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Catholicism in China has a long and complicated history. Christianity has existed in China in various forms since at least the Tang Dynasty in the eighth century A.D. (For a full account of the history of Christianity in China up to contemporary times, see Christianity in China).

Yuan (1271-1368) Dynasty Catholic missionary priests from Europe are first recorded to have entered China in the 13th century. The Italian Franciscan priest John of Montecorvino arrived in Beijing (Khanbalik) in 1294. In 1299 he built a church and in 1305 a second opposite the imperial palace. Having made a study of the local language, he translated the New Testament and the Psalms. Estimates of converts range from 6,000 to 30,000 by the year 1300. In 1307 Pope Clement V sent seven Franciscan bishops to consecrate John of Montecorvino as Archbishop of Peking. The three who survived the journey did so in 1308 and succeeded each other as bishops of Zaiton which John had established. In 1312 three more Franciscan bishops arrived from Rome to aid John until his death in 1328. The mission had some success during the rule of the Mongol Yuan Dynasty, but various factors led to an ultimate shrinking of the mission.

Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) Dynasties During the Catholic Reformation's explosion of Catholic missionary efforts around the world, particularly in Asia, Jesuit and other Roman Catholic missionaries attempted to enter China. They had mixed success at first, but eventually came to have a strong impact, particularly in inter-cultural scientific and artistic exchanges among the upper classes of China and the imperial court.

The permanent mission was established in 1601 by the efforts of Matteo Ricci. His whole approach was quite subtle, interesting the Emperor and the Chinese authorities in aspects of western technology and learning as a point of opening. He also made attempts to reconcile Christianity with the Classic Confucian texts, though he was hostile, along with the other members of his order, to Taoism and Buddhism.

Ricci died in 1610 but the Jesuit mission went on to become an important part of the Imperial civil service, right into the eighteenth century. In 1644 a German Jesuit, Adam Schnall von Bell, was appointed Director of the Board of Astronomy by the new Qing dynasty. Jesuits were also given posts as mechanics, musicians, painters, instrument makers, and in other areas which required a degree of technical expertise.

The Jesuits' pragmatic accommodation with Confucianism was later to lead to conflict with the Dominicans, who came to Beijing from the Philippines in the middle of the century. Their leader, Dominigo Fernandez Navarrete, in responding to the question 'Was Confucious saved?' said that as Socrates, Plato and Aristotle were all damned "how much the more Confucius, who was not worthy to kiss their feet". In responding, Antonio de Gouveia, a Portuguese Jesuit, said that Confucius was certainly saved, "which is more than can be said for King Philip IV of Spain."Charles Ralph Boxer. Fidalgos in the Far East 1550-1770. Oxford University Press, 1968. Page 164.

People's Republic of China Since 1949, following the establishment of the People's Republic of China by the Communist Party of China, the status of Catholicism as an institution in Chinese society has been highly ambiguous. While the Catholic Church is officially banned in the country, the Chinese government demands that all Chinese "Catholics" must be loyal to the State, and that worship must legally be conducted through State-approved churches (belonging to the "Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association"); this way, Catholics are pressured to break full communion with the Holy See by requiring them to renounce an essential belief in Catholicism, the primacy of the Roman Pontiff. Catholics loyal to the pope currently worship in clandestinity, out of fear of imprisonment.

Though the Communist Party is a secular organisation it also reserves the right to appoint priests. They maintain that Chinese citizens' activities must not face interference or influence by external powers. The government does not differentiate between temporal and spiritual loyalty. Thus, it does not presently recognize that a Catholic can be loyal to his/her own government, while still listening to the pope in matters of faith and morals.

According to a survey of Chinese Catholicism in the American Catholic publication, Commonweal, the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association is an organization with oversight over the Chinese Catholic Church. In the meantime, two-thirds of China's registered Church bishops are now recognized by the Vatican. More significant, during the Summer of 2005, the Vatican and Beijing agreed upon the appointment of an Auxiliary Bishop of Shanghai. Vatican, Beijing Cooperate in Appointing Auxiliary Bishop of Shanghai (AsiaNews June 29, 2005). In the past, a major impediment to the re-establishment of relations between the Vatican and Beijing has been the issue of who appoints the bishops.

