ChurchInChina

Holy See Statement on Episcopal Ordinations in China

VATICAN CITY, JULY 10, 2012 - The following is the communique released by the Holy See this morning on the episcopal ordination of the Reverend Joseph Yue Fusheng in Harbin and the Reverend Thaddeus Ma Daqin as Auxiliary Bishop of the Diocese of Shanghai.

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"With regard to the episcopal ordination of the Reverend Joseph Yue Fusheng, which took place in Harbin (Province of Heilongjiang) on Friday 6 July 2012, the following is stated:

1) The Reverend Joseph Yue Fusheng, ordained without pontifical mandate and hence illicitly, has automatically incurred the sanctions laid down by canon 1382 of the Code of Canon Law. Consequently, the Holy See does not recognize him as Bishop of the Apostolic Administration of Harbin, and he lacks the authority to govern the priests and the Catholic community in the Province of Heilongjiang.

The Reverend Yue Fusheng had been informed some time ago that he could not be approved by the Holy See as an episcopal candidate, and on several occasions he had been asked not to accept episcopal ordination without the pontifical mandate.

2) The Bishops who took part in the illicit episcopal ordination and have exposed themselves to the sanctions laid down by the law of the Church, must give an account to the Holy See of their participation in that religious ceremony.

3) Appreciation is due to those priests, consecrated persons and lay faithful who prayed and fasted for a change of heart in the Reverend Yue Fusheng, for the holiness of the Bishops and for the unity of the Church in China, particularly in the Apostolic Administration of Harbin.

4) All Catholics in China, pastors, priests, consecrated persons, and lay faithful, are called to defend and safeguard that which pertains to the doctrine and tradition of the Church. Even amid the present difficulties, they look to the future with faith, comforted by the certainty that the Church is founded on the rock of Peter and his Successors.

5) The Apostolic See, trusting in the concrete willingness of the Government Authorities of China to dialogue with the Holy See, hopes that the said authorities will not encourage gestures contrary to such dialogue. Chinese Catholics also wish to see practical steps taken in this direction, the first among which is the avoidance of illicit celebrations and episcopal ordinations without pontifical mandate that cause division and bring suffering to the Catholic communities in China and the universal Church.

The ordination of the Reverend Thaddeus Ma Daqin as Auxiliary Bishop of the Diocese of Shanghai on Saturday 7 July 2012 is encouraging and is to be welcomed. The presence of a bishop who is not in communion with the Holy Father was inappropriate and shows a lack of consideration for a lawful episcopal ordination".

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Vatican Statement on China Ordination

"The Holy See Reaffirms the Right of Chinese Catholics to Be Able to Act Freely"

Benedict XVI's Appeal for the Church in China
"We Can Help Them to Find the Path to Keep Their Faith Alive"

VATICAN CITY, MAY 18, 2011 - Here is the appeal Benedict XVI made today on behalf of the Church in China. He delivered the appeal at the end of the general audience held in St. Peter's Square for the Church in China.

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During the Easter season, the liturgy sings to Christ risen from the dead, conqueror of death and sin, living and present in the life of the Church and in the affairs of the world. The Good news of God’s Love made manifest in Christ, the Lamb that was slain, the Good Shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep, is constantly spreading until it reaches the ends of the earth, and at the same time it encounters rejection and obstacles in every part of the world. Now, as then, the Cross leads to the Resurrection.

Tuesday, 24 May, is dedicated to the liturgical memorial of Our Lady, Help of Christians, who is venerated with great devotion at the Shrine of Sheshan in Shanghai: the whole Church joins in prayer with the Church in China. There, as elsewhere, Christ is living out his passion. While the number of those who accept him as their Lord is increasing, there are others who reject Christ, who ignore him or persecute him: "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" (Acts 9:4). The Church in China, especially at this time, needs the prayers of the universal Church. In the first place, therefore, I invite all Chinese Catholics to continue and to deepen their own prayers, especially to Mary, the powerful Virgin. At the same time all Catholics throughout the world have a duty to pray for the Church in China: those members of the faithful have a right to our prayers, they need our prayers.

We know from the Acts of the Apostles that when Peter was in prison, everyone prayed fervently, and as a result, an angel came to free him. Let us do likewise: let us all pray together intensely for this Church, trusting that by our prayers we can do something very real for her.

Chinese Catholics, as they have said many times, want unity with the universal Church, with the Supreme Pastor, with the Successor of Peter. By our prayers we can obtain for the Church in China that it remain one, holy and Catholic, faithful and steadfast in doctrine and in ecclesial discipline. She deserves all our affection.

We know that among our brother Bishops there are some who suffer and find themselves under pressure in the exercise of their episcopal ministry. To them, to the priests and to all the Catholics who encounter difficulties in the free profession of faith, we express our closeness. By our prayers we can help them to find the path to keep their faith alive, to keep their hope strong, to keep their love for all people ardent, and to maintain in its integrity the ecclesiology that we have received from the Lord and the Apostles, which has been faithfully transmitted to us right down to the present day. By our prayers we can obtain that their wish to remain in the one universal Church will prove stronger than the temptation to follow a path independent of Peter. Prayer can obtain, for them and for us, the joy and the strength to proclaim and to bear witness, with complete candour and without impediment, Jesus Christ crucified and risen, the New Man, the conqueror of sin and death.

With all of you I ask Mary to intercede that all of them may be ever more closely conformed to Christ and may give themselves ever more generously to their brethren. I ask Mary to enlighten those who are in doubt, to call back the straying, to console the afflicted, to strengthen those who are ensnared by the allure of opportunism. Virgin Mary, Help of Christians, Our Lady of Sheshan, pray for us!

© Copyright 2011 -- Libreria Editrice Vaticana

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COMMUNIQUE ON MEETING ON CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CHINA

VATICAN CITY, 14 APR 2011 (VIS) - At midday today the Holy See Press Office published the following English-language communique on the IVth Plenary Meeting, held in the Vatican from 11 to 13 April, of the Commission instituted by Pope Benedict XVI in 2007 to study questions of major importance concerning the life of the Church in China.

At the end of the meeting, the participants addressed a message to Chinese Catholics:

"1. Moved by love for the Church in China , by sorrow for the trials you are undergoing and by the desire to encourage you, we deepened our knowledge of the ecclesial situation by means of a panoramic vision of the organization and life of the ecclesiastical circumscriptions in your country. We noted the general climate of disorientation and anxiety about the future, the sufferings of some circumscriptions deprived of Pastors, the internal divisions of others, the preoccupation of still others who do not have sufficient personnel and means to tackle the phenomena of growing urbanization and depopulation of rural areas.

"From an examination of the information, there also emerged a living faith and an experience of the Church, capable of dialoguing in a fruitful way with the social realities of each territory.

"2. We encourage the Bishops, together with their priests, to conform themselves ever more closely to Christ the Good Shepherd, to ensure that their faithful do not lack education in the faith, to stimulate a just industriousness and to strive to build, wherever they are lacking and are necessary, new places of worship and education in the faith and, especially, to form mature Christian communities. We also invite Pastors to take care of the life of the faithful with renewed commitment and enthusiasm, especially in its essential elements of catechesis and liturgy. We exhort the same Pastors to teach priests, by their own example, to love, forgive and remain faithful. We also invite ecclesial communities to continue to proclaim the Gospel with ever more intense fervour, while we unite ourselves to their gratitude to God for the baptism of adults, which will be celebrated during the upcoming days of Easter.

"3. We dwelt in particular on some difficulties which have recently emerged in your communities.

"As far as the sad episode of the episcopal ordination in Chengde is concerned, the Holy See, on the basis of the information and testimonies it has so far received, while having no reason to consider it invalid, does regard it as gravely illegitimate, since it was conferred without the Papal mandate, and this also renders illegitimate the exercise of the ministry. We are also saddened because this took place after a series of consensual episcopal ordinations and because the consecrating Bishops were subjected to various constrictions. As the Holy Father wrote in his Letter of 2007: '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. For this reason the Code of Canon Law (cf. c. 1382) lays down grave sanctions both for the Bishop who freely confers episcopal ordination without an apostolic mandate and for the one who receives it: such an ordination in fact inflicts a painful wound upon ecclesial communion and constitutes a grave violation of canonical discipline. The Pope, when he issues the apostolic mandate for the ordination of a Bishop, exercises his supreme spiritual authority: this authority and this intervention remain within the strictly religious sphere. It is not, therefore, a question of a political authority, unduly asserting itself in the internal affairs of a State and offending against its sovereignty' (No. 9).

"The external pressures and constrictions could mean that excommunication is not automatically incurred. However, there remains a grave wound, perpetrated on the ecclesial body. Every Bishop involved is therefore obliged to refer to the Holy See and find the means of explaining his position to the priests and faithful, renewing his profession of fidelity to the Supreme Pontiff, to help them to overcome their interior suffering and repair the external scandal caused.

"We are close to you in these difficult times. We invite priests, consecrated persons and lay faithful to understand the difficulties of their Bishops, to encourage them, to support them by their solidarity and prayer.

"4. With regard to the 8th National Assembly of Catholic Representatives, the words of the Holy Father, once again, are inspiring: 'Considering "Jesus' original plan", it is clear that the claim of some entities, desired by the State and extraneous to the structure of the Church, to place themselves above the Bishops and to guide the life of the ecclesial community, does not correspond to Catholic doctrine, according to which the Church is "apostolic", as the II Vatican Council underlined. (...) Likewise, the declared purpose of the aforementioned entities to implement "the principles of independence and autonomy, self-management and democratic administration of the Church" is incompatible with Catholic doctrine' (No. 7).

"5. The choice of Pastors for the governance of the numerous vacant dioceses is an urgent necessity, and, at the same time, a source of deep concern. The Commission strongly hopes that there will not be new wounds to ecclesial communion, and asks the Lord for strength and courage for all of the persons involved. Concerning this, one should also bear in mind what Pope Benedict XVI has written: 'The Holy See would desire to be completely free to appoint Bishops; therefore, considering the recent particular developments of the Church in China, I trust that an accord can be reached with the Government so as to resolve certain questions regarding the choice of candidates for the episcopate, the publication of the appointment of Bishops, and the recognition - concerning civil effects where necessary - of the new Bishops on the part of the civil authorities' (No. 9). We make these desires ours and we look with trepidation and fear to the future: we know that it is not entirely in our hands and we launch an appeal so that the problems do not grow and that the divisions are not deepened, at the expense of harmony and peace.

