THE BACKGROUND OF THE SEPARATION
OF THE CHINESE CATHOLIC PATRIOTIC ASSOCIATION
AND
THE VATICAN
(1949-1958)
CHIU Bit-Shing, Abraham ofm
(1994)
INTRODUCTION
Towards a Theology of the Local Church is the doctoral dissertation of Sr. Lau
Choi Mei, Maria Goretti who completed her study in Leuven, 1989. On p. 248, she
states that the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association viewed the Sino-Vatican conflict
is basically a political matter, and it showed no desire to separate the Chinese Church
“religiously” from Rome.
In this paper, we try to see whether there is some religious reasons for the
separation between the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association and the Vatican from
the aspect of Church history.
Before the diplomatic relationship between Israel and the Vatican established last
December, (cf. Catholic Weekly [Kung Kao Po], Hong Kong, 7, Jan., 1994), Pope
John Paul II expressed his “strong desire” to visit China in the summer of 1993 (cf.
China Heute, Jahrgang XII [1993] nos. 4-5 [68-69]). Does it mean that dialogue is
possible in the near future?
The future is unpredicable. Therefore, it is important for us to learn from history
so that we can discern the present. There is a Chinese proverb with similar meaning,
“Examine the past, to know the present”.
As the Chinese proverb advises, “Examine the past, to know the present,” this
paper begins with a brief introduction of the history of the Catholic Church in China
(635-1940). Then we limit our research to the period from 1949 to 1958 because it is
the exact period of the separation. We will see the main reasons causing the separation
of the Chinese Catholic Church (the Open Church) from the Vatican, both politically
and religously.
I. A BRIEF INTRODUCTION OF THE HISTORY OF THE CATHOLIC
CHURCH IN CHINA (635-1940) (cf. The Catholic Church in Modern China,
xiii-xiv)
635
1294
1583
1645
Alopen, a Syrian monk, introduced Nestorian Christianity in China.
Yuen Dynasty. John of Montecorvino, a Franciscan friar, began the
evangelization of the Mongols in Beijing. There were at least 30,000
converts.
Ming Dynasty. Matteo Ricci, a Jesuit, arrived in China and was respnosible
for the conversion of scholars (inculturation).
Qing Dynasty. The Propaganda Fide issued a decree forbidding “worship” of
Confucius and of the ancestors (actually, it is the veneration of the holy
people and ancestors). The Emperor Kanzi wrote one article, viz., The
Treasure of Life in which he showed his appreciation of Catholicism,
especially the last two statements, “I wish to be the child of God, and to have
eternal life by being the child of God”.
1704
1724
1842
1860
1900
1911
1926
1939
1940
The Holy Office issued an oath against and forbade the Chinese “rites”
which irritated the emperor. This is the famous “rites controversy”.
The Emperor Yongzheng issued an edict to the papal legate Mgr. De
Tournon in which he forbade any preaching under death penalty.
Opium War. The Treaty of Nanjin between China and the Great Britain gave
legal sanction to Christian missions in the ports (imperialism).
Treaty of Tianjin. In this treaty, France promised to provide protection to the
missions. In this period of Qing Dynasty, the country lost huge amounts of
money and land to the western countries as compensations for the defeats in
wars. Ports were pressed to open for business and missionary activities.
Boxer Revolt. This was the outburst of an anti-foreign movement from the
people, mostly coming from the grass-roots. Mass killing of Christians
(rejection of imperialism).
The Republic of China. The founder Sun Yat-Sin and his successor Chiang
Kai-Shek were Christians. They gave freedom to missionaries.
Ordination of six Chinese bishops in Rome. It is the expression of
inculturation of Catholicism in the local Church in order to minimize the
wrong impression of Catholicism as a foreign or western religion for the
Chinese.
Propaganda Fide abolished the oath against the “rites”.
Twenty-three bishops. The growing number of Chinese bishop signified the
development of the local churches.
To sum up, throughout the seven-hundred year history of Catholicism in China,
although there were isolated instances of mass killing of Christians, foreign
missionaries (Belgians, Germans, Italians, and Americans etc.) are generally accepted
and loved by Chinese Christians who were grateful for their contributions. Judging
from the number of conversion, we can also say that the missionaries were successful.
There were thirty thousands converts in the time of John of Montecorvino and many
scholars were baptized after the evangelisation of Matteo Ricci. A distinctive case is
that of the Emperor Kanzi who was so impressed by the great learning in morals and
science of the western missionaries that he himself wanted to be baptized.
