By JILLIAN
KAY MELCHIORWhile thousands of American teenagers have spent their summers at expensive
camps that allow them to have fun outdoors, students in Rui'an city in China's
eastern Zhejiang province did something simple and soulful this summer: They
attended a Catholic summer course.Maria, a high school senior, last year attended such a course offered by An
Yang Parish in her hometown Rui'an, and she loved it. Her social skills and her
emotional health improved, she said. She wasn't the only one who liked it. When
the parish, which is part of Wenzhou city's diocese, launched a large-scale
youth program last year, 430 students attended. Otherwise, the parish has only
about 320 members.Nuns and parishioners volunteered to teach the week-long intensive Bible
study courses. Rosa Chen, a laywoman who helps run the program, said, "For
Catholic parents, they cherish the opportunity to send their children here."While the demand is there to sustain the program, the parents don't know if
the camp will be open next year. The government has long limited religious
training for children, which makes the program's continuation precarious.Read more at The Wall Street Journal
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