VATICAN Claire and Joseph: from Taipei, to recount the challenges of the family in Asia

The couple is part of the delegation invited to represent Taiwan. Married for 28 years, they have two children and are involved in projects supporting young or struggling families in China, Malaysia and the Philippines. The issue of mixed families and the path oriented to dialogue and training. Commitment to priests in training for pastoral care.

Vatican City () – They came from Taipei as a couple, to tell their experience of the permanent accompaniment of the spouses. Clare Jiayann Yeh and Joseph Teyu Chou are part of the delegation invited to represent Taiwan at the World Meeting of Families that is taking place these days in the Vatican. Together with two other spouses from Indonesia, they are the only Asian speakers who spoke during the sessions organized by the Department of Lay Family and Life for this important event dedicated to families, which ends tomorrow.

Married for 28 years with two grown sons in their twenties, Clare and Joseph have been involved for years in projects supporting struggling and emerging families in China, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Chinese communities living in the United States.

“I was appointed by the Pope as a consultant to the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life and that is why they thought of me and Joseph, when they had to choose – explains Clare – who should intervene on the issue of ongoing formation of the husbands. I was born into a non-Christian family and became a Catholic when I was twenty years old.” It was there, in church, that Joseph noticed her: “I come from a Catholic family and I was 24 years old when we met. Claire was new to the church and we met there. Then we started dating, got married and had two kids. I learned a lot about Church doctrine and theology precisely thanks to Claire.”

Today Claire is director of the Center for Marriage and Family Ministry of the Chinese Regional Episcopal Conference. Her training includes studies in Melbourne at the John Paul II Institute for Marriage and Family, which later led her to teach moral and pastoral theology at St. Robert Bellarmine’s Fu-Jen School of Theology. Claire is an expert in preparing couples for marriage and in advising families in difficulty, an experience that she has reflected in her book: “Guidelines on the pastoral care of marriage and the family in the light of Amoris Laetitia” . Her husband, Joseph de Ella, a university professor of economics and finance, who was the manager of a company, has always supported and accompanied her in her service to the Church.

“At the world meeting of families -says Claire- we share our experience and we also talk about the differences in family ministry in different countries, such as Malaysia, the Philippines, China, Taiwan or other dioceses in Washington or New York. The common challenge in Asia is that many couples do not have deep roots in the Catholic tradition and need constant accompaniment from the Church, to support their Christian family in a non-Christian culture”. Claire knows what they are talking about, as her own family is of the Ikuantao religion. Also known as “I Kuan Tao” and “Yi Guan Dao” it is a religion that has millions of followers and was born in China, although it is still prohibited there. In Taiwan, on the other hand, it was legalized in 1987 and since then it has become the third most widespread religion, after Taoism and Buddhism.

“When I was little, my parents enrolled me in a Christian preschool because they believed -she explains- that it was the best. And when I became a Catholic, they always encouraged me on my way, even though they are not Christians. For example, sometimes they would say to me: “It’s Sunday, why are you at home? You have to go to church.” My family encouraged me to do what was useful to me and helped me personally. That is why I always share my personal experience with couples in which one of the two spouses is not a Christian.”

Meeting many families every day, Claire knows the most diverse stories of integration, such as those of the children who attend the parish on Sundays, even though their parents belong to other religions. However, family issues are not always easy to resolve: “In the premarital classes – underlines Claire – we are faced with this challenge: if one is Catholic and the other is not, there can be various difficulties. Perhaps the Catholic husband’s family could become much stronger and ask his wife to become Catholic. Or, if the husband is not a Christian, he could force his wife to stop going to church. This is the challenge facing the Church in Asia. With our experience we would like to help couples to dialogue and then allow their children to go to church. For this reason, in our groups we always want there to be couples who share their experience, that way couples help each other. They are not left alone to confront and argue.”

The Taiwanese delegation, made up of Claire and Joseph, together with the bishop of the diocese, a priest and three other couples, has brought the experience of accompanying the Christian family in a non-Christian context. “The theme of this world meeting – he continues – is a call to the holiness of families: I hope that each culture and nation can make its contribution, to lead us to this holiness. And we personally would like to continue to do more and more, to help meet the challenges of families.”

In addition to families, Claire and Joseph also meet many priests often, to support them in training for pastoral care. “As laity we should have a greater mission in pastoral care, to train husbands and priests. We need – he concludes – synodality with other couples, in collaboration with the Church and the bishops, to help families do everything possible for themselves and for their children”.