Moreover, the missionaries coming from the western world tried to inculturate
the Christian message within the Chinese society. Matteo Ricci dressed himself in
Chinese clothes and attended the Confucian rites. In their dialogue with the Chinese
Confucians, they simply taught the western morals and sciences as a starting point,
and afterwards, introduced the Christian message. Those reflected the positive side of
evangelization in China.
However, the papal legate Mgr. De Tournon representing the Vatican, irritated
the Chinese emperor when he forbade the Chinese rites where the Chinese honored
their ancestors. The Emperor Yongzheng turned his wrath against Catholic missions in
the country. He responded to Mgr. De Tournon by issuing an edict forbidding all
missionary activities in China. This “rites controversy” has a far-reaching and
negative effect on the subsequent development of Catholicism in China.
Furthermore, from the end of the nineteenth and to the early twentieth century,
the Church in China was protected by the colonial powers. As a matter of fact, these
missionaries usually belonged to the newly emerging powers of Europe and traveled
on the same boats as their aggressive merchants and conquistadore. Some of the
missionaries were directly or indirectly retained strong ties with their countries of
origin and their colonial powers. Consequently, foreign missionaries were often
identified whether fairly or unfairly, with imperialistic powers. This caused
resentment among many of the more nationalistic Chinese Catholics.
The outburst of the Boxer Revolt in the semi-colonial era of the nineteenth and
twentieth centuries, an anti-Christian movement took place together with the
“anti-foreignism”.
II. THE BACKGROUND OF THE SEPARATION (1949-1958)
1. Chronology of the Chinese Catholic Church in China (1949-1958) (cf. The
Catholic Church in Modern China, xiv)
1949
Communist victory: intense atheistic propaganda.
1950
Korean War. The movement of “three autonomies” (self-supporting,
self-propagating, and self-government) of the Catholic Church is launched
in Xichuan province.
Regional Chinese Catholic Patriotic Associations (CCPA) and Committees
for Church Reform were created. The internuncio Archbishop Antonio
Riberi was expelled. Arrests of Catholics, nationalization of religious
institutions (schools, colleges, and hospitals).
Catholic who resisted the CCPA were condemned as “anti-government”
and “anti-revolution”. A huge number of bishops, priests, sisters, and lay
people were put into prisons. Leaders of the local churches, e.g., Shanghai
1951
1955
1957
1958
and Hankow were imprisoned.
First appointment of Zhang Jiashu, the bishop of Shanghai by the CCPA.
Repression of opponents after the “hundred flowers” (1956) and creation
of the national Catholic Chinese Patriotic Association.
First “democratic” election of Bishop Li Xiying by the local CCPA at
Chengdu (Xichuan).
The first two ordinations of bishops, Dong Guangqing and Yuan Wenhua
were held on April, 13. On April, 29, Pius XII condemned these
ordinations (Apostolorum Principis) but it was followed by eleven other
ordinations.
2. The Separation (cf. The Catholic Church in Modern China, 7-27)
Politics and religion are always intertwined in the history of the Church. The
separation of the “open Church” from the Vatican is no exception. Therefore, it is
necessary to survey the social and political background of China in this period of time
(1949-1958).
Socio-politically, the period from 1949 to 1990 can be divided into four stages:
i. 1949-1956
Establishment of Communist control
1949 October 1
The Communist Party took over the government
1950
Anti-imperialistic campaigns were intensely accelerated at
the beginning of the Korean War.
November 30
North Xichuan, the birth place of the CCPA in 1957, a
group of Catholics under the leadership of a Chinese priest,
Wang Liangzuo were said to have issued a manifesto: the
Three Autonomies (self-supporting, self-propagating, and
self-governing). The document essentially condemned the
way in which the imperialists had used the Church in the
1951 January
January 17
past as an instrument of colonial aggression, and it called
on Chinese Catholics to cut off connections with
imperialism so as to build up the “Three Autonomies”.
A Religious Affairs Division, later renamed the Religious
Affair Bureau, was established. It was entrusted with the
supervision and regulation of all religious activities
throughout the country.
Religious groups, many of whom were subsidized from
abroad, were required to follow a policy of complete
independence and become self-supporting.
Some Catholic leaders requested a meeting with priemier
Zhou Enlai in order to clarify the government’s insistence
on an independent Catholic Church. Premier Zhou knew
very well that these continued relations between the
Chinese Church and the Vatican had to be tolerated
temporarily. He stated that as long as there was no
opposition to the political power of the Chinese people and
no support within the Church for American imperialism
(Korean War), relations with the Vatican would be
maintained.
