Catholic Church in China
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The Catholic Church in China (called Tiānzhǔ Jiào, 天主教, literally "Religion of the Lord of Heaven" after the Chinese term for the Christian God) has a long and complicated history. John of Montecorvino was the first Catholic missionary to reach China proper and first bishop of Khanbaliq during the Yuan dynasty (1271–1368).[1]
After the 1949 takeover by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), Catholic and Protestant missionaries were expelled from the country. In 1957, the communist government established the Catholic Patriotic Association in Beijing,[2] which rejects the authority of the Holy See and appoints its own preferential bishops. Since September 2018, however, an agreement was reached, giving the Pope the power to veto any bishop which the Chinese government recommends.[3][4] However, the Church has claimed this agreement was breached in November 2022 and July 2023 when two bishops were installed without prior approval or consultation by the Vatican.[5]
Chinese terms
Terms used to refer to God in Chinese differ even among Christians.
Arriving in China during the
Catholics and Protestants
The modern Chinese language generally divides Christians into two groups: adherents of Catholicism, Tiānzhǔjiào (天主教), and adherents of Protestantism, Jīdūjiào (基督教) or Jīdū Xīnjiào (基督新教—"New Religion"). Chinese speakers see Catholicism and Protestantism as distinct religions. Thus, in Western languages, the term "Christianity" can subsume both Catholics and Protestants (i.e., Christians as opposed to, for example, Hindus or Jews). In Chinese, however, there is not a commonly used term that can subsume the two (but today in Chinese Catholic literature, the term "Jīdū zōngjiào" (基督宗教) is used to signify all Christian sects, as the term in Chinese means "religion of Christ"). Eastern Orthodoxy is called Dōngzhèngjiào (東正教), which is simply a literal translation of "Eastern Orthodox Religion" into Chinese.
Tang dynasty (618–690, 705–907)
The Catholic Church first entered China during the cosmopolitan Tang dynasty era,[6] although it had few native Chinese followers until the 16th century in the Ming dynasty.[7]
Yuan dynasty (1271–1368)
The Nestorian Christian and Turkic Chinese monk Rabban Bar Sauma (c. 1220–1294) travelled from China to Europe to meet Pope Nicholas IV.
The mission had some success during the rule of the
Hayton of Corycus wrote about China.
It was reported that competition with the Catholic Church and Islam were also factors in causing Nestorian Christianity to disappear in China – see
Armenian King
Ming dynasty (1368–1644)
During the
The permanent mission was established in 1601 by the efforts of the Jesuit
.Ricci died in 1610 but the Jesuit mission went on to become an important part of the
Qing dynasty (1644–1911)
In the Qing dynasty, the Jesuits' pragmatic accommodation with Confucianism was later to lead to conflict with the Dominican friars, who came to Beijing from the Philippines in the middle of the century. Dominican leader Domingo Fernández Navarrete in responding to the question "Was Confucius saved?" said that since Greek philosophers such as Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Seneca, and others were all damned "how much the more Confucius, who was not worthy to kiss their feet"? In responding, António de Gouveia, a Portuguese Jesuit, said that Confucius was certainly saved, "which is more than can be said for King Philip IV of Spain."[15]
While up to this point there had been debate among Western clergy as to whether to ordain Chinese men as priests, the debate was settled in 1654 when Luo Wenzao (also known as Gregory Lopez) was ordained a priest for the Dominican Order.[16]
Due to the Chinese rites controversy, the Kangxi Emperor banned Christianity in China after 1715, saying "Westerners are trivial; how could they understand Chinese great philosophy? in addition, no Westerners know the Chinese classics. Their discussions (of Chinese philosophy) are ridiculous. In my view, the missionaries' talk is the same as those heretic Buddhist monks, Taoists, and other superstitions. The (knowledge of) Westerners is no more than this (the missionaries' talk). We could simply forbid them from spreading their religion in China, for the sake of avoiding troubles." ("只說得西洋人等小人,如何言得中國人之大理?況西洋人等,無一人通漢書者,說言議論,令人可笑者多。今見來臣告示,竟與和尚道士異端小教相同。彼此亂言者,莫過如此。以後不必西洋人在中國行教,禁止可也,免得多事。")[citation needed]
Under the "fundamental laws" of China, one section is titled "Wizards, Witches, and all Superstitions, prohibited." The
The clause stated: "People of the Western Ocean, (Europeans or Portuguese,) should they propagate in the country the religion of heaven's Lord, (in Chinese: 天主教, the Chinese name of the Catholic Church) or clandestinely print books, or collect congregations to be preached to, and thereby deceive many people, or should any Tartars or Chinese, in their turn, propagate the doctrines and clandestinely give names, (as in baptism,) inflaming and misleading many, if proved by authentic testimony, the head or leader shall be sentenced to immediate death by strangulations: he who propagates the religion, inflaming and deceiving the people, if the number be not large, and no names be given, shall be sentenced to strangulation after a period of imprisonment. Those who are merely hearers or followers of the doctrine, if they will not repent and recant, shall be transported to the Mohammedan cities (in Turkistan) and given to be slaves to the Baigs and other powerful Mohammedans who are able to coerce them. (...) All civil and military officers who may fail to detect Europeans clandestinely residing in the country within their jurisdiction, and propagating their religion, thereby deceiving the multitude, shall be delivered over to the Supreme Board and be subjected to a court of inquiry."[citation needed]