" 6. In examining the situation of the ecclesiastical circumscriptions, various difficulties regarding their boundaries have emerged. Concerning this, the necessity of taking note of the changed circumstances was recognised as well as the need of respecting the ecclesiastical norms and always keeping in mind what is written in the Papal Letter to the Catholics in China: 'I wish to confirm that the Holy See is prepared to address the entire question of the circumscriptions and ecclesiastical provinces in an open and constructive dialogue with the Chinese Episcopate and - where opportune and helpful - with governmental authorities' (No. 11).

"7. Finally, we dwelt on the theme of formation of seminarians and female religious, inside and outside of China ... We have noted with pleasure that the Catholic communities in China organise within themselves initiatives for the purpose of formation.

"8. We hope that the sincere and respectful dialogue with the civil authorities may help to overcome the difficulties of the present moment, so that the relations with the Catholic Church may also contribute to harmony in society.

"9. We have learnt with joy the news that the diocese of Shanghai can start the beatification cause of Paul Xu Guangqi, which will be added to that of Fr. Matteo Ricci, S.J.

"10. To overcome the difficult situations of each community, prayer will be of great help. Various initiatives can be organised, which will help to renew your communication of faith in Our Lord Jesus and of fidelity to the Pope, so that the unity among you may be ever more deepened and visible.

" 11. In the gathering that took place at the end of the Plenary Meeting, His Holiness recognised the desire for unity with the See of Peter and with the Universal Church which the Chinese faithful never cease to manifest, notwithstanding being in the midst of many difficulties and afflictions. The faith of the Church, set forth in the Catechism of the Catholic Church and to be defended even at the price of sacrifice, is the foundation on which the Catholic communities in China should grow in unity and communion".

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A Disappearing Line by Anthony E. Clark

Since the founding of the Communist People's Republic of China (PRC) in 1949, Catholics there have suffered horrifying persecution. Article 88 of the first constitution of the PRC, enacted on September 20, 1952, acknowledged the freedom to hold religious beliefs, but this freedom was permitted only insofar as the faithful did not participate in counterrevolutionary activities.

Mao Zedong (1893-1976) declared in one of his early speeches: "Please make certain that you strike surely, accurately, and relentlessly in suppressing the counterrevolutionaries."1 Thus, while religious tolerance was heralded during the PRC's first decades, religious observance was conveniently viewed as counterrevolutionary; in 1951, two years after the founding of the PRC, nearly all of China's Catholic clergy and religious were expelled from China or arrested as counterrevolutionaries.

In an interview with Bishop Wang Chongyi of Guiyang, Wang sat beside me and emotionally recounted how during the first few decades of the PRC he witnessed personally the imprisonment, torture, and executions of several of his fellow priests. "There are martyrs who were buried alive, beaten, or starved to death under the Communists—saints whose sufferings will remain forgotten. The Chinese authorities have erased them; only God knows the whole story. But I saw it."

Like the persecuted Christians of the early Church, Chinese Catholics went "underground," forced to pray alone without the sacraments, and, as Bishop Wang said, "No one then really knew who was Catholic. After the churches reopened we sometimes knew for the first time that our neighbors had all along been praying the rosary in the house next door."

During Mao's Land Reform Law of 1951, Chinese authorities confiscated temples, monasteries, and churches. The Catholic churches in Beijing serve as an apt example of the period. West Church was used as a warehouse for Tongren Tang Herbs; St. Michael's Church was made into a primary school and restaurant; and according to the Beijing diocese's records, the famous North Cathedral was used during the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) "for other purposes."2 By the 1950s, several books were published exposing the persecution of Catholics in China: Gretta Palmer, God's Underground in Asia (1953); Father Harold Rigney, SVD, Four Years in a Red Hell (1956); Father Jean Monsterleet, SJ, Martyrs in China (1956); Sr. Mary Victoria, Nun in Red China (1953); and Paul Sih, Decision for China: Communism or Christianity (1959). Churches were closed or confiscated, the faithful were compelled to hide, and China had become a new "coliseum" of martyrs.

THE HISTORY OFTHE UNDERGROUND

On December 13, 1950, China launched the Three-Self Movement, which, as one Catholic priest expressed in a Chinese newspaper article, "determined to sever all relations to imperialism, to do all we can to reform ourselves, to establish a new Church that shall be independent in its administration, its resources, and its apostolate."3 What this "independence" really meant for Chinese Catholics was the forced rupture between themselves and the central authority of their faith. As Beatrice Leung and William Liu remark, "Independence from the Vatican for the faithful literally means a rejection of their faith."4

This led to a conflict between China's new government and the Vatican, and it led to conflicts within the Chinese Church regarding whether to follow the government "and survive" or "remain loyal to Rome" and go underground.

Pope Pius XII (1876-1958) responded to the Three-Self Movement with an encyclical Ad Sinarum Gentem ("To the People of China"), in which he affirmed unequivocally:

...it will be entirely essential that your Christian community, if it desires to form a part of our society divinely founded by Our Redeemer, be subject in all things to the sovereign pontiff, the vicar of Jesus Christ on earth, and that it must be most clearly united to Him as far as concerns religious faith.5

Chinese Catholics were placed in the difficult position of choosing between country and faith; most chose to retain the faith, though they felt compelled to do so in private, and without recourse to the sacraments.

Knowing that Catholics needed a pope, but still not understanding its theological implications, the Communist government approached the Vincentian prelate Archbishop Zhou Jishi, CM (1892-1972) and asked him if he wanted to be the "Pope of China." When a party official approached Bishop Zhou with the proposition, he responded, "I should prefer to be pope of the whole world," demonstrating his understanding of the position, and his refusal to acquiesce.6 Zhou was then accused of opposing the "reform of the Church" and imprisoned. The most famous bishop to be arrested in China is Cardinal Kung Pinmei (1901-2000), who spent 30 years in prison for his loyalty to the pope.

The rupture between the Church in China and the Vatican deepened on July 15, 1957, when a party-sanctioned National Assembly of Chinese Catholics was established with 241 delegates, including bishops and priests. It was during this meeting that the Catholic Patriotic Association was created. Soon after this new association was established writings inside and outside of China began to refer to an "underground Church" in China, consisting of Catholics who refused to affiliate with the clergy and churches under the auspices of the Catholic Patriotic Association.

Just as accounts of the Catholic martyrs of China sustained the faith of Catholics during the Maoist era, stories of the sufferings endured by native clergy who refused to affiliate with the "national" church fortified the resolve of many Chinese who remained underground.

I met with one underground bishop who recalled his own experiences as an underground priest during and after the Cultural Revolution. Bishop Hu Daguo (b. 1920) was ordained a priest in 1950, only one year after the founding of the PRC, and like most priests of that time, he viewed Communism as an impossible partner in the mission of the Church. He refused to cooperate or collaborate with the party, and continued his ministry outside of the officially sanctioned Catholic Patriotic Association. After the Cultural Revolution had been inaugurated by Chairman Mao in 1966, 300 of Mao's Red Guards detained Father Hu, placed a white dunce cap on his head, and beat him while screaming denunciations. Still refusing to apostatize, Hu Daguo was arrested and placed in prison for "re-education."

Bishop Hu's experiences in prison were characteristic of what other Catholic priests encountered who ignored commands to apostatize or sever loyalties to Rome. During Hu's 20 years in prison he was subjected to five methods of "persuasion." First, he was denied access to the sacraments; he could not receive Holy Communion or go to confession. He was also not allowed to possess religious objects, and had to use his fingers to pray his daily rosary. Second, Hu was forced to attend regular classes on Marxist thought, which emphasized atheism and materialism. Third, the Communist authorities introduced a beautiful girl to Hu, pressuring him to marry her; he refused to betray his priestly vow of celibacy. Fourth, his body was tortured so that today he cannot stand upright, and he can barely walk from the beatings to his legs. In fact, Bishop Hu is mostly bedridden, and although he is no longer in prison, he is still harassed by local authorities. As we talked, he informed me that he was not afraid, and that we could speak freely; he was accustomed to persecution.

Bishop Hu is an underground bishop in the Roman Catholic Church; his episcopal ring was given to him by Pope John Paul II (1920-2005). His situation is typical of underground priests and bishops in China; he lives and celebrates Holy Mass with his fellow bishops, that is, the "aboveground" bishops of Guiyang. Bishop Hu's room is downstairs from the other bishops' rooms, at the cathedral seminary sanctioned by the government-approved Catholic Patriotic Association. He is an example of how complex the situation is with the Church in China; the line between the underground and aboveground communities in China is becoming less distinct as the two groups begin a process of reconciliation, though this process remains slow and painful.

A COLLABORATIVE RELATIONSHIP

As I walked along a remote village road in Guizhou province with the newly-ordained Father Liu Xianjun, we discussed the state of the so-called "underground" and "aboveground" communities in China. We were walking to the tomb of several martyr saints who were beheaded in 1861, a site now forbidden to Catholics. We were just "on a casual walk." Father Liu lamented the preponderance of books, articles, and web pages referring to the "two Churches" in China, one that is "in communion with Rome" and another that is "schismatic." When people discuss the community that is "in communion" they most often only mean the underground community, and they assume that the aboveground community is "not Catholic" because of its affiliation with the Catholic Patriotic Association.

Groups such as the Cardinal Kung Foundation and Free the Fathers have worked diligently and admirably to alert Catholics throughout the world about the distresses endured by the Church in China, and they have noted how the Patriotic Association has in the past asserted itself against the supreme authority of the Pope.7 Given the history of persecution suffered by those Catholics who remained underground to demonstrate their loyalty to the Pope, it is understandable why organizations such as the Cardinal Kung Foundation and Free the Fathers continue to offer important prayer and financial support for the underground.

The present situation has become quite complex, however, as underground and aboveground bishops, priests, and religious often live under the same roof, and maintain deeply collaborative alliances to further the Church's status and freedom in China. Indeed, China's clergy —underground and aboveground—are eager to make known the present state of the Church in China.

The first issue that China's clergy would like cleared up is that the Patriotic Catholic Association is not a "parallel" or "puppet" Church; it is not a "church" at all, but an administrative association established by the Chinese government to oversee the Catholic community in China. In actuality it monitors both the underground and aboveground groups. The "open" churches in China today often display photographs of the current Pope, include the Pope's name in the canon of the Mass, and discuss his teachings in their church bulletins.