Summer
July 25
End of 1951
The Vatican internuncio, Archbishop Antonio Riberi, was
expelled.
The Religious Affairs Bureau set up “Catholic Reform
Committees” to govern over the parishes and lay the
foundation of a national Catholic Church.
The definite stand of the Catholic Church against the
government caused the persecution of the missionaries.
1955 (turning point)
Resistance was suppressed by mass arrests, and the terms “Three
Autonomies” and “Three-self Movement” were gradually replaced by the
more persuasive and appealing use of “Patriotic Association”.
1956 Mao Zedong felt confident enough to propose a campaign of “letting a
hundred flowers bloom and a hundred schools of thought contend.” It was
the first major example of a communist party in a socialist state encouraging
massive criticism from outside the party. Critics came largely from the
professional and educational sectors of the population with only a small
number of workers. However, an unexpectedly overwhelming criticism
shocked Mao and some party leaders. In order to suppress the outburst, a
counter criticism campaign called the Anti-Rightist Movement is intiated by
Mao and the Communist Party. The government set up a new program of
indoctrination meetings to deal with Catholic “rightists”. Catholics attending
these indoctrination meetings were asked to condemn “rightist” Catholics.
These two campaigns – the Hundred Flowers and the Anti-Rightist
Movements – were carried on from 1956 to the end of 1957.
July
36 Catholics (4 bishops included) were invited to meet with
the director of the National Religious Affairs Bureau and
some other government officials in Beijing: a draft of a
national Catholic Patriotic Association.
ii. 1957-1966
1956
The Hundred Flowers Campaign and the Anti-Rightist
Campaign
Mid June The director of the Religious Affairs Bureau convened a
follow-up meeting. It brought together two hundred and
forty-one Catholics and a number of government officials.
After a month of off and on discussions, the delegates
established the National Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association
(CCPA) with Shenyang Archbishop Pi Shoushi as its
chairperson. It intended to serve as a “bridge” functioning
between the Chinese Catholic Church and the government.
They emphasized that the CCPA was only a political
organization of the Chinese Church with no ecclesiastical status,
and that the CCPA itself was not the Chinese Catholic Church.
Actually, it was a “bridge” to help Chinese Catholics to be
patriotic and to assist the government to understand the Vatican
because the Pope had not recognized the new bishop Zhang
Jiashu, who was appointed in 1955 by the CCPA of Shanghai to
replace Bishop Ignatius Gong Pinmei. Moreover, communist
officials present at the meeting strongly suggested “electing and
ordaining bishops independently of the Vatican.”
December 16 Father Li Xiying of Chengdu was chosen as the first locally
elected bishop. “Elected” here means being voted into office
by the local CCPA members and approved by the
government.
1958 April 13
Bishop Li Daonan of Puqi ordained the two Chinese
Fran-ciscans, Dong Guangqing and Yuan Wenhua.
iii. 1967-1976
The Cultural Revolution
iv. 1977-1990
The Four Modernizations (agriculture, industry, the armed
force, and science and technology)
To sum up, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) asserted leadership over the
Church. In other words, the CCP replaced papal rule with a new structure, the CCPA.
However, China’s revolt against centuries of western exploitations and colonialism
and its decision moved towards independence also resulted in the persecution of many
Chinese “non-patriotic” (underground or unofficial) bishops, priests, and lay people.
3. Responses from the Vatican and the Chinese Catholic “Non-Patriotic” Church
While the Chinese Communist Party began the Long March to its foundation place,
Yen An in the late thirties, the Vatican also started its responses to communism. The
encyclicals issued by the two popes Pius XI and Pius XII expressed strong reaction
against communism.
Pius XI was both anti-liberal and anti-marxist. After the Lateran Tready of
February, 11, 1929 by which the Vatican was established as a sovereign state, he
obtained a legal position as a leader of state and at the same time, a leader of the
Catholic Church. This integration of roles naturally brought the Pope to the stages of
politics and religion.
After World War II there was a rapprochement between the Holy See and the
United States. Together they shared a common mistrust of communist systems. It is
not difficult for the Chinese government to label the Vatican a political entity rather
than a religious organization. The Pope of the Vatican was inevitably recognized as
the leader of a foreign power.