Some hoped that the Chinese government would discriminate between Protestantism and Catholicism, since the law was directed at Catholicism, but after Protestant missionaries in 1835–6 gave Christian books to Chinese, the Daoguang Emperor demanded to know who were the "traitorous natives in Canton who had supplied them with books." The foreign missionaries were strangled or expelled by the Chinese.[21]
During the Boxer Rebellion (1899–1901), Catholic missionaries and their families were murdered by Boxer rebels.[22]
The Qing dynasty imperial government permitted French Catholic Christian missionaries to enter and proselytize in Tibetan lands, which weakened the control of the Tibetan Buddhist Lamas, who refused to give allegiance to the Chinese. The Tibetan Lamas were alarmed and jealous of Catholic missionaries converting natives to Catholicism. During the
Republic of China
After the
In the 19th century, the French government had taken control of Catholics in China,[
Within months of his election,
- 20 archdioceses
- 85 dioceses
- 39 apostolic prefectures
- 3,080 missionaries
- 2,557 Chinese priests.[28]
People's Republic of China
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) began targeting Christian missionaries and monasteries during the Chinese Civil War. Even as Protestants began fleeing the country, the Catholic Church ordered over 3,000 of its missionaries in China to remain even as the CCP won the war. After the proclamation of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in 1949 by the CCP, the Catholic Church was initially allowed to operate independently but faced growing legal obstruction and scrutiny. All foreign missionaries were required to register with the government, and Chinese authorities interrogated Catholics and investigated hospitals and schools. It also forced many churches to close by issuing prohibitively high taxes. The Chinese government began mass arrests of foreign missionaries after intervening in the Korean War, but Catholics were ordered by the apostolic nuncio Antonio Riberi to remain and resist. Riberi and Bishop Tarcisio Martina were themselves arrested and expelled for false allegations that they were involved in a conspiracy to assassinate Mao Zedong. Mao also ordered the arrest and execution of all members of the Legion of Mary, which he believed was a paramilitary unit.[citation needed]
In 1950, the Holy See stated that participation in certain CCP-related organizations would result in excommunication from the Church.[29]: 33 In response, initiatives including Fr. Wang Liangzuo's "Guangyuan Declaration of Catholic Self-Reformation" gained support from Chinese Catholics.[29]: 33 In turn, apostolic nuncio Antonio Riberi circulated a letter denouncing such proposed reforms, and in March 1951 Fr. Li Weiguang and a group of 783 priests, nuns, and lay Catholics signed a declaration opposing what they viewed as Vatican interference and Western imperialism.[29]: 33
China broke off diplomatic relations with the Holy See in 1951, deporting Riberi to British Hong Kong.[29]: 33 The CCP framed these actions in terms of Chinese Catholics reclaiming their church in the context of broader opposition to Western imperialism.[29]: 33
By the summer of 1953 the Catholic Church had been completely suppressed.[30]
Since then Catholicism, like all religions, was permitted to operate only under the supervision of the
Clergy who resisted this development were subject to oppression, including long imprisonments as in the case of
Some Catholics who recognized the authority of the Holy See chose to worship clandestinely due to the risk of harassment from authorities. Several underground Catholic bishops were reported as disappeared or imprisoned, and harassment of unregistered bishops and priests was common.[33] There were reports of Catholic bishops and priests being forced by authorities to attend the ordination ceremonies for bishops who had not gained Vatican approval.[31] Chinese authorities also had reportedly pressured Catholics to break communion with the Vatican by requiring them to renounce an essential belief in Catholicism, the primacy of the Roman Pontiff. In the past, however, authorities have permitted some Vatican-loyal churches to carry out operations.[33]
While Article 36 of China's Constitution provides for "freedom of religious belief" and non-discrimination on religious bases, it also states that "[n]o one shall use religion to engage in activities that disrupt public order, impair the health of citizens or interfere with the state's education system" and "[r]eligious groups and religious affairs shall not be subject to control by foreign forces."[34]
A major impediment to the re-establishment of relations between the Vatican and Beijing was the issue of who appoints the bishops. As a matter of maintaining autonomy and rejecting foreign intervention, the official church had no official contact with the Vatican and did not recognize its authority. In later years, however, the CPA allowed for unofficial Vatican approval of ordinations. Although the CPA continued to carry out some ordinations opposed by the Holy See, the majority of CPA bishops became recognized by both authorities.[35]
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.[36]
On 27 May 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".[37] 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 that – 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.
