Since 1979, the Chinese Catholic Church has undergone challenges far beyond anyone’s imagination. In September 2018, the Vatican announced that Pope Francis had reached a provisional agreement with Beijing on the appointment of bishops in China. The Vatican expressed the hope that this breakthrough would lead to further improvements in its relations with Beijing.1 In a landmark in the history of the Catholic Church in contemporary China, the two sides agreed to allow for the ordination of bishops agreeable to both the Vatican and China.
The Vatican focuses on the ordination of bishops, which has a significant impact on the well-being of the Chinese Church and the Holy See’s relations with China.2 As part of the agreement, the Pope will recognize seven Chinese bishops who had previously been ordained without the Vatican’s approval and had therefore been illegitimate. In the future, the Pope will be able to participate in, and potentially veto, the appointment of a bishop nominated by Beijing. From the side of Beijing, the agreement will serve as a foundation for improvements in bilateral relations with the Vatican.3
This book provides readers with the information and insights needed to better understand Sino-Vatican relations and the rationale behind the decisions taken by Pope Francis. It includes articles that discuss the Chinese Church as a whole and those that focus on particular aspects of its activities, including diplomacy, politics, leadership, pilgrims, and youths. Together they constitute a vibrant portrayal of the Church.
The Chinese Church in Changing Times
In Chapter 2, “An Overview of the Catholic Church in Post-Mao China,” Gianni Criveller begins with a discussion of the Chinese Church since 1979, when China opened to the outside world. Criveller is highly critical of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP’s) policies toward religion and the Church, which have wandered between relaxation and strict control. He believes that the current situation is representative of a stricter policy turn. He argues that these policy fluctuations toward the Church have been the result of domestic concerns more than foreign relations and that China’s current attitude toward religion finds its roots under Deng Xiaoping’s leadership in the early-1980s. The CCP has made sure that religion is used to serve political interests. Criveller also goes into detail on issues related to the consecration of bishops, which have often been reflective of the wider climate of Sino-Vatican relations. He concludes that concerns related to modernization and Sinicization have hindered the satisfactory development of the Chinese Church in the post-Mao era.
In Chapter 3, “The Development of the Underground Church in Post-Mao China,” Sergio Ticozzi describes the development of the underground (unregistered or unofficial) Church in China. The Chinese authorities, in alliance with the official leaders of the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association (CCPA), have repeatedly criticized the Vatican for “creating the underground Church.” Ticozzi points out that this was a mischaracterization, since the underground Church has existed since the 1950s, although he concedes that the Holy See’s open document (1978), “Faculties and Privileges Given to the Catholic Clergy and Faithful Who Live in Mainland China, While These Conditions Persist,” offered great support for the clergy and the faithful in China. Ticozzi traces the development of the underground Church, finding that it has behaved differently according to its circumstances, ranging from acting in secret out of fear of persecution to openly carrying out its activities. He concludes with a pessimistic analysis of the future for the underground Church in China.
Important Personalities in the Chinese Church
In Chapter 4, “Bishop Jin Luxian and the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association of Shanghai,” Rachel Xiaohong Zhu argues that the CCPA — founded in the 1950s — was one of the major outcomes of the Socialist transformation of the Church in China. During the 1970s, it functioned as a bridge between the Chinese Church and the CCP, playing a role in the implementation of religious policies and in the re-establishment of the Chinese Church itself. However, its continued existence and function have been questioned by the clergy and the laity alike, and whether or not to join the CCPA has become a line of the demarcation between the open Church and the underground Church. The chapter focuses on the Shanghai diocese under the leadership of Bishop Aloysius Jin Luxian. As Zhu points out, the Shanghai diocese maintained a unique operational structure known as the “four-horse carriage” in which four organizations, including the diocese itself, the CCPA, the Chinese Catholic Church Administrative Committee (CCAC), and the Shanghai Catholic Intellectuals’ Association, cooperated effectively.
In Chapter 5, “Joseph Cardinal Zen Ze-kiun of Hong Kong,” Beatrice K. F. Leung discusses the role of Cardinal Joseph Zen in the political development of Hong Kong. Leung is supportive of the political stance of Cardinal Zen. She states that the local Catholic Church under his leadership has been very vocal with regard to the ongoing democracy issues and debates in Hong Kong, a sharp contrast with Zen’s predecessor, Cardinal John Baptist Wu Chen-chung. Leung points out that Zen has maintained an adversarial relationship with the governments of both Hong Kong and Beijing. On social issues, Zen has accused the Hong Kong authorities of siding with business tycoons to the disadvantage of the general population and with eliminating the power of Christian Churches in primary and secondary education. He was an active participant in Occupy Central with Love and Peace (OCLP, also known as the Umbrella Movement) of September–December 2014. Leung also highlights Zen’s recent comments in opposition to the Pope’s aforementioned agreement with Beijing concerning the ordination of bishops.
Catholic Organizations
The Franciscan missionary Gabriele Allegra (1907–1976) is known for having translated and published the first complete edition of the Catholic Bible in the Chinese language between 1955 and 1961. In “The Studium Biblicum Franciscanum Sinense from 1976 to Present,” Raissa De Gruttola looks at the history of Chinese translations of The Bible after the death of Allegra in 1976. Chapter 6 deals with the activity of the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum (Sigao shengjing xuehui) from 1976 to present and introduces other Chinese Catholic versions of The Bible. The analysis underlines the importance of the activities of the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum to Chinese-speaking Catholics.
With the restoration of Catholicism in China, the traditions of charity and public service have developed since 1979. In Chapter 7, “The Jinde Charities Foundation of Hebei Province and Catholic Charities in China,” Zhipeng Zhang studies the charity and public welfare activities of Hebei’s Jinde Charity Foundation, one of China’s first non-profit organizations. On the basis of a general review of the development of Catholic charities in China since 1979, Zhang discusses the influence of Catholic charitable organizations on Chinese society and on the social image of Chinese Catholicism. The Jinde Charity Foundation has upheld the spirit of Catholic fraternity and promoted mutual understanding regardless of ethnicity, gender, or place of origin.
The Increasing Diversity of China’s Catholic Communities
In Chapter 8, “Recent Developments of Youth Ministry in China,” Bruno Lepeu states that the study of youth ministry is of crucial importance to understanding what is emerging in the Chinese Church at present. When young people have a rich community and spiritual life which brings them closer to their faith, their lives can undergo remarkable change. The experience of the youth fosters lay ministries and vocations, which contribute to the dynamism and renewal of the Chinese Church. Lepeu points out that although there have been difficulties in the youth ministry in China, it is starting...