March 19 1937
February 1951
Pope Pius XI blamed communism for robbing humankind of its
freedom, the spiritual foundation of its human way of life, and its
dignity by issuing the encyclical Divini Redemptoris.
After the manifesto of November 30, 1950 and the meeting with
Premier Zhou on January 17, 1951, an official church document
entitled “The Church in China: Declaration of Principles” was
published by the “non-patriotic” Church (underground or
unofficial). They condemned the “patriotic” Catholics as
separating themselves from the Holy See, Jesus Christ, and the
universal Catholic Church. Those “underground bishops” also
insisted that “no alliance existed between the Catholic Church
January 1952
October 1954
and imperialism”.
Pope Piux XII issued the apostolic letter “Cupimus Imprimus” in
which he compared the situation in China with that of
persecutions in the early Church. He appreciated the faithfulness
of the “underground” Chinese faithful. He also addressed the
inappropriateness of setting up particular national churches that
could destroy the unity established by Christ.
Pope Pius XII’s encyclical “Ad Sinarum Gentem” (To the people
of China) defended the missionary enterprise distinctly rejected
the independent church movement. He encouraged the faithful
remain firmly and called upon those who have erred to repent. He
considered the interpretation of the “Three Autonomies” as
contradictory to the “catholicity” of the Church as he wrote in the
document, “The promoters of such movements (Three-Self) with
the greatest cunning seek to deceive the simple or the timid, or to
draw them away from the right path … to establish finally among
you a national church, which no longer could be Catholic
because it would be the negation of that universality or rather
catholicity … ” (cf. “Ad Sinarum Gentem”, in The Pope Speaks 1
(1954) 401-402). This strong, public criticism of communism by
April 13 1958
June 29 1958
the Pope deeply offended the Chinese communists who
consequently confronted the Catholic Church even more strongly.
Shortly before the ordination ceremony of the two Franciscans,
Dong Guangqing and Yuan Wenhua to episcopacy, their names
were sent by cable to the Vatican. However, the Congregation of
Propaganda Fide replied that the election is illegal and threatened
the ordaining bishop, Li Daonan and the two priests with
excommunication.
After receiving the news of thirteen more “patriotic” bishops
were ordained without the approval of the Vatican, Pope Pius XII
issued another encyclical, Ad Apostolorum Principis (At the
Tomb of the Leader of the Apostles) addressed to the Church in
China. The Pope expressed his disapproval of the Catholic
Patriotic Association and did not recognize the ordination of
bishops whose nominations had not been confirmed by the Holy
See.
To sum up, the reactions taken from the Vatican were always the causes of a
deepening conflict, e.g., threatening the CCPA bishops and priests with
excommunication and further, condemnation of the Chinese Communist Party. China
became more fearful of a foreign power which would interfere in local politics and
threaten communist power as the leaders of government learned from history.
Those actions taken by the Vatican resulted in a continued deteriorization of
mutual relationships between the Chinese government and the Vatican, the Chinese
Patriotic Association and the pope.
The bishops, priests, and lay people who belonged to the “non-patriotic” Church
were condemned as “rightists,” “anti-government,” and “anti-revolution” because
they did not follow the way of the Communist Party and were not willing to separate
from the Vatican. The communion with the Catholic Church and the pope then
brought them to persecution.
CONCLUSION
1. Political factors
i.
In the perspective of long-term history, the “rites controversy” in the time of the
Qing dynasty was an important political factor. The Holy See was condemned as a
foreign power for interfering with the politics of the emperor.
ii. From the end of the nineteenth and to the early twentieth century, the Church
was protected by the colonial powers because these missionaries usually belonged
to the newly emerging powers of Europe and traveled on the same boats as their
aggressive merchants. Consequently, foreign missionaries were identified whether
fairly or unfairly, with imperialistic powers.
iii. As the outburst of the Boxer Revolt in nineteenth and twentieth centuries, an
anti-Christian movement took place in the context of “anti-foreignism”.
iv. The victory of he Communist Party in China began a new age when the
government was basically atheist. Nevertheless, article 36 of the Document 19 reads
as follows, “Citizens of the People’s Republic of China enjoy freedom of religious
belief” but it continues with “political” statements, “No one may use religion to
carry out activities that disrupt public order, harm the health of citizens or obstruct
the educational system of the state. Religious bodies and religious affairs are not
subject to foreign domination.” (cf. The Constitution of the People’s Republic of
China [official English translation], Beijing, 1982, 18, art. 36) Again, we see the
fear of domination of a foreign power.
v.