In a further sign of rapprochement between the Vatican and Beijing, Pope Benedict XVI invited four Chinese bishops, including two government recognized bishops, one underground bishop, and one underground bishop recently emerged into the registered church, to the October 2005 Synod on the Eucharist. Pope Invites Chinese Bishops to Synod on the Eucharist (Catholic World News, September 8, 2005). Beijing ultimately denied the four bishops the right to attend the meeting.

It is estimated that there are 40 million Catholics following the underground church still loyal to Rome and 20 million people following the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association. China names new Catholic bishop(BBC May 7, 2006). The Chinese government, however ambiguous it may behave in its relationship with the Holy See, still persecutes and imprisons underground Catholics, especially priests. The Catholic Church in China is still considered illegal. Catholicism still illegal in China: Cardinal Kung Foundation.

On May 27, 2007, Pope Benedict XVI wrote a letter to Chinese Catholics "to offer some guidelines concerning the life of the Church and the task of evangelization in China." Letter of Pope Benedict XVI to Chinese Catholics, May 27, 2007 In this letter (section 9), Pope Benedict acknowledges tensions:As all of you know, one of the most delicate problems in relations between the Holy See and the authorities of your country is the question of episcopal appointments. On the one hand, it is understandable that governmental authorities are attentive to the choice of those who will carry out the important role of leading and shepherding the local Catholic communities, given the social implications which – in China as in the rest of the world – this function has in the civil sphere as well as the spiritual. On the other hand, the Holy See follows the appointment of Bishops with special care since this touches the very heart of the life of the Church, inasmuch as the appointment of Bishops by the Pope is the guarantee of the unity of the Church and of hierarchical communion.

An "underground" bishop Joseph Wei Jingyi of Qiqihar (northeastern China) released a two-page pastoral letter in July 2007, asking his congregation to study and act on the letter of Pope Benedict XVI and naming the letter a "new milestone in the developmnet of the Chinese Church. 'Underground' bishop urges faithful to implement Pope's letter, CatholicnewsIn September 2007, a coadjutor bishop for the Guiyang Diocese was jointly appointed by the Vatican and the Chinese official Catholic church.

Hong Kong and Macao The Catholic Church is allowed to operate freely in Macao and Hong Kong. In fact, Donald Tsang, the Chief Executive of Hong Kong, is a Catholic. However, Pope John Paul II was denied a visit (deemed "inappropriate") to Hong Kong in 1999, a decision many believe was made under pressure from the central PRC government. The two territories are organized into the Roman Catholic Diocese of Hong Kong and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Macao.

Diplomatic relations with the Vatican The issue of Sino-Foreign relations of the Vatican City relations has been a highly contentious one and often difficult for both sides (see below). The Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association (CCPA) is a division of China's Religious Affairs Bureau, and has oversight over China's Catholics. According to at least one source, however, China's Catholics, including its clergy and religious sisters, are no longer required to be members of the CPCA. The Sisters of Shanghai - Congregation of Nuns Flourishes in China (Commonweal August 12, 2005).

By 2007, the Vatican had indicated on multiple occasions that it desires to establish full diplomatic relations with China, and would be willing to move its embassy from Taiwan to mainland China if necessary. Blueprint for Vatican-China talks (BBC March 6, 2007). However, a major obstacle between the two sides has been the Roman Catholic discipline that only the pope can appoint bishops of the Church. Currently, bishops in the CCPA are government-appointed. In recent years, this issue has proved a frequent aggravating factor in Sino-Vatican relations.

Some, including "outspoken" Hong Kong Cardinal Joseph Zen, see the progress between Vietnam and Vatican officials towards re-establishing full diplomacy as a model for Sino-Vatican normalization of relations. BBC Article By late 2004, prior to the death of Pope John Paul II, Vatican and Chinese government representatives were in contact with the apparent goal of moving closer to the normalization of relations. China and the Vatican Hint At Renewing Formal Ties (NYT May 22, 2005). In late 2004, John Paul II received a "quasi-official" Chinese delegation in the Vatican. These overtures continued after the installation of Benedict XVI as pope.