When I asked "open" priests whether they considered themselves to be in communion with the Pope I unanimously heard that they were wholeheartedly obedient to the Holy Father, and that they bitterly resent the current restraints they are under. I asked several priests and bishops what they would like conveyed to the Holy Father, and they all asserted: We love him, we are in communion with him, and we remain united with him in prayer, even if we are cut off from being with him in person. This is not to say that their status is today normalized, nor is it to say that there are no remaining clergy in the Patriotic Association who remain obstinately independent of Rome.

As Leung and Liu have written, the clergy and faithful mentioned above are among those who have maintained their sense of loyalty to the Holy See, while ostensibly cooperating with the Patriotic Catholic Association in order to preserve church properties and provide the sacraments to the growing numbers of Catholic faithful.8 In China today, the "open" Catholic community views the Patriotic Catholic Association as an unwelcome overseer; its members appear determined to function as authentic Catholics from within the sanctioned community, and there are signs that the Patriotic Association is presently losing its influence in China.

Two examples will illustrate the waning authority of the Patriotic Catholic Association in China today. When I first arrived at the cathedral at Guiyang, I was greeted by the rector, Father Ma Dejiang, who is also the current chairman of the Patriotic Catholic Association of Guizhou province. Father Ma, who also lives in the same building as underground Bishop Hu Daguo, is required to attend local party meetings and participate in promoting patriotism in the Catholic community. Father Liu Xianjun later informed me that Father Ma had been installed in the post in order to regain some of the former freedom the Church enjoyed in China before the founding of the PRC. Essentially, Father Ma cooperates with the Patriotic Catholic Association to function as a cushion between the authorities and the bishops in charge of the diocese. Father Ma's loyalty was unquestionably with Rome, a point conceded even by the local underground community.

The situation in Kunming, Yunnan, is more complicated. I met there with Sr. Xian Yanxia, who lives in a community of nuns attached to the cathedral; the bishop, Ma Yinglin, was elected without the Pope's approval, and is one of the few bishops in China today without the full support of the Vatican. Sr. Xian told me that Bishop Ma is distressed by the fact that he is not yet in open communion with Pope Benedict XVI, and that he is actively seeking the Pope's support. This was evident, as I saw more photographs of the Pope in his cathedral than any other I visited in China, and the weekly bulletin included essays discussing the Holy Father's recent homilies on St. Paul. Beside the Kunming cathedral, seminary, and convent was a prominent door with a large white sign designating the main office for the Patriotic Catholic Association. Sr. Xian took me into the "office," which consisted of an entirely empty room. The Patriotic Catholic Association in Yunnan province is little more than a facade.

When I arrived at the cathedral in Wuhan, Hubei, I was informed that no one had been selected to replace the previous bishop, Dong Guangqing (1917-2007), who had recently died of cancer. The diocese was still awaiting an agreement between the Chinese authorities and the Vatican on a mutually agreeable candidate; the fact that the Chinese authorities are even consulting the Holy See is a welcome development for local Catholics. Bishop Dong was one of the first two priests to be consecrated bishop in 1958 without the Pope's approval, and he remained out of communion with the Vatican until he reconciled with Pope John Paul II in 1984. Father Peng Xin, one of the priests in residence at Wuhan's restored cathedral, informed me that Bishop Dong actively collaborated with the underground community, and in fact shared his accommodations with underground clergy. Not only do the underground and aboveground communities collaborate in Hubei, but the chairman of the Patriotic Catholic Association is a priest who operates in the same capacity as Father Ma Dejiang of Guiyang.

As priests begin to oversee the "offices" of the Patriotic Catholic Association, the association loses its ideological influence over the Church in China. And as bishops are more and more in open communion with the Roman Pontiff, underground Catholics are seen more and more openly attending Mass at "open" churches. I routinely asked bishops whether they were in open communion with the Pope, and all but one (Bishop Ma Yinglin) told me that the episcopal rings they were wearing were gifts from the Pope. During an interview I had with Brother Marcel Zhang, the last Trappist survivor of the 1947 Communist attack on his monastery north of Beijing, he noted that while he was previously a member of the underground community, he presently attends Masses at the state-sanctioned North Church, not too far from the Forbidden City.

Several parishioners at West Church, where I attended Mass while living in Beijing, navigate freely between the underground and aboveground communities. And some members of the "underground Church" I met while visiting Matteo Ricci, SJ's tomb in Beijing, told me that they attend Mass at an "open" church in Beijing. I later ran into the same people at a Mass for the dead celebrated by Bishop Li Shan, current bishop of the Diocese of Beijing. But even though the line between the underground and aboveground communities is obscured, divisions persist, and a realistic view of China's Church today is needed.

A REALISTIC ASSESSMENT

Despite the great strides recently made in the Church's freedom in China, there remain repressive vestiges of the government's less tolerant era. The most commonly sold book today on the Catholic Church in China is Yan Kejia's Zhongguo Tianzhujiao (Chinese Catholicism), in which the author writes of China's "liberation" from "imperialist" Rome, heralded as a positive step in the Church's history:

When the People's Republic of China was established on October 1, 1949, a new era of government was inaugurated. China finally rid itself of imperialist meddling and feudalist and capitalist oppression. For the first time since 1840 [the Opium War], China enjoyed peace.9

Yan also accuses Pope Pius XII's encyclical Ad Sinarum Gentem of "resisting socialist construction and land reform," suggesting that Rome was the enemy of China's material and political growth.10 The official rhetoric allowed by the Patriotic Catholic Association headquarters in Beijing affirms this party line, that Rome is an imperialist, foreign power that cannot be allowed political sway over China's Catholics. It is largely due to this rhetoric that the two communities in China have not entirely grown together. I am myself often suspicious of the optimistic reports one hears from the Patriotic Association; official documents in China regarding religious freedom are notoriously contrived.

While books such as Yan's are still widely sold in China —Yan's is the most read and sold Catholic work to date—an increasing number of devotional books and less biased academic studies are beginning to appear in bookstores. And while the Dalai Lama's official web page is presently blocked in China, the Pope's recent "Letter to Chinese Catholics" is openly available. Father Pang Wenxian, pastor of Beijing's West Church, informed me that contrary to what is believed outside of China, the Pope's letter was widely read by China's clergy and faithful, both underground and "aboveground." The Pope's letter is informed and candid regarding persistent problems, but it is also filled with optimism. The "Letter to Chinese Catholics" emphatically recounts the Church's constant belief in the necessary communion of bishops with the Holy See in order to be authentically Catholic, but it also admits that there remain very few Chinese bishops left who are not under papal mandate:

Finally, there are certain bishops—a very small number of them —who have been ordained without the pontifical mandate and who have not asked for or have not yet obtained the necessary legitimation. According to the doctrine of the Catholic Church, they are to be considered illegitimate, but validly ordained, as long as it is certain that they have received ordination from validly ordained bishops and that the Catholic rite of episcopal ordination has been respected.11

Those very few bishops still without the Pope's recognition do not, for the most part, enjoy the support of the local clergy and faithful of their respective dioceses. It will, perhaps, only take a single generation before all China's priests and bishops are fully unified with the See of Peter.

In a 1993 article, Father Jean Char-bonnier, MEP wrote that the "cleft" between the underground and aboveground communities "is a deep one," and also states that, "At certain points of especially acute antagonism, underground and patriotic Catholics ostracize each other, even refusing to speak to or greet each other."12

This situation is improving, though there are some areas wherein the antagonisms remain divisive. As I was about to leave Bishop Hu's tiny room at Guiyang's beautiful cathedral complex, he told me that as long as Communism remains China's official ideology the Church will suffer, but even he admitted that the situation in China's Catholic Church has improved in recent years. I asked underground Bishop Hu to bless Father Liu and me before we left. The crippled bishop kissed his tattered, purple stole, placed it around his neck, and blessed Father and me as we knelt. When he was finished, Bishop Hu asked aboveground Father Liu to bless him. The old bishop knelt as Father Liu stood to administer his priestly blessing. They smiled, bid each other goodnight, and we departed. ?

ANTHONY E. CLARK, an assistant professor of Asian history at the University of Alabama, spent four months in China last year.

1 Mao Zedong, "Strike Surely, Accurately, and Relentlessly in Suppressing Counter-Revolutionaries," (December 1950-September 1951), Selected Works of Mao-Tse-tung, vol. V (Beijing: Foreign Languages Press, 1977), 53.

2 Church of Xi Shi Ku (Beijing: Beijing Catholic Diocese, 2004), 6.

3 Father Wang Lianzuo, in Jiefang ribao (Liberation Daily paper), Shanghai, December 16, 1950.

4 Beatrice Leung and William Liu, The Chinese Catholic Church in Conflict: 1949-2001 (Boca Raton: Universal Publishers, 2004), 85.

5 Pope Pius XII, Ad Sinarum Gentem, 11.

6 In Jean Monsterleet, SJ, Martyrs of China (Chicago: Henry Regnery, 1956), 46.

7 http://www.cardinalkungfoundation.org/ didyouknow/DidYouKnow.htm (accessed 25 January 2009).

8 Leung and Liu, 93-94.

9 Yan Kejia, Zhongguo Tianzhujiao

(Beijing: Wuzhou chuanbo, 2004), 75.

10 Ibid., 82-83.

11 Pope Benedict XVI, "Letter to Chinese Catholics," 8.

12 Father Jean Charbonnier, MEP, "The 'Underground' Church," in The Catholic Church in Modern China, Edmond Tang and Jean-Paul Wiest, eds. (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis, 1993), 65.

COMMUNIQUE: MEETING ON THE CHURCH IN CHINA

VATICAN CITY, 2 APR 2009 ( VIS ) - The Holy See Press Office released the following communique at midday today:

"From 30 March to 1 April, the commission established by Benedict XVI in 2007 to study questions of importance concerning the life of the Catholic Church in China held its second meeting in the Vatican .

"With intense interest and a deep-felt desire to offer service to the Church in China , the commission examined the main theme of the meeting: the formation of seminarians and of consecrated people, and the permanent formation of priests.

"In association with the bishops of the Church in China - who bear prime responsibility for the ecclesial communities - it will be sought to promote a more adequate human, intellectual, spiritual and pastoral formation of clergy and of consecrated people, who have the important task of acting as faithful disciples of Christ and as members of the Church, and of contributing to the good of their country as exemplary citizens. In this context, the words of the Holy Father Benedict XVI's 2007 Letter to Chinese Catholics shone out as guidance: 'The Church, always and everywhere missionary, is called to proclaim and to bear witness to the Gospel. The Church in China must also sense in her heart the missionary ardour of her Founder and Teacher. ... Now it is your turn, Chinese disciples of the Lord, to be courageous apostles of that Kingdom. I am sure that your response will be most generous'.