After World War II, a rapprochement between the Vatican and the United States
took place and both states shared a common mistrust of communist systems. China,
a newly developed communist country, was feared by the anti-communist
“movement” supported by the Vatican and the United States, for instance, the aid of
the USA to South Korea during Korean War in 1950. Furthermore, the expulsion of
the internuncio, Archbishop Antonio Riberi from China in 1951 was a reaction of
the Vatican as a foreign power.
vi. The members of the CCPA emphasize that the CCPA is only a political
organization of the Chinese Church with no ecclesiastical status (cf. J. Z. Zhou,
“The Work and Achievements of the CCPA should be affirmed,” CCC 1 [November
1980] 30-33). Moreover, they also emphasize that the CCPA itself is not the Chinese
Catholic Church (cf. L. Ladany, The Church in China at the end of 1980, 47; L.
Murphy, “A Visit to China’s Catholics,” America 144 [1981] 224).
vii. In her dissertation, 248, Sr. Lau Choi Mei states that the CCPA viewed the
Sino-Vatican conflict as basically a political matter, and it showed no desire to
separate the Chinese Church “religiously” from Rome. Again on 343 she writes,
“the self-government and independence of the Chinese Church does not necessarily
mean the rejection of the spiritual leadership of the Roman Pontiff.” It might be
correct as we have seen that from the time of the Qing dynasty onwards,
missionaries were rejected because of political reasons. The encyclicals from the
popes were condemned as interference with internal affairs of China. Nevertheless,
politics is always intertwined with religion, and religion with politics. It is difficult
to separate the two.
2. Religious factors
i. The “rites controversy” had political aspects externally but internally speaking, it
was also religious. The veneration of both Confucius and ancestors was the main
issue of dispute. Indeed, there was a misunderstanding of the honoring ceremony at
which the Chinese were used to offer food, incense, and imitation money. This
seemed to the Vatican to be a kind of heresy and superstition. No matter whether
Propaganda Fide was right or wrong, the controversy was a religious event showing
the different understandings of “veneration” in different cultures.
ii.
In art. 36, the statement “no religious affairs may be dominated by any foreign
country” is intrinsically religious because the word “religious” is used to
describe “affairs” even if a political term “foreign country” follows. Even if
the religious affairs are practiced through political means, they are still
religious. On the other hand, the Communist China was afraid that the foreign
iii.
power might also be coming under the guise of religion. The religious
separation is done because the Vatican is a foreign religious state and it has
been condemning communism for several decades of years. Thus, it sounds
that religion is an enemy of Chinese communist ideology. The government
restricted the Church under the ruling of the CCPA but at the same time, the
communists kept the “separated” Church as the showcase to the western
investors in order to connect the economical development of the new China.
The Vatican established herself as political and religious powers from 1929
onwards. After World War II, the political activities of the Vatican together
with the USA against communism was motivated by religious goals in a
certain context of the ideology of communism is basically atheist. Chinese
communists were afraid of political interference in the guise of religion by the
Vatican because there were plenty of examples like those in the past.
iv.
v.
vi.
From religious persecution to the establishment of the CCPA, the ideology of
the Chinese communists is not changed, i.e., they call themselves absolutely
atheistic. To separate the Chinese Church from the Vatican religiously is to
fulfil the communist ideology of atheism and the approach of “divide and
rule”. In order to deteriorate the Church, religious separation is one of the
important steps.
Pragmatically, a portion of the CCPA members follows the way of the
government in order to ensure the survival of the Church and to take the
Church to be accepted by the new Chinese society. They disconnected their
religious relationship with the Vatican just because they intend to establish an
independent Church. In fact, their excessive union with the communist
government and their over-emphasis on the “Chineseness” of that local
Church had weakened the catholicity of the Chinese Church.
The religious separation from the Vatican, thus, was made by the founding of
the CCPA in 1957. The ordination of the two bishops marked the completion
of separation in 1958. This is resulted in a schismatic situation according to
canon law.
We can conclude that the special situation of the Vatican State is an integration of
political and religious dimension. Similarly, the separation also has those two
dimensions between the Chinese government and the Chinese Church.
IS THERE A NEW SITUATION?
1. The collapse of Soviet Union goes together with the end of anti-communism in the
western world.
2. Under the ruling of Deng Xiaopin and his promotion of the “Four Modernizations,”
the ideology of the Chinese communists shifts from political to economical. They
want to make the Church as the showcase to the western investors.
