Support Pope's missionary prayer intention for July

01 July, 2013 - Pope’s missionary prayer intention for this month of July - that throughout Asia doors may be open to messengers of the Gospel. Catholicism is growing faster in Asia than anywhere else in the world. Asia is the largest continent which makes up almost 30 percent of the world’s land mass, where over 4 billion people, or 60 percent of mankind live. Of this only 3.3 percent are Catholic. And yet, in this continent where Christ lived and died, the largest religions are Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism. Fifty-nine percent of China’s1.3 billion people identify themselves as having no religion. Only 1 percent of the Chinese are Catholic. About 1.5 percent of India’s 1.2 billion people are Catholic. Despite the growth of Catholicism in Asia and despite the vast potential for more growth, many doors in Asia are closed to the messengers of the Gospel. In many places it is illegal to preach Christ and to practice the faith in public. In some places Christians are being persecuted and killed and their churches destroyed. Since faith is a gift of God, we must pray that Christ may be freely preached and that He may be embraced by those who don’t know Him as yet. We must also pray that those who have accepted Christ may have the freedom to openly practice and preach their faith. This is particularly true of the Holy Land and the Middle East, the land of Jesus, the land of the first Christians. Let us therefore join the Holy Father, Pope Francis, in praying this month that throughout Asia doors may be open to messengers of the Gospel.