"The participants, drawing also on their own sometimes-harsh experiences, highlighted complex problems of the current ecclesial situation in China, problems deriving not just from internal difficulties of the Church, but also from the uneasy relations with the civil authorities. In this context, news of the re-arrest of Bishop Julius Jia Zhiguo of Zhengding was greeted with profound anguish. Situations of this kind create obstacles to that constructive dialogue with the competent authorities which, as is known, the Holy Father in his above-mentioned Letter expressed the hope might be pursued. This is not, unfortunately, an isolated case. Other ecclesiastics are also deprived of their freedom and subject to undue pressures and limitations in their pastoral activities. To all of them the participants wish to send assurances of fraternal closeness and constant prayers in this time of Lent, illuminated by the Paschal Mystery.

"The meeting concluded with an audience with the Holy Father who, as Peter's Successor, perpetual and visible source and foundation of the unity of the episcopate, underlined the importance of helping Catholics in China to tell others of the beauty and reasonableness of Christian faith, and to present it as the proposal offering the best answers from an intellectual and existential standpoint. The Pope also thanked those present for their commitment in the field of formation, and encouraged them to continue their service for the good of the Church in China ".

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The Pope, China and Church Unity
Interview With Religious Freedom Expert

ROME, JULY 2, 2007 (Zenit.org).- The reception of Benedict XVI's letter to Chinese Catholics will say as much about the status of the Church there as the letter itself, says an expert on China-Vatican relations.

In this interview with ZENIT, Raphaela Schmid spoke of the Pope's letter, what it means for the Church in China and for the Chinese government.

Schmid, director of the Becket Institute for Religious Liberty, recently wrote and directed the TV documentary "God in China. The Struggle for Religious Freedom."

Q: What prompted Benedict XVI to write the letter to China in the first place?

Schmid: The prime mover behind the letter was Joseph Cardinal Zen Ze-kiun: Since his elevation by Benedict XVI to the rank of cardinal, he has been a tireless advocate for Chinese Catholics before the Roman Curia.

When Beijing illegally ordained bishops in 2006, after a period of diplomatic rapprochement, the Vatican was caught off guard and Cardinal Zen felt that there had to be a reconsideration and clear restatement of China policy in order not to be wrong-footed again.

So this is why a meeting was held in January 2007 in Rome to discuss matters and out of this discussion the Pope's letter came.

Q: What is the most important element of the letter?

Schmid: The most significant thing about this letter is that it exists at all -- that there is a letter to Chinese Catholics from the Pope. And it will serve as a test case for the much-trumpeted new openness toward Rome of the official Church.

It is all very well for reconciled bishops -- 90% of the illegitimately ordained bishops in China have subsequently reconciled with Rome -- to encourage the faithful to pray for the Pope at Sunday Mass. But when the Holy Father writes an actual letter to them, what will they do?

Distribute it to the faithful and take it as a fundamental reference point for the future -- or ignore it and carry on as if it had never been written?

To be sure, the reception of this letter will say as much as the text itself about the current situation of the Church in China.

Q: Is there any indication of how the letter been received so far?

Schmid: Already, before the letter had appeared, government officials had summoned Catholic open Church bishops to a meeting in order to coordinate the response -- which appears to be: do nothing.

News reports today indicate that the letter was not mentioned at open Church Sunday Masses and the vice chairman of the Patriotic Association has indicated that there are no plans to distribute the letter.

He did, however, state that people were free to download it from the Internet if they wanted. And this seems to be happening: I've been in contact with underground Catholics who have already read it.

There is a strong grassroots movement in the open Church community in favor of communion with Rome, even to the extent that the open Church auxiliary bishop of Shanghai could admit: "Without mandate from Rome, the people will not accept a bishop."

I imagine that independent of the directives of the Church hierarchy, they are going online too.

It remains to be seen whether and to what extent the Chinese government will try to restrict access: There have been some reports that Catholic Web sites based in China had originally been allowed to upload the letter but were subsequently forced to take it down.

Q: Does the Pope's letter represent a dramatic change in Vatican policy? What exactly has the letter changed?

Schmid: There has been some confusion on this matter in the initial press reactions.

The letter revokes the special faculties granted in 1981 through a letter of Cardinal Agnelo Rossi, the then prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples.

At that time the Holy See found it impossible to directly provide legitimate bishops loyal to the Holy See and therefore granted the loyal bishops within China the "very special faculties" to ordain bishops without previously informing the Holy See, because of the danger incurred in communicating with Rome.

Clearly in an age of e-mail and cell phones, communication with Rome no longer presents an insurmountable problem, and so these special faculties are no longer necessary.

The revocation of these faculties is not the same as the revocation of the Tomko points of 1988, which have been superseded by this letter. As the letter explicitly says, the fundamental principles remain the same: Illegitimate ordination still incurs excommunication "latae sententiae" according to canon 1382.

Bishops appointed by, or reconciled with, Rome are still fully valid and legitimate.

Bishops appointed without papal mandate and not reconciled with Rome are still illegitimate: They administer the sacraments validly, but not legitimately.

As has always been the case, Catholics may receive sacraments from them where they have no other option, just as they can from valid yet illegitimate Greek Orthodox clergy.

Q: Does the letter criticize or condemn anyone?

Schmid: In the letter, Benedict XVI shows extraordinary sympathy and understanding for difficult situations of individual priests or bishops -- and that the lack of religious freedom in China is a mitigating factor in the decision-making process. So there are no blanket condemnations or criticism.

But, at the same time, the Pope is tough on the specific institutions such as the bishops' conference of the open Church which "cannot be recognized by the Holy See" because of its exclusion of underground bishops and inclusion of bishops not recognized by the Holy See, as well as the Catholic Patriotic Association whose statutes are "incompatible with Church doctrine."

Q: What is the Catholic Patriotic Association?

Schmid: The Patriotic Association is not the same as the open or official Church, although there is a good deal of overlap between the two; the Pope refers to it as an "external entity" which sometimes "interferes" in the running of the official Church.

The Patriotic Association is a collective that was set up by the government in 1957, with the stated purpose of implementing "the principles of independence and autonomy, self-management, and democratic administration of the Church."

These are the principles that the Pope's letter unequivocally calls "incompatible with Catholic doctrine."

Q: Are Catholics in China required to join the Catholic Patriotic Association?

Schmid: In the past, priests and bishops were required to join this organization if they wished to practice their faith in the open and with government approval.

This is no longer the case everywhere: Bishop Lucas Li of Fenxiang, for example, has received government approval without being a member of the Patriotic Association.

But still enormous pressure is sometimes brought to bear on bishops and clerics to join the Patriotic Association: In 2001, Bishop Li and his secretary were arrested by the police and disappeared for about a month, while 12 priests of his diocese were detained and forced to attend re-education courses in order to force them to join the Patriotic Association.

The campaign was unsuccessful, but the episode shows the enduring power of the Patriotic Association.

One of the reasons for this power is money: The Religious Affairs Bureau and the Patriotic Association are in charge of confiscated Church properties and investments across the country.

According to Anthony Lam of the Holy Spirit Study Center in Hong Kong, the total value of confiscated properties and goods amounts to at least 130 billion Yuan, that is about $17 billion. Only a fraction of the income of these properties is redirected to the government-approved official Church.

Q: The document does not speak of a "patriotic" or "official Church," nor does it mention an "underground Church" -- what is the significance of this?

Schmid: It is perfectly true that the document does this, and it is not a new departure. Rome has always avoided speaking of schism -- of the "official" or "patriotic" Church in China having split off from the Roman Catholic Church.

The facts on the ground, however, had made it necessary to distinguish between two groups of Catholics -- those whose collaboration with the government gained them the privilege of open exercise of their religion -- though at the cost of accepting illegitimate bishops -- and those whose refusal to compromise resulted in them being driven underground.

Ultimately, however, the future of this distinction depends on the Chinese government and the advancement of religious freedom in China.

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Beijing Suppresses Pope's China Letter
"Web Sites Told to Remove Full Text"

HONG KONG, JULY 2, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Here is a news report published today by the Union of Asian Catholic News on China's suppression of Benedict XVI's letter written to the Catholics in that country.

* * *

Mainland Catholic Websites Told To Remove Full Text Of Papal Letter

HONG KONG (UCAN) -- Some Catholic websites in mainland China that uploaded Pope Benedict XVI's letter to Catholics in the mainland shortly after it was released were ordered hours later to remove it.

UCA News observed that a few hours after the Vatican issued the letter on June 30 at 6:00 p.m. Beijing time (12:00 noon in Rome), several mainland Catholic websites uploaded the simplified Chinese version of the letter.

However, most of those websites, which usually carry news on the Universal Church, the China Church and the pope, had removed the text by the next day.

A priest in charge of such a website registered with the government told UCA News on July 2 he felt helpless because he strongly believes that "China Church websites should publish the pope's letter."

The priest, who asked not to be named, said some government officials who came to his office on June 29 asked about the letter but did not explicitly say he could not carry it. The next evening, he uploaded the letter to his site, but he was told on July 1 morning he was not allowed to upload the text.

By July 2, UCA News found five such websites, mostly run by "underground" Catholics, still had the full text, 19,763 Chinese characters, including the footnotes.

"Actually, this is not the first time we were told not to put certain news reports and articles on the Internet, particularly concerning China-Vatican relations and what Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun of Hong Kong says," the priest pointed out. He added that since he had no choice, he removed the pope's letter, lest his website face forced closure or other possible troubles.

As Pope Benedict mentioned in the letter, there are "increased opportunities and facilities in communications" in the mainland (No. 18), so the priest said he thinks China's Catholics can get the papal letter through other channels.

The priest also said that forbidding Catholic websites in China from carrying the letter proves what the pope said about governmental interference in religious affairs and that the Church cannot enjoy full religious freedom.

Other popular Catholic websites in China were warned to remove or not upload the letter. Some of them informed their readers on June 29 that the long-awaited papal letter would be released the next evening, and they urged their readers to watch for it and related reports. But since then, such websites have carried Vatican news but not about the papal letter.

A Catholic layman told UCA News on July 2 that after browsing the Internet, very few Catholic websites in mainland seem to have the papal letter, so he concluded that government authorities have acted against the webmasters.