3. The last bishop of Shanghai, Zhang Jiashu, with all other bishops and Catholics
said, “we are in communion with the Holy See, but in total disagreement with the
China policy of the Vatican.” (cf. Church and China: towards Reconciliation? 135)
Is there any re-establishment of the political relationship between China and the
Vatican, the religious between the CCPA and the Vatican? We hypothesize that the
difficulties of reconciliation between the Chinese Church and the Vatican so long as
thy are prudently handled, are not so insurmountable. We are rather optimistic about
the improvement of the relationship between the CCPA and the Vatican.
QUESTIONS TO BE DISCUSSED
1. Is it possible for the Pope to exercise any religious authority over the local churches
of a specific country without seeming to interfere in the internal matters of that
country?
2. Is it possible for the Chinese bishops to be considered truly patriotic and at the
same time live in communion of faith and ecclesiastical discipline with the Vatican
and with the rest of the universal Church?
HISTORY OF THE CHURCH
1. The Vatican has stretched its hand for dialogue since Pope Paul VI (cf. The
Catholic Church in China, xiv-xvi):
i. 1970 When Paul VI visited Hong Kong, he addressed a message to China in
which he attempted a dialogue.
ii. 1979 John Paul II expressed hope of re-establishing relations with the Church in
China, “with all my heart, I express the wish that there can be positive
developments.”
iii. 1981 Manila message of John Paul II to the Chinese people, appealing for
dialogue.
iv. 1983 John Paul II renewed appeal for dialogue.
v. 1993 John Paul II expressed his strong wish to dialogue in the birth place of
Matteo Ricci.
2. The CCPA
Let us turn our sight to the side of the CCPA:
i. In the fourth issue of the Catholic Church in China, it is noteworthy that Rome is
not mentioned in the Chinese Church’s interpretation of independence and
self-government. This may imply that the Chinese patriotic bishops intentionally
leave some rooms for a dialogue with Rome (cf. “The International Conference at
Montreal,” CCC 4 [March 1982] 25-28, 27).
ii.Bishof Fu war es, der 1992 in Paris bei eines Treffen mit Kard. Etchegaray den
Wunsch der Chinesischen Regierung nach Wiederaufnahme der Gespräche mit dem
Vatikan übermittelt hatte (vgl. Hier zu China heute, 1993, 37) (China Heute XII
[1993] n. 6, 70).
iii. Bishop Fu again suggested to reporters of the Daily Telegraph, May 1992 that
since 1989, the Vatican and Beijing rearranged unofficial contact. It is the time to
send nuncio to Beijing and apostolic representative to Taiwan (cf. Sui Shing 6, n. 3,
March, 1993).
iv. Fr. Louis Wei, one of the experts of Chinese affairs stated in March, 1980, Hong
Kong that the bishops of the Open Church were waiting for the tide to turn. They
were waiting for the dialogue between the Vatican and Beijing to start (cf. Church
and China: towards Reconciliation? 135)
v. “Since the end of 1987, it has become accepted, even by the CCPA, to say openly
that diplomatic relations with the Holy See are also wanted by China. Catholics are
now permitted and encouraged to pray for the Pope,” says the expert of
Sino-Vatican diplomacy, Rev. J. Heyndrickx (cf. The Catholic Church in Modern
China, 205).
vi. The last bishop of Shanghai, Zhang Jiashu, with all other bishops and Catholics
said, “we are in communion with the Holy See, but in total disagreement with the
China policy of the Vatican.” (cf. Church and China: towards Reconciliation? 135)
vii. On September 14-15, 1992, the fifth Chinese Catholic National Representative
Conference passed the constitution of the Chinese Bishop Conference (underground
Church). One of the underground bishops, Shi Hungchen became the “open” bishop
of Tianjin in 1992 (cf. Sui Shing 6, n. 3, March, 1993).
After having examined the present situations of the Chinese Catholic Church and
the Vatican, we come to the conclusion that the attitude of both parties towards
reconciliation has gone through three stages:
i. from a gradually intensifying attempt of China to completely control the Church in
the 1950’s and the early 1960’s.
ii. to a violent suppression which climaxed in the persecution of the “non-patriotic”
Church of the late 1960’s and early 1970’s.
iii. finally, to an open-door policy, coming to some kind of acknowledgement of the
legitimate existence of the Chinese Church in Chinese society and of its role in the
building up of a socialist nation.