What the Catholic clergy and laity have contributed to so- ciety has been recognized by the government and accredited by people of all circles. According to the incomplete statistics, a couple of thousand Catholic clergy and laity have been recog- nized as good models for workers and pioneers by the nation, provinces, local cities or counties, some of whom were given the Wu Yi Laodong Medal (May First Labor"s Medal); San Ba Hongqi Shou (March Third Red Flag Carrier); Xing Changzheng Tuji Shou (New Long March Shock Worker), and Hang Ye Biaobing (Professional Pacemaker) and others. Some villages and city districts, where there are many Catho- lics, were recognized as Shuang Wenming Village (Double Civilized Village) or Wu Hao Jie Qu (Five-Good street or dis-trict)? For example, in Fujian Province, there are 15 villages where many Catholics live that have been recognized as Shuang Wenming Cun (Spiritual and Material Civilizations) by the local governments in the last ten years or so. There are over 3,000Catholic families who have been recognized as either Wu Hao Jia Ting or Wen Ming Jia Ting; and more than 2,800 Catholics were recognized as professional pacemakers in the socialist con- struction process by provincial, city or county level governments.
Many local churches have educational, medical and other social services. The church people who dedicate themselves to these services through their loyalty, dedication, compassion and friendly attitude, have won much praise. On August 31st 2002, Beijing diocese held a grand meeting to honor those faithful par- ticipants in social services. The meeting was called Beijing Tianzhujiao Wei Shoudu Liang Ge Wenming Jianshe Fuwu Biaozhang Hui (A meeting was Held by Beijing Catho- lic Church to honor those who have contributed to the Construc- tion of building up the two Civilizations)? During the meeting,115 people and 17 units were honored, among whom, there were clergy, faithful lay people who work in the patriotic associations, church workers and those who work at the Catholic printing presses; some of these people were retired, and some were stillworking. During the meeting, Bishop Fu Tieshan pointed out:"Christ Jesus has already made clear for us our Catholic Church"s position and the position of each and everyone of us, which is a position of service and dedication as a servant. Through our ser- vice for all people, for our nation, for society, we are witnessing for Christ. We are the light through which we earn the trust of society.‘ He continued: "Serving the people, primarily is to serve the country and nation where we have been born and raised, and to be obedient to and in service of the highest interests of the country and for the benefit of the whole nation; it is also at the service of the capital"s Liang Ge Wenming Jianshe (Material and Spiritual Civilizations)? This is the grand service of the Catholic Church and the external expression of charity. As the Church in the capital, as a citizen and Catholic in the capital, we should be proud of ourselves because we have a double duty to be at the service of the capital and our Church. In order to fulfill out du- ties, we need to have a strong mission and zeal to position our- selves in the service of the "Loving God and Loving Country’ mission. We need to use our good words and deeds to beautify our environment, to purify our hearts, to vivify others and to sanctify our life.‘In addition, the clergy and laity of the Catholic Church arealso actively involved in variety of social and political activities. More than 1,000 Catholic clergy and laity have been elected as members of the National People"s Congress (NPC) and the Chi- nese People"s Political Consultative Conference at national or local government‘ levels. Beijing"s Bishop Fu Tieshan is a mem- ber of the Standing committee of the NPC and Vice-Chairman of the Beijing Municipal Political Consultative committee; Nanjing Bishop Liu Yuan Ren and Shanghai Bishop Jin Luxian are members of both the NPC and CPPCC. Meanwhile, the Catholic Church is an active member of the many committees: China committee on Women and Children"s Protection, China Charity Federation, China Red Cross, China Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, Chinese Handicapped As- sociation, China Association of Peace and Unity, China-Interna- tional communications Association, China Overseas Friendship Association, China-Foreign Peoples Friendship Association, China Anti-Sect Association, and China committee on Religion and Peace.