Even so, most mainland Catholic news websites did carry a June 30 news report from China's Foreign Ministry. In it, Qin Gang, a Foreign Ministry official, responded to a question about the papal letter.

"We have taken note of the letter released by the Pope. China has always stood for the improvement of China-Vatican relationship and made positive efforts for that. China is willing to continue candid and constructive dialogue with Vatican so as to resolve our differences," Qin said.

He also reiterated China's position that improving China-Vatican ties still has two conditions: the Vatican must sever its so-called diplomatic ties with Taiwan and recognize the People's Republic of China as the sole legitimate government representing all of China, and it shall never interfere in China's internal affairs, including in the name of religion. "We hope the Vatican side takes concrete actions and does not create new barriers," he added.

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Vatican Note on Letter to China's Catholics
"Sure Guidance for Pastoral Activity in Years to Come"

JULY 1, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Here is a Vatican translation of the explanatory note released Saturday by the Vatican with the publication of Benedict XVI's letter to the Catholics in China.

* * *

EXPLANATORY NOTE

"Letter to Bishops, Priests, Consecrated Persons and Lay Faithful of the Catholic Church in the People's Republic of China"

By his "Letter to Bishops, Priests, Consecrated Persons and Lay Faithful of the Catholic Church in the People's Republic of China", which bears the date of Pentecost Sunday, Pope Benedict XVI wishes to express his love for and his closeness to the Catholics who live in China. He does so, obviously, as Successor of Peter and Universal Pastor of the Church.

From the text two basic thoughts are clear: on the one hand, the Pope's deep affection for the entire Catholic community in China and, on the other, his passionate fidelity to the great values of the Catholic tradition in the ecclesiological field; hence, a passion for charity and a passion for the truth. The Pope recalls the great ecclesiological principles of the Second Vatican Council and the Catholic tradition, but at the same time takes into consideration particular aspects of the life of the Church in China, setting them in an ample theological perspective.

A - The Church in China in the last fifty years

The Catholic community in China has lived the past fifty years in an intense way, undertaking a difficult and painful journey, which not only has deeply marked it but has also caused it to take on particular characteristics which continue to mark it today.

The Catholic community suffered an initial persecution in the 1950s, which witnessed the expulsion of foreign Bishops and missionaries, the imprisonment of almost all Chinese clerics and the leaders of the various lay movements, the closing of churches and the isolation of the faithful. Then, at the end of the 1950s, various state bodies were established, such as the Office for Religious Affairs and the Patriotic Association of Chinese Catholics, with the aim of directing and "controlling" all religious activity. In 1958 the first two episcopal ordinations without papal mandate took place, initiating a long series of actions which deeply damaged ecclesial communion.

In the decade 1966-1976, the Cultural Revolution, which took place throughout the country, violently affected the Catholic community, striking even those Bishops, priests and lay faithful who had shown themselves more amenable to the new orientations imposed by government authorities.

In the 1980s, with the gestures of openness promoted by Deng Xiaoping, there began a period of religious tolerance with some possibility of movement and dialogue, which led to the reopening of churches, seminaries and religious houses, and to a certain revival of community life. The information coming from communities of the Catholic Church in China confirmed that the blood of the martyrs had once again been the seed of new Christians: the faith had remained alive in the communities; the majority of Catholics had given fervent witness of fidelity to Christ and the Church; families had become the key to the transmission of the faith to their members. The new climate, however, provoked different reactions within the Catholic community.

In this regard, the Pope notes that some Pastors, "not wishing to be subjected to undue control exercised over the life of the Church, and eager to maintain total fidelity to the Successor of Peter and to Catholic doctrine, have felt themselves constrained to opt for clandestine consecration" to ensure a pastoral service to their own communities (No. 8). In fact, as the Holy Father makes clear, "the clandestine condition is not a normal feature of the Church's life, and history shows that Pastors and faithful have recourse to it only amid suffering, in the desire to maintain the integrity of their faith and to resist interference from State agencies in matters pertaining intimately to the Church's life" (ibid.).

Others, who were especially concerned with the good of the faithful and with an eye to the future "have consented to receive episcopal ordination without the pontifical mandate, but have subsequently asked to be received into communion with the Successor of Peter and with their other brothers in the episcopate" (ibid.). The Pope, in consideration of the complexity of the situation and being deeply desirous of promoting the re-establishment of full communion, granted many of them "full and legitimate exercise of episcopal jurisdiction".

Attentively analyzing the situation of the Church in China, Benedict XVI is aware of the fact that the community is suffering internally from a situation of conflict in which both faithful and Pastors are involved. He emphasizes, however, that this painful situation was not brought about by different doctrinal positions but is the result of the "the significant part played by entities that have been imposed as the principal determinants of the life of the Catholic community" (No. 7). These are entities, whose declared purposes -- in particular, the aim of implementing the principles of independence, self-government and self-management of the Church -- are not reconcilable with Catholic doctrine. This interference has given rise to seriously troubling situations. What is more, Bishops and priests have been subjected to considerable surveillance and coercion in the exercise of their pastoral office.

In the 1990s, from many quarters and with increasing frequency, Bishops and priests turned to the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples and the Secretariat of State in order to obtain from the Holy See precise instructions as to how they should conduct themselves with regard to some problems of ecclesial life in China. Many asked what attitude should be adopted toward the government and toward state agencies in charge of Church life. Other queries concerned strictly sacramental problems, such as the possibility of concelebrating with Bishops who had been ordained without papal mandate or of receiving the sacraments from priests ordained by these Bishops. Finally, the legitimizing of numerous Bishops who had been illicitly consecrated confused some sectors of the Catholic community.

In addition, the law on registering places of worship and the state requirement of a certificate of membership in the Patriotic Association gave rise to fresh tensions and further questions.

During these years, Pope John Paul II on several occasions addressed messages and appeals to the Church in China, calling all Catholics to unity and reconciliation. The interventions of the Holy Father were well received, creating a desire for unity, but sadly the tensions with the authorities and within the Catholic community did not diminish.

For its part, the Holy See has provided directives regarding the various problems, but the passage of time and the rise of new situations of increasing complexity required a reconsideration of the overall question in order to provide the clearest answer possible to the queries and to issue sure guidance for pastoral activity in years to come.

B - The history of the Papal Letter

The various problems which seem to have most seriously affected the life of the Church in China in recent years were amply and carefully analyzed by a special select Commission made up of some experts on China and members of the Roman Curia who follow the situation of that community. When Pope Benedict XVI decided to call a meeting from 19-20 January 2007 during which various ecclesiastics, including some from China, took part, the aforementioned Commission worked to produce a document aimed at ensuring broad discussion on the various points, gathering practical recommendations made by the participants and proposing some possible theological and pastoral guidelines for the Catholic community in China. His Holiness, who graciously took part in the final session of the meeting, decided, among other things, to address a Letter to the Bishops, priests, consecrated persons and lay faithful.

C - Content of the Letter

"Without claiming to deal with every detail of the complex matters well known to you", writes Benedict XVI to the Catholics of China, "I wish through this letter to offer some guidelines concerning the life of the Church and the task of evangelization in China, in order to help you discover what the Lord and Master Jesus Christ wants from you" (No. 2). The Pope reiterates some fundamental principles of Catholic ecclesiology in order to clarify the more important problems, aware that the light shed by these principles will provide assistance in dealing with the various questions and the more concrete aspects of the life of the Catholic community.

While expressing great joy for the fidelity demonstrated by the faithful in China over the past fifty years, Benedict XVI reaffirms the inestimable value of their sufferings and of the persecution endured for the Gospel, and he directs to all an earnest appeal for unity and reconciliation. Since he is aware of the fact that full reconciliation "cannot be accomplished overnight", he recalls that this path "of reconciliation is supported by the example and the prayer of so many 'witnesses of faith' who have suffered and have forgiven, offering their lives for the future of the Catholic Church in China" (No. 6).

In this context, the words of Jesus, "Duc in altum" (Luke 5:4), continue to ring true. This is an expression which invites "us to remember the past with gratitude, to live the present with enthusiasm and to look forward to the future with confidence". In China, as indeed in the rest of the world, "the Church is called to be a witness of Christ, to look forward with hope, and -- in proclaiming the Gospel -- to measure up to the new challenges that the Chinese people must face" (No. 3). "In your country too" the Pope states, "the proclamation of Christ crucified and risen will be possible to the extent that, with fidelity to the Gospel, in communion with the Successor of the Apostle Peter and with the universal Church, you are able to put into practice the signs of love and unity" (ibid.).

In dealing with some of the more urgent problems which emerge from the queries which have reached the Holy See from Bishops and priests, Benedict XVI offers guidance regarding the recognition of ecclesiastics of the clandestine community by the government authorities (cf. No. 7) and he gives much prominence to the subject of the Chinese Episcopate (cf. No. 8), with particular reference to matters surrounding the appointment of Bishops (cf. No. 9). Of special significance are the pastoral directives which the Holy Father gives to the community, which emphasize in the first place the figure and mission of the Bishop in the diocesan community: "nothing without the Bishop". In addition, he provides guidance for Eucharistic concelebration and he encourages the creation of diocesan bodies laid down by canonical norms. He does not fail to give directions for the training of priests and family life.

As for the relationship of the Catholic community to the State, Benedict XVI in a serene and respectful way recalls Catholic doctrine, formulated anew by the Second Vatican Council. He then expresses the sincere hope that the dialogue between the Holy See and the Chinese government will make progress so as to be able to reach agreement on the appointment of Bishops, obtain the full exercise of the faith by Catholics as a result of respect for genuine religious freedom and arrive at the normalization of relations between the Holy See and the Beijing Government.

Finally, the Pope revokes all the earlier and more recent faculties and directives of a pastoral nature which had been granted by the Holy See to the Church in China. The changed circumstances of the overall situation of the Church in China and the greater possibilities of communication now enable Catholics to follow the general canonical norms and, where necessary, to have recourse to the Apostolic See. In any event, the doctrinal principles which inspired the above-mentioned faculties and directives now find fresh application in the directives contained in the present Letter (cf. No. 18).