Underground bishop Joseph Wei Jingyi of
Demographics
The number of Catholics is hard to estimate because of the large number of Christians who do not affiliate with either of the two state-approved denominations.[40][33]
Estimates in 2020 suggested that Catholics make up 0.69% of the population.[41]
The 2010 Blue Book of Religions, produced by the Institute of World Religions at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, a research institution directly under the State Council, estimated Catholics in China to number about 5.7 million.[42] This Chinese government estimate only included members of the Catholic Patriotic Association (CPA). It did not include un-baptized persons attending Christian groups, non-adult children of Christian believers or other persons under age 18, and unregistered Christian groups.[40]
The Holy Spirit Study Centre in Hong Kong, which monitors the number of Chinese Catholic members, estimated in 2012 that there were 12 million Catholics in both branches of the Catholic Church.[43]
In 2017 Hebei Province had the largest Catholic Christian population in China, with 1 million Church members according to the local government.[44] Generally, Catholic institutions were dominant in North and Central regions of China.[40]
Hong Kong and Macau
It has been suggested that parts of this page (§ Hong Kong and Macau) be Diocese of Hong Kong. (Discuss ) (January 2023) |
The Catholic Church is allowed to operate freely in
Diplomatic relations with the Vatican
The issue of Sino-
By 2007, the Vatican had indicated on multiple occasions that it desired to establish full diplomatic relations with China, and would be willing to move its embassy from Taiwan to mainland China if necessary.[46] A major obstacle between the two sides remained the Catholic doctrine that only the pope can appoint bishops of the Church. Bishops in the CPA were government-appointed, a frequent aggravating factor in Sino-Vatican relations.[citation needed]
Some, including Hong Kong Cardinal Joseph Zen, saw the progress between Vietnam and Vatican officials towards re-establishing full diplomacy as a model for Sino-Vatican normalization of relations.[46] 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.[47] 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.[citation needed]
The Holy See and the Chinese government have long attempted to reach an agreement or workable compromise to maintain their influence over bishop appointments in China. In Pope Benedict XVI's 27 May 2007 letter to the bishops, priests, consecrated persons, and lay faithful of the Catholic Church in the People's Republic of China, he expressed that bishop appointments are "one of the most delicate problems in relations between the Holy See and the [Chinese] authorities."[48] The Holy See understood that state authorities were attentive to bishop appointments because of the social impact church leadership has on the activities of the local Catholic communities. Pope Benedict XVI affirmed that the apostolic mandate on bishop appointments is strictly religious in nature; it is not meant to challenge the political authority of the government by addressing the state's internal affairs.[citation needed]
Despite the Vatican's continuous appeals for China to grant total freedom to the Holy See when exercising its spiritual authority on appointing bishops, China maintained its tight control on leading and monitoring the Catholic Church in China because it believes that "religion is closely linked with the comity between different ethnic groups, social stability, national security and reunification, as well as China's relations with foreign countries."[49] For the Chinese government, internal religious affairs are matters of sovereignty. In a public address on 13 December 2001, CCP general secretary Jiang Zemin stressed the importance of regulating religion because of the influence it has on the political and social landscapes of a society. He stated that religion is a basic right that is to be enjoyed by all citizens, but activities should be within the scope of the Constitution and laws.[citation needed]
Provisional Agreement between the Holy See and the People's Republic of China
On 22 September 2018, the Holy See and the
While the agreement is viewed by the Holy See as an opportunity to increase their presence in China, many thought that it diminished the Holy See's authority over the local church because it shared decision making powers with an authoritarian government.
In November 2020, a month after the Provisional Agreement was extended, China released the revised "Administrative Measures for Religious Clergy." The enforcement of the new rules took effect on 1 May 2021. The Administrative Measures prioritize the
In July 2022, Pope Francis stated that he hoped the Provisional Agreement would be renewed, describing the agreement as "moving well."[64] As of July 2022, six new bishops had been appointed under the agreement.[65]
See also
- Boxers and Saints, American graphic novel featuring Chinese Catholics in the Boxer Rebellion era
- Chinese Orthodox Church
- Chinese Regional Bishops' Conference of Taiwan
- Christianity in China
- House church (China)
- Ignatius Kung Pin-mei, Cardinal Kung
- List of cathedrals in China
- List of Catholic dioceses in China
- List of Catholic missionaries to China
- Martyr Saints of China
- Protestantism in China
- Religion in China
- Catholic Church in Sichuan
- Catholic Church in Shaanxi
- Catholic Church in Taiwan
- Three Pillars of Chinese Catholicism
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: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ "Pope hopes deal with China on bishop appointments will be renewed soon | South China Morning Post". 9 July 2022. Archived from the original on 9 July 2022. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
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Please see individual articles for specific works.
- General
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