Chinese terms for God and Christianity Terms used to refer to God in Chinese are different even among Christians.Arriving in China during the Tang dynasty, the earliest Christian missionaries from the Church of the East referred to their religion as Jǐng jiào (景教, literally, "bright teaching").Originally, some Catholic missionaries and scholars advanced the use of Shangdi (上帝, literally, "The Emperor from Above"), as being more native to the Chinese language, but ultimately the Catholic hierarchy decided that the more Confucian term, Tianzhu (天主, literally, "Lord of Heaven"), was to be used, at least in official worship and texts.When Protestants finally arrived in China in the 19th c., they favored Shangdi over Tianzhu. Many Protestants also use Shen (Chinese "spirit; god") (神), which generically means "god" or "spirit", although Catholic priests are called shen fu (神父, literally "spiritual father").Meanwhile, the Mandarin Chinese translation of "Christ," used by all Christians, is Jidu (基督).

Catholics and Protestants The modern Chinese language generally divides Christians into two groups: adherents of Catholicism, Tianzhu jiao (天主教), and adherents of Jidu jiao (基督教)—literally, "Christianity"— or Jidu Xinjiao (基督新教), "New Religion"- Protestantism. Chinese speakers see Catholicism and Protestantism as distinct religions, even though the degree of distinction is not made in the Western world. Thus, in Western languages, the term "Christianity" can subsume both Protestants and Catholics (i.e. Christians as opposed to, for example, Hindus or Jews). Yet in Chinese, there is not a commonly used term that can subsume the two (today, in Chinese Catholic literature, the term "jidu zongjiao" （基督宗教) is used to signify all Christian sects, as the term in Chinese means "religion of Christ". Eastern Orthodoxy is called Dongzheng jiao (東正教), which is simply a literal translation of "Eastern Orthodox Religion" into Chinese.

See also

External links

References

Catholicism in China has a long and complicated history. Christianity has existed in China in various forms since at least the Tang Dynasty in the eighth century A.D. (For a full account of the history of Christianity in China up to contemporary times, see Christianity in China).

Yuan (1271-1368) Dynasty Catholic missionary priests from Europe are first recorded to have entered China in the 13th century. The Italian Franciscan priest John of Montecorvino arrived in Beijing (Khanbalik) in 1294. In 1299 he built a church and in 1305 a second opposite the imperial palace. Having made a study of the local language, he translated the New Testament and the Psalms. Estimates of converts range from 6,000 to 30,000 by the year 1300. In 1307 Pope Clement V sent seven Franciscan bishops to consecrate John of Montecorvino as Archbishop of Peking. The three who survived the journey did so in 1308 and succeeded each other as bishops of Zaiton which John had established. In 1312 three more Franciscan bishops arrived from Rome to aid John until his death in 1328. The mission had some success during the rule of the Mongol Yuan Dynasty, but various factors led to an ultimate shrinking of the mission.

Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) Dynasties During the Catholic Reformation's explosion of Catholic missionary efforts around the world, particularly in Asia, Jesuit and other Roman Catholic missionaries attempted to enter China. They had mixed success at first, but eventually came to have a strong impact, particularly in inter-cultural scientific and artistic exchanges among the upper classes of China and the imperial court.

The permanent mission was established in 1601 by the efforts of Matteo Ricci. His whole approach was quite subtle, interesting the Emperor and the Chinese authorities in aspects of western technology and learning as a point of opening. He also made attempts to reconcile Christianity with the Classic Confucian texts, though he was hostile, along with the other members of his order, to Taoism and Buddhism.

Ricci died in 1610 but the Jesuit mission went on to become an important part of the Imperial civil service, right into the eighteenth century. In 1644 a German Jesuit, Adam Schnall von Bell, was appointed Director of the Board of Astronomy by the new Qing dynasty. Jesuits were also given posts as mechanics, musicians, painters, instrument makers, and in other areas which required a degree of technical expertise.