D - Tone and outlook of the Letter

With spiritual concern and using an eminently pastoral language, Benedict XVI addresses the entire Church in China. His intention is not to create situations of harsh confrontation with particular persons or groups: even though he expresses judgments on certain critical situations, he does so with great understanding for the contingent aspects and the persons involved, while upholding the theological principles with great clarity. The Pope wishes to invite the Church to a deeper fidelity to Jesus Christ and he reminds all Chinese Catholics of their mission to be evangelizers in the present specific context of their country. The Holy Father views with respect and deep sympathy the ancient and recent history of the great Chinese people and once again declares himself ready to engage in dialogue with the Chinese authorities in the awareness that normalization of the life of the Church in China presupposes frank, open and constructive dialogue with these authorities. Furthermore, Benedict XVI, like his Predecessor John Paul II before him, is firmly convinced that this normalization will make an incomparable contribution to peace in the world, thus adding an irreplaceable piece to the great mosaic of peaceful coexistence among peoples.

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Cardinal Zen on Pope's China Letter
"One Impression and Two Hopes"

HONG KONG, JULY 1, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Here is the message published by Cardinal Joseph Zen Zi-kiun, bishop of Hong Kong, in response to the publication of Benedict XVI's letter to the Catholics in China.

* * *

The long awaited letter from the Holy Father has finally seen the light of the day. His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI has addressed a letter to the bishops, priests, religious and faithful in China as he had promised to do last January.

Indeed, it is a historical "first" that the Pope has written a letter to the Catholic community in a particular region. The motive is, as is obvious, that that community has experienced so much tribulation in the last decades, that the Holy Father wants to show special concern for those his children and give them some guidelines in this seemingly crucial moment, so that they might free themselves from their unfortunate predicament.

At the beginning of June the Vatican secretary of state announced that "the Pope's letter has been definitively approved," a rather strange way of saying things: "the Pope's letter approved by the Pope?" The fact, probably, is that even the finished text of the Pope's letter, according to the Vatican way of doing things, would still pass through further checks or even corrections. Obviously, the finally approved letter is the Pope's letter, with his signature.

After a cursory vision of the rather long letter, I would like to share with the media my one impression and two hopes.

The impression. I admire the precious balance achieved by the Holy Father between his passion for the truth and his love for his children. Only an outstanding theologian and a tender father could satisfy at the same time the demands of the truth and the kindness toward people. Blessed be God for having given us such a leader!

On hope. The doctrine painstakingly explained by Benedict XVI, is nothing but the most traditional and universally accepted Catholic principles, belonging to the religious field, with no secret political agenda, even less with an intention of attacking anybody. My hope is that the leaders of our country would read the Pope's letter from this perspective and understand the true unchangeable nature of the Catholic Church.

A second hope. The voice of our bishops and priests in China is often prevented from reaching our leaders; now that the letter of the Pope is in the hands of our leaders, our bishops and priests can thus refer to it directly as a common starting point for dialogue.

The Pope insists that bishops are the leaders of the Church and they are not to be separated from the Roman Pontiff. My hope is that our bishops and priests stand united with the Holy Father. Let our Church in China be truly the Catholic Church recognized and respected by the rest of the world, and let it bring honor and glory to our country on the stage of the universal Church.

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"A Pressing Invitation to Charity, Unity and Truth"

VATICAN CITY, JUNE 30, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Here is the declaration published by the Holy See upon releasing the letter Benedict XVI wrote to the Catholics in China.

* * *

Declaration: Letter of the Holy Father Benedict XVI to the Bishops, priests, consecrated men and women, and lay faithful of the Catholic Church in the People’s Republic of China

By means of his Letter, which is made public today, Pope Benedict XVI wishes to express his love for the Catholic community in China and his closeness to it.

From the text of the Papal document two basic attitudes are clear: on the one hand, deep spiritual affection for all Catholics in China and cordial esteem for the Chinese people, and, on the other, an earnest appeal to the perennial principles of the Catholic tradition and the Second Vatican Council in the ecclesiological sphere. It is, therefore, a pressing invitation to charity, unity and truth.

The Letter is directed to the Church in China and deals with eminently religious questions, responding to precise queries which have been addressed for some time to the Holy See by Chinese Bishops and priests. It is not, therefore, a political document, nor, much less, an indictment of the government authorities, although it does not ignore the well-known difficulties which the Church in China must daily tackle.

The Holy Father recalls the "original plan" which Christ had for his Church and which he entrusted to the Apostles and their successors, the Bishops. In this light, he takes into consideration various problems of the Church in China which emerged during the past fifty years. From this "plan" he also draws inspiration and formulates guidelines to tackle and resolve, in a spirit of communion and truth, the said problems.

In the Letter, Benedict XVI declares himself fully available and open to a serene and constructive dialogue with the civic authorities in order to find a solution to the various problems concerning the Catholic community, and to reach the desired normalization of relations between the Holy See and the Government of the People’s Republic of China, in the certainty that Catholics, by freely professing their faith and by giving generous witness of life, contribute also, as good citizens, to the good of the Chinese people.

Saturday, 30 June 2007

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Benedict XVI's Letter to Chinese Catholics

"Willingness to Engage in Respectful and Constructive Dialogue"

VATICAN CITY, JUNE 30, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Here is a Vatican translation of the letter Benedict XVI wrote to the Catholics in China, signed by the Pope on May 27, the solemnity of Pentecost. The Vatican press office released the letter today.

* * *

LETTER OF THE HOLY FATHER POPE BENEDICT XVI TO THE BISHOPS, PRIESTS,
CONSECRATED PERSONS
AND LAY FAITHFUL
OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
IN THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA

Greeting

1. Dear Brother Bishops, dear priests, consecrated persons and all the faithful of the Catholic Church in China: ''We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love which you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven ... We have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, to lead a life worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy'' (Col 1:3-5, 9-11).

These words of the Apostle Paul are highly appropriate for expressing the sentiments that I, as the Successor of Peter and universal Pastor of the Church, feel towards you. You know well how much you are present in my heart and in my daily prayer and how deep is the relationship of communion that unites us spiritually.

Purpose of the Letter

2. I wish, therefore, to convey to all of you the expression of my fraternal closeness. With intense joy I acknowledge your faithfulness to Christ the Lord and to the Church, a faithfulness that you have manifested ''sometimes at the price of grave sufferings'',[1] since ''it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake'' (Phil 1:29). Nevertheless, some important aspects of the ecclesial life of your country give cause for concern.

Without claiming to deal with every detail of the complex matters well known to you, I wish through this letter to offer some guidelines concerning the life of the Church and the task of evangelization in China, in order to help you discover what the Lord and Master, Jesus Christ, ''the key, the centre and the purpose of the whole of human history''[2] wants from you.

PART ONE

THE SITUATION OF THE CHURCH
THEOLOGICAL ASPECTS

Globalization, modernity and atheism

3. As I turn my attention towards your People, which has distinguished itself among the other peoples of Asia for the splendour of its ancient civilization, with all its experience of wisdom, philosophy, art and science, I am pleased to note how, especially in recent times, it has also moved decisively towards achieving significant goals of socio-economic progress, attracting the interest of the entire world.

As my venerable predecessor Pope John Paul II once said, ''The Catholic Church for her part regards with respect this impressive thrust and far-sighted planning, and with discretion offers her own contribution in the promotion and defence of the human person, and of the person's values, spirituality and transcendent vocation. The Church has very much at heart the values and objectives which are of primary importance also to modern China: solidarity, peace, social justice, the wise management of the phenomenon of globalization''.[3]

The pressure to attain the desired and necessary economic and social development and the search for modernity are accompanied by two different and contrasting phenomena, both of which should nonetheless be evaluated with equal prudence and a positive apostolic spirit. On the one hand, especially among the young, one can detect a growing interest in the spiritual and transcendent dimension of the human person, with a consequent interest in religion, particularly in Christianity. On the other hand, there are signs, in China too, of the tendency towards materialism and hedonism, which are spreading from the big cities to the entire country.[4]

In this context, in which you are called to live and work, I want to remind you of what Pope John Paul II emphasized so strongly and vigorously: the new evangelization demands the proclamation of the Gospel[5] to modern man, with a keen awareness that, just as during the first Christian millennium the Cross was planted in Europe and during the second in the American continent and in Africa, so during the third millennium a great harvest of faith will be reaped in the vast and vibrant Asian continent.[6]

" 'Duc in altum' (Lk 5:4). These words ring out for us today, and they invite us to remember the past with gratitude, to live the present with enthusiasm and to look forward to the future with confidence: 'Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and for ever' (Heb 13:8)''[7] In China too the Church is called to be a witness of Christ, to look forward with hope, and -- in proclaiming the Gospel -- to measure up to the new challenges that the Chinese People must face.

The word of God helps us, once again, to discover the mysterious and profound meaning of the Church's path in the world. In fact ''the subject of one of the most important visions of the Book of Revelation is [the] Lamb in the act of opening a scroll, previously closed with seven seals that no one had been able to break open. John is even shown in tears, for he finds no one worthy of opening the scroll or reading it (cf. Rev 5:4). History remains indecipherable, incomprehensible. No one can read it. Perhaps John's weeping before the mystery of a history so obscure expresses the Asian Churches' dismay at God's silence in the face of the persecutions to which they were exposed at the time. It is a dismay that can clearly mirror our consternation in the face of the serious difficulties, misunderstandings and hostility that the Church also suffers today in various parts of the world. These are trials that the Church does not of course deserve, just as Jesus himself did not deserve his torture. However, they reveal both the wickedness of man, when he abandons himself to the promptings of evil, and also the superior ordering of events on God's part''.[8]

Today, as in the past, to proclaim the Gospel means to preach and bear witness to Jesus Christ, crucified and risen, the new Man, conqueror of sin and death. He enables human beings to enter into a new dimension, where mercy and love shown even to enemies can bear witness to the victory of the Cross over all weakness and human wretchedness. In your country too, the proclamation of Christ crucified and risen will be possible to the extent that, with fidelity to the Gospel, in communion with the Successor of the Apostle Peter and with the universal Church, you are able to put into practice the signs of love and unity (''even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another ... even as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be one in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me'' -- Jn 13:34-35; 17:21).

Willingness to engage in respectful and constructive dialogue

4. As universal Pastor of the Church, I wish to manifest sincere gratitude to the Lord for the deeply-felt witness of faithfulness offered by the Chinese Catholic community in truly difficult circumstances. At the same time, I sense the urgent need, as my deep and compelling duty and as an expression of my paternal love, to confirm the faith of Chinese Catholics and favour their unity with the means proper to the Church.

