in working with 
minority Catholics. 
 "In the western part of Yunnan, almost all Catholics are minority people," 
said Yang. "I have been to villages where there is no electricity, and no road." 
 Language is a problem in Yang's work. For many villagers of Cizhong, only a 
part of his sermon in putonghua could be understood, but Yang said that even if 
some people couldn't fully understand what he said, they could feel God in their 
hearts. 
 "For all the people in the world who believe in Jesus Christ, today is a 
jubilant day," said Yang. 
 Customs and habits of minority people can be another problem. 
 During Mass, non-Catholics were still singing and dancing outside the church, 
while some Catholics, having drunk too much wine, forgot Mass and kept singing 
and dancing too. 
 "Later I criticized those church members who forgot Mass," said Yang. "A 
Catholic can drink wine, but shouldn't drink too much, or it will cause 
trouble." 
 When the French missionaries brought Catholicism, they also brought seeds of 
vines and techniques for brewing wine. Today planting grapes and brewing wine 
still brings important income for the villagers. The wine used in Mass was also 
locally brewed. 
 During Mass, the villagers read scriptures and sang chants in Tibetan 
language, but the texts they used were written in Chinese characters. 
 Most people in the church held in their hands such a book of scriptures and 
chants, the cover of which has a picture of the church. 
   
  
  
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