The Jesuits' pragmatic accommodation with Confucianism was later to lead to conflict with the Dominicans, who came to Beijing from the Philippines in the middle of the century. Their leader, Dominigo Fernandez Navarrete, in responding to the question 'Was Confucious saved?' said that as Socrates, Plato and Aristotle were all damned "how much the more Confucius, who was not worthy to kiss their feet". In responding, Antonio de Gouveia, a Portuguese Jesuit, said that Confucius was certainly saved, "which is more than can be said for King Philip IV of Spain."Charles Ralph Boxer. Fidalgos in the Far East 1550-1770. Oxford University Press, 1968. Page 164.

People's Republic of China Since 1949, following the establishment of the People's Republic of China by the Communist Party of China, the status of Catholicism as an institution in Chinese society has been highly ambiguous. While the Catholic Church is officially banned in the country, the Chinese government demands that all Chinese "Catholics" must be loyal to the State, and that worship must legally be conducted through State-approved churches (belonging to the "Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association"); this way, Catholics are pressured to break full communion with the Holy See by requiring them to renounce an essential belief in Catholicism, the primacy of the Roman Pontiff. Catholics loyal to the pope currently worship in clandestinity, out of fear of imprisonment.

Though the Communist Party is a secular organisation it also reserves the right to appoint priests. They maintain that Chinese citizens' activities must not face interference or influence by external powers. The government does not differentiate between temporal and spiritual loyalty. Thus, it does not presently recognize that a Catholic can be loyal to his/her own government, while still listening to the pope in matters of faith and morals.

According to a survey of Chinese Catholicism in the American Catholic publication, Commonweal, the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association is an organization with oversight over the Chinese Catholic Church. In the meantime, two-thirds of China's registered Church bishops are now recognized by the Vatican. More significant, during the Summer of 2005, the Vatican and Beijing agreed upon the appointment of an Auxiliary Bishop of Shanghai. Vatican, Beijing Cooperate in Appointing Auxiliary Bishop of Shanghai (AsiaNews June 29, 2005). In the past, a major impediment to the re-establishment of relations between the Vatican and Beijing has been the issue of who appoints the bishops.

In a further sign of rapprochement between the Vatican and Beijing, Pope Benedict XVI invited four Chinese bishops, including two government recognized bishops, one underground bishop, and one underground bishop recently emerged into the registered church, to the October 2005 Synod on the Eucharist. Pope Invites Chinese Bishops to Synod on the Eucharist (Catholic World News, September 8, 2005). Beijing ultimately denied the four bishops the right to attend the meeting.

It is estimated that there are 40 million Catholics following the underground church still loyal to Rome and 20 million people following the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association. China names new Catholic bishop(BBC May 7, 2006). The Chinese government, however ambiguous it may behave in its relationship with the Holy See, still persecutes and imprisons underground Catholics, especially priests. The Catholic Church in China is still considered illegal. Catholicism still illegal in China: Cardinal Kung Foundation.

On May 27, 2007, Pope Benedict XVI wrote a letter to Chinese Catholics "to offer some guidelines concerning the life of the Church and the task of evangelization in China." Letter of Pope Benedict XVI to Chinese Catholics, May 27, 2007 In this letter (section 9), Pope Benedict acknowledges tensions:As all of you know, one of the most delicate problems in relations between the Holy See and the authorities of your country is the question of episcopal appointments. On the one hand, it is understandable that governmental authorities are attentive to the choice of those who will carry out the important role of leading and shepherding the local Catholic communities, given the social implications which – in China as in the rest of the world – this function has in the civil sphere as well as the spiritual. On the other hand, the Holy See follows the appointment of Bishops with special care since this touches the very heart of the life of the Church, inasmuch as the appointment of Bishops by the Pope is the guarantee of the unity of the Church and of hierarchical communion.