I am also following with particular interest the events of the entire Chinese People, whom I regard with sincere admiration and sentiments of friendship, to the point where I express the hope ''that concrete forms of communication and cooperation between the Holy See and the People's Republic of China may soon be established. Friendship is nourished by contacts, by a sharing in the joy and sadness of different situations, by solidarity and mutual assistance''[9] And pursuing this line of argument, my venerable predecessor added: ''It is no secret that the Holy See, in the name of the whole Catholic Church and, I believe, for the benefit of the whole human family, hopes for the opening of some form of dialogue with the authorities of the People's Republic of China. Once the misunderstandings of the past have been overcome, such a dialogue would make it possible for us to work together for the good of the Chinese People and for peace in the world''.[10]

I realize that the normalization of relations with the People's Republic of China requires time and presupposes the good will of both parties. For its part, the Holy See always remains open to negotiations, so necessary if the difficulties of the present time are to be overcome.

This situation of misunderstandings and incomprehension weighs heavily, serving the interests of neither the Chinese authorities nor the Catholic Church in China. As Pope John Paul II stated, recalling what Father Matteo Ricci wrote from Beijing,[11] ''so too today the Catholic Church seeks no privilege from China and its lead- ers, but solely the resumption of dialogue, in order to build a relationship based upon mutual respect and deeper understanding''.[12] Let China rest assured that the Catholic Church sincerely proposes to offer, once again, humble and disinterested service in the areas of her competence, for the good of Chinese Catholics and for the good of all the inhabitants of the country.

As far as relations between the political community and the Church in China are concerned, it is worth calling to mind the enlightening teaching of the Second Vatican Council, which states: ''The Church, by reason of her role and competence, is not identified with any political community nor is she tied to any political system. She is at once the sign and the safeguard of the transcendental dimension of the human person''. And the Council continues: ''The political community and the Church are autonomous and independent of each other in their own fields. They are both at the service of the personal and social vocation of the same individuals, though under different titles. Their service will be more efficient and beneficial to all if both institutions develop better cooperation according to the circumstances of place and time''.[13]

Likewise, therefore, the Catholic Church which is in China does not have a mission to change the structure or administration of the State; rather, her mission is to proclaim Christ to men and women, as the Saviour of the world, basing herself -- in carrying out her proper apostolate -- on the power of God. As I recalled in my Encyclical "Deus Caritas Est," ''The Church cannot and must not take upon herself the political battle to bring about the most just society possible. She cannot and must not replace the State. Yet at the same time she cannot and must not remain on the sidelines in the fight for justice. She has to play her part through rational argument and she has to reawaken the spiritual energy without which justice, which always demands sacrifice, cannot prevail and prosper. A just society must be the achievement of politics, not of the Church. Yet the promotion of justice through efforts to bring about openness of mind and will to the demands of the common good is something which concerns the Church deeply''.[14]

In the light of these unrenounceable principles, the solution to existing problems cannot be pursued via an ongoing conflict with the legitimate civil authorities; at the same time, though, compliance with those authorities is not acceptable when they interfere unduly in matters regarding the faith and discipline of the Church. The civil authorities are well aware that the Church in her teaching invites the faithful to be good citizens, respectful and active contributors to the common good in their country, but it is likewise clear that she asks the State to guarantee to those same Catholic citizens the full exercise of their faith, with respect for authentic religious freedom.

Communion between particular Churches in the universal Church

5. Beloved Catholic Church in China, you are a small flock present and active within the vastness of an immense People journeying through history. How stirring and encouraging these words of Jesus are for you: ''Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom'' (Lk 12:32)! ''You are the salt of the earth ... you are the light of the world'': therefore ''let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven'' (Mt 5:13, 14, 16).

In the Catholic Church which is in China, the universal Church is present, the Church of Christ, which in the Creed we acknowledge to be one, holy, catholic and apostolic, that is to say, the universal community of the Lord's disciples.

As you know, the profound unity which binds together the particular Churches found in China, and which likewise places them in intimate communion with all the other particular Churches throughout the world, has its roots not only in the same faith and in a common Baptism, but above all in the Eucharist and in the episcopate.[15] Likewise, the unity of the episcopate, of which ''the Roman Pontiff, as the Successor of Peter, is the perpetual and visible source and foundation'',[16] continues down the centuries through the apostolic succession and is the foundation of the identity of the Church in every age with the Church built by Christ on Peter and on the other Apostles.[17]

Catholic doctrine teaches that the Bishop is the visible source and foundation of unity in the particular Church entrusted to his pastoral ministry.[18] But in every particular Church, in order that she may be fully Church, there must be present the supreme authority of the Church, that is to say, the episcopal College together with its Head, the Roman Pontiff, and never apart from him. Therefore the ministry of the Successor of Peter belongs to the essence of every particular Church ''from within''.[19] Moreover, the communion of all the particular Churches in the one Catholic Church, and hence the ordered hierarchical communion of all the Bishops, successors of the Apostles, with the Successor of Peter, are a guarantee of the unity of the faith and life of all Catholics. It is therefore indispensable, for the unity of the Church in individual nations, that every Bishop should be in communion with the other Bishops, and that all should be in visible and concrete communion with the Pope.

No one in the Church is a foreigner, but all are citizens of the same People, members of the same Mystical Body of Christ. The bond of sacramental communion is the Eucharist, guaranteed by the ministry of Bishops and priests.[20]

The whole of the Church which is in China is called to live and to manifest this unity in a richer spirituality of communion, so that, taking account of the complex concrete situations in which the Catholic community finds itself, she may also grow in a harmonious hierarchical communion. Therefore, Pastors and faithful are called to defend and to safeguard what belongs to the doctrine and the tradition of the Church.

Tensions and divisions within the Church: pardon and reconciliation

6. Addressing the whole Church in his Apostolic Letter "Novo Millennio Ineunte," my venerable predecessor Pope John Paul II, stated that an ''important area in which there has to be commitment and planning on the part of the universal Church and the particular Churches [is] the domain of communion (koinonia), which embodies and reveals the very essence of the mystery of the Church. Communion is the fruit and demonstration of that love which springs from the heart of the Eternal Father and is poured out upon us through the Spirit whom Jesus gives us (cf. Rom 5:5), to make us all 'one heart and one soul' (Acts 4:32). It is in building this communion of love that the Church appears as 'sacrament', as the 'sign and instrument of intimate union with God and of the unity of the human race.' The Lord's words on this point are too precise for us to diminish their import. Many things are necessary for the Church's journey through history, not least in this new century; but without charity (agape) all will be in vain. It is again the Apostle Paul who in his hymn to love reminds us: even if we speak the tongues of men and of angels, and if we have faith 'to move mountains', but are without love, all will come to 'nothing' (cf. 1 Cor 13:2). Love is truly the 'heart' of the Church''.[21]

These matters, which concern the very nature of the universal Church, have a particular significance for the Church which is in China. Indeed you are aware of the problems that she is seeking to overcome -- within herself and in her relations with Chinese civil society -- tensions, divisions and recriminations.

In this regard, last year, while speaking of the nascent Church, I had occasion to recall that ''from the start the community of the disciples has known not only the joy of the Holy Spirit, the grace of truth and love, but also trials that are constituted above all by disagreements about the truths of faith, with the consequent wounds to communion. Just as the fellowship of love has existed since the outset and will continue to the end (cf. 1 Jn 1:1ff.), so also, from the start, division unfortunately arose. We should not be surprised that it still exists today ... Thus, in the events of the world but also in the weaknesses of the Church, there is always a risk of losing faith, hence, also love and brotherhood. Consequently it is a specific duty of those who believe in the Church of love and want to live in her to recognize this danger too''.[22]

The history of the Church teaches us, then, that authentic communion is not expressed without arduous efforts at reconciliation.[23] Indeed, the purification of memory, the pardoning of wrong-doers, the forgetting of injustices suffered and the loving restoration to serenity of troubled hearts, all to be accomplished in the name of Jesus crucified and risen, can require moving beyond personal positions or viewpoints, born of painful or difficult experiences. These are urgent steps that must be taken if the bonds of communion between the faithful and the Pastors of the Church in China are to grow and be made visible.

For this reason, my venerable predecessor on several occasions addressed to you an urgent invitation to pardon and reconciliation. In this regard, I am pleased to recall a passage from the message that he sent you at the approach of the Holy Year 2000: ''In your preparation for the Great Jubilee, remember that in the biblical tradition this moment always entailed the obligation to forgive one another's debts, to make satisfaction for injustices committed, and to be reconciled with one's neighbour. You too have heard the proclamation of the 'great joy prepared for all peoples': the love and mercy of the Father, the Redemption accomplished in Christ. To the extent that you yourselves are ready to accept this joyful proclamation, you will be able to pass it on, by your lives, to the men and women around you. My ardent desire is that you will respond to the interior promptings of the Holy Spirit by forgiving one another whatever needs to be forgiven, by drawing closer to one another, by accepting one another and by breaking down all barriers in order to overcome every possible cause of division. Do not forget the words of Jesus at the Last Supper: 'By this all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another' (Jn 13:35). I rejoiced when I learned that you intend your most precious gift on the occasion of the Great Jubilee to be unity among yourselves and unity with the Successor of Peter. This intention can only be a fruit of the Spirit who guides the Church along the arduous paths of reconciliation and unity''.[24]

We all realize that this journey cannot be accomplished overnight, but be assured that the whole Church will raise up an insistent prayer for you to this end.

Keep in mind, moreover, that your path of reconciliation is supported by the example and the prayer of so many ''witnesses of the faith'' who have suffered and have forgiven, offering their lives for the future of the Catholic Church in China. Their very existence represents a permanent blessing for you in the presence of our Heavenly Father, and their memory will not fail to produce abundant fruit.

Ecclesial communities and State agencies: relationships to be lived in truth and charity.

7. A careful analysis of the aforementioned painful situation of serious differences (cf. section 6 above), involving the lay faithful and their Pastors, highlights among the various causes the significant part played by entities that have been imposed as the principal determinants of the life of the Catholic community. Still today, in fact, recognition from these entities is the criterion for declaring a community, a person or a religious place legal and therefore ''official''. All this has caused division both among the clergy and among the lay faithful. It is a situation primarily dependent on factors external to the Church, but it has seriously conditioned her progress, giving rise also to suspicions, mutual accusations and recriminations, and it continues to be a weakness in the Church that causes concern.