An "underground" bishop Joseph Wei Jingyi of Qiqihar (northeastern China) released a two-page pastoral letter in July 2007, asking his congregation to study and act on the letter of Pope Benedict XVI and naming the letter a "new milestone in the developmnet of the Chinese Church. 'Underground' bishop urges faithful to implement Pope's letter, CatholicnewsIn September 2007, a coadjutor bishop for the Guiyang Diocese was jointly appointed by the Vatican and the Chinese official Catholic church.

Hong Kong and Macao The Catholic Church is allowed to operate freely in Macao and Hong Kong. In fact, Donald Tsang, the Chief Executive of Hong Kong, is a Catholic. However, Pope John Paul II was denied a visit (deemed "inappropriate") to Hong Kong in 1999, a decision many believe was made under pressure from the central PRC government. The two territories are organized into the Roman Catholic Diocese of Hong Kong and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Macao.

Diplomatic relations with the Vatican The issue of Sino-Foreign relations of the Vatican City relations has been a highly contentious one and often difficult for both sides (see below). The Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association (CCPA) is a division of China's Religious Affairs Bureau, and has oversight over China's Catholics. According to at least one source, however, China's Catholics, including its clergy and religious sisters, are no longer required to be members of the CPCA. The Sisters of Shanghai - Congregation of Nuns Flourishes in China (Commonweal August 12, 2005).

By 2007, the Vatican had indicated on multiple occasions that it desires to establish full diplomatic relations with China, and would be willing to move its embassy from Taiwan to mainland China if necessary. Blueprint for Vatican-China talks (BBC March 6, 2007). However, a major obstacle between the two sides has been the Roman Catholic discipline that only the pope can appoint bishops of the Church. Currently, bishops in the CCPA are government-appointed. In recent years, this issue has proved a frequent aggravating factor in Sino-Vatican relations.

Some, including "outspoken" Hong Kong Cardinal Joseph Zen, see the progress between Vietnam and Vatican officials towards re-establishing full diplomacy as a model for Sino-Vatican normalization of relations. BBC Article By late 2004, prior to the death of Pope John Paul II, Vatican and Chinese government representatives were in contact with the apparent goal of moving closer to the normalization of relations. China and the Vatican Hint At Renewing Formal Ties (NYT May 22, 2005). In late 2004, John Paul II received a "quasi-official" Chinese delegation in the Vatican. These overtures continued after the installation of Benedict XVI as pope.

Chinese terms for God and Christianity Terms used to refer to God in Chinese are different even among Christians.Arriving in China during the Tang dynasty, the earliest Christian missionaries from the Church of the East referred to their religion as Jǐng jiào (景教, literally, "bright teaching").Originally, some Catholic missionaries and scholars advanced the use of Shangdi (上帝, literally, "The Emperor from Above"), as being more native to the Chinese language, but ultimately the Catholic hierarchy decided that the more Confucian term, Tianzhu (天主, literally, "Lord of Heaven"), was to be used, at least in official worship and texts.When Protestants finally arrived in China in the 19th c., they favored Shangdi over Tianzhu. Many Protestants also use Shen (Chinese "spirit; god") (神), which generically means "god" or "spirit", although Catholic priests are called shen fu (神父, literally "spiritual father").Meanwhile, the Mandarin Chinese translation of "Christ," used by all Christians, is Jidu (基督).

Catholics and Protestants The modern Chinese language generally divides Christians into two groups: adherents of Catholicism, Tianzhu jiao (天主教), and adherents of Jidu jiao (基督教)—literally, "Christianity"— or Jidu Xinjiao (基督新教), "New Religion"- Protestantism. Chinese speakers see Catholicism and Protestantism as distinct religions, even though the degree of distinction is not made in the Western world. Thus, in Western languages, the term "Christianity" can subsume both Protestants and Catholics (i.e. Christians as opposed to, for example, Hindus or Jews). Yet in Chinese, there is not a commonly used term that can subsume the two (today, in Chinese Catholic literature, the term "jidu zongjiao" （基督宗教) is used to signify all Christian sects, as the term in Chinese means "religion of Christ". Eastern Orthodoxy is called Dongzheng jiao (東正教), which is simply a literal translation of "Eastern Orthodox Religion" into Chinese.

See also

External links

References



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