Regarding the delicate issue of the relations to be maintained with the agencies of the State, particular enlightenment can be found in the invitation of the Second Vatican Council to follow the words and modus operandi of Jesus Christ. He, indeed, ''did not wish to be a political Messiah who would dominate by force[25] but preferred to call himself the Son of Man who came to serve, and 'to give his life as a ransom for many' (Mk 10:45). He showed himself as the perfect Servant of God[26] who 'will not break a bruised reed or quench a smouldering wick' (Mt 12:20). He recognized civil authority and its rights when he ordered tribute to be paid to Caesar, but he gave clear warning that the greater rights of God must be respected: 'Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God, the things that are God's' (Mt 22:21). Finally, he brought his revelation to perfection when he accomplished on the Cross the work of redemption by which he achieved salvation and true freedom for the human race. For he bore witness to the truth[27] but refused to use force to impose it on those who spoke out against it. His Kingdom does not establish its claims by force,[28] but is established by bearing witness to and listening to the truth and it grows by the love with which Christ, lifted up on the Cross, draws people to himself (cf. Jn 12:32)''.[29]

Truth and charity are the two supporting pillars of the life of the Christian community. For this reason, I have observed that ''the Church of love is also the Church of truth, understood primarily as fidelity to the Gospel entrusted by the Lord Jesus to his followers ... However, if the family of God's children is to live in unity and peace, it needs someone to keep it in the truth and guide it with wise and authoritative discernment: this is what the ministry of the Apostles is required to do. And here we come to an important point. The Church is wholly of the Spirit but has a structure, the apostolic succession, which is responsible for guaranteeing that the Church endures in the truth given by Christ, from whom the capacity to love also comes ... The Apostles and their successors are therefore the custodians and authoritative witnesses of the deposit of truth consigned to the Church, and are likewise the ministers of charity. These are two aspects that go together ... Truth and love are the two faces of the same gift that comes from God and, thanks to the apostolic ministry, is safeguarded in the Church and handed down to us, to our present time!''.[30]

Therefore the Second Vatican Council underlines that "those also have a claim on our respect and charity who think and act differently from us in social, political, and religious matters. In fact, the more deeply, through courtesy and love, we come to understand their ways of thinking, the more easily will we be able to enter into dialogue with them''. But, as the same Council admonishes us, "love and courtesy of this kind should not, of course, make us indifferent to truth and goodness''.[31]

Considering "Jesus' original plan'',[32] it is clear that the claim of some entities, desired by the State and extraneous to the structure of the Church, to place themselves above the Bishops and to guide the life of the ecclesial community, does not correspond to Catholic doctrine, according to which the Church is "apostolic'', as the Second Vatican Council underlined. The Church is apostolic "in her origin because she has been built on 'the foundation of the Apostles' (Eph 2:20). She is apostolic in her teaching which is the same as that of the Apostles. She is apostolic by reason of her structure insofar as she is taught, sanctified, and guided until Christ returns by the Apostles through their successors who are the Bishops in communion with the Successor of Peter''.[33] Therefore, in every individual particular Church, "it is in the name of the Lord that the diocesan Bishop [and only he] leads the flock entrusted to him, and he does so as the proper, ordinary and immediate Pastor'';[34] at a national level, moreover, only a legitimate Episcopal Conference can formulate pastoral guidelines, valid for the entire Catholic community of the country concerned.[35]

Likewise, the declared purpose of the afore-mentioned entities to implement "the principles of independence and autonomy, self-management and democratic administration of the Church''[36] is incompatible with Catholic doctrine, which from the time of the ancient Creeds professes the Church to be "one, holy, catholic and apostolic''.

In the light of the principles here outlined, Pastors and lay faithful will recall that the preaching of the Gospel, catechesis and charitable activity, liturgical and cultic action, as well as all pastoral choices, are uniquely the competence of the Bishops together with their priests in the unbroken continuity of the faith handed down by the Apostles in the Sacred Scriptures and in Tradition, and therefore they cannot be subject to any external interference.

Given this difficult situation, not a few members of the Catholic community are asking whether recognition from the civil authorities -- necessary in order to function publicly -- somehow compromises communion with the universal Church. I am fully aware that this problem causes painful disquiet in the hearts of Pastors and faithful. In this regard I maintain, in the first place, that the requisite and courageous safeguarding of the deposit of faith and of sacramental and hierarchical communion is not of itself opposed to dialogue with the authorities concerning those aspects of the life of the ecclesial community that fall within the civil sphere. There would not be any particular difficulties with acceptance of the recognition granted by civil authorities on condition that this does not entail the denial of unrenounceable principles of faith and of ecclesiastical communion. In not a few particular instances, however, indeed almost always, in the process of recognition the intervention of certain bodies obliges the people involved to adopt attitudes, make gestures and undertake commitments that are contrary to the dictates of their conscience as Catholics. I understand, therefore, how in such varied conditions and circumstances it is difficult to determine the correct choice to be made. For this reason the Holy See, after restating the principles, leaves the decision to the individual Bishop who, having consulted his presbyterate, is better able to know the local situation, to weigh the concrete possibilities of choice and to evaluate the possible consequences within the diocesan community. It could be that the final decision does not obtain the consensus of all the priests and faithful. I express the hope, however, that it will be accepted, albeit with suffering, and that the unity of the diocesan community with its own Pastor will be maintained.

It would be good, finally, if Bishops and priests, with truly pastoral hearts, were to take every possible step to avoid giving rise to situations of scandal, seizing opportunities to form the consciences of the faithful, with particular attention to the weakest: all this should be lived out in communion and in fraternal understanding, avoiding judgements and mutual condemnations. In this case too, it must be kept in mind, especially where there is little room for freedom, that in order to evaluate the morality of an act it is necessary to devote particular care to establishing the real intentions of the person concerned, in addition to the objective shortcoming. Every case, then, will have to be pondered individually, taking account of the circumstances.

The Chinese Episcopate

8. In the Church -- the People of God -- only the sacred ministers, duly ordained after sufficient instruction and formation, may exercise the office of ''teaching, sanctifying and governing''. The lay faithful may, with a canonical mission from the Bishop, perform an ancillary ecclesial ministry of handing on the faith.

In recent years, for various reasons, you, my Brother Bishops, have encountered difficulties, since persons who are not "ordained'', and sometimes not even baptized, control and take decisions concerning important ecclesial questions, including the appointment of Bishops, in the name of various State agencies. Consequently, we have witnessed a demeaning of the Petrine and episcopal ministries by virtue of a vision of the Church according to which the Supreme Pontiff, the Bishops and the priests risk becoming de facto persons without office and without power. Yet in fact, as stated earlier, the Petrine and episcopal ministries are essential and integral elements of Catholic doctrine on the sacramental structure of the Church. The nature of the Church is a gift of the Lord Jesus, because "his gifts were that some should be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ'' (Eph 4:11-13).

Communion and unity -- let me repeat (cf. section 5 above) -- are essential and integral elements of the Catholic Church: therefore the proposal for a Church that is ''independent'' of the Holy See, in the religious sphere, is incompatible with Catholic doctrine.

I am aware of the grave difficulties which you have to address in the aforementioned situation in order to remain faithful to Christ, to his Church and to the Successor of Peter. Reminding you that -- as Saint Paul said (cf. Rom 8:35-39) -- no difficulty can separate us from the love of Christ, I am confident that you will do everything possible, trusting in the Lord's grace, to safeguard unity and ecclesial communion even at the cost of great sacrifices.

Many members of the Chinese episcopate who have guided the Church in recent decades have offered and continue to offer a shining testimony to their own communities and to the universal Church. Once again, let a heartfelt hymn of praise and thanksgiving be sung to the "chief Shepherd'' of the flock (1 Pet 5:4): in fact, it must not be forgotten that many Bishops have undergone persecution and have been impeded in the exercise of their ministry, and some of them have made the Church fruitful with the shedding of their blood. Modern times and the consequent challenge of the new evangelization highlight the role of the episcopal ministry. As John Paul II said to the Pastors from every part of the world who gathered in Rome for the celebration of the Jubilee, "the Pastor is the first to take responsibility for and to encourage the ecclesial community, both in the requirement of communion and in the missionary outreach. Regarding the relativism and subjectivism which mar so much of contemporary culture, Bishops are called to defend and promote the doctrinal unity of their faithful. Concerned for every situation in which the faith has been lost or is unknown, they work with all their strength for evangelization, preparing priests, religious and lay people for this task and making the necessary resources available''.[37]

On the same occasion, my venerable predecessor recalled that "the Bishop, a successor of the Apostles, is someone for whom Christ is everything: 'For to me to live is Christ ...' (Phil 1:21). He must bear witness to this in all his actions. The Second Vatican Council teaches: 'Bishops should devote themselves to their apostolic office as witnesses of Christ to all' (Decree Christus Dominus, 11)''.[38]

Concerning episcopal service, then, I take the opportunity to recall something I said recently: "The Bishops are primarily responsible for building up the Church as a family of God and a place of mutual help and availability. To be able to carry out this mission, you received with episcopal consecration three special offices: the munus docendi, the munus sanctificandi and the munus regendi, which all together constitute the munus pascendi. In particular, the aim of the munus regendi is growth in ecclesial communion, that is, in building a community in agreement and listening to the Apostles' teaching, the breaking of bread, prayer and fellowship. Closely linked to the offices of teaching and of sanctifying, that of governing -- the munus regendi precisely -- constitutes for the Bishop an authentic act of love for God and for one's neighbour, which is expressed in pastoral charity''.[39]

As in the rest of the world, in China too the Church is governed by Bishops who, through episcopal ordination conferred upon them by other validly ordained Bishops, have received, together with the sanctifying office, the offices of teaching and governing the people entrusted to them in their respective particular Churches, with a power that is conferred by God through the grace of the sacrament of Holy Orders. The offices of teaching and governing ''however, by their very nature can be exercised only in hierarchical communion with the head and members of the college'' of Bishops.[40] In fact, as the Council went on to say, "a person is made a member of the episcopal body in virtue of the sacramental consecration and by hierarchical communion with the head and members of the college''.[41]

Currently, all the Bishops of the Catholic Church in China are sons of the Chinese People. Notwithstanding many grave difficulties, the Catholic Church in China, by a particular grace of the Holy Spirit, has never been deprived of the ministry of legitimate Pastors who have preserved the apostolic succession intact. We must thank the Lord for this constant presence, not without suffering, of Bishops who have received episcopal ordination in conformity with Catholic tradition, that is to say, in communion with the Bishop of Rome, Successor of Peter, and at the hands of validly and legitimately ordained Bishops in observance of the rite of the Catholic Church.

Some of them, not wishing to be subjected to undue control exercised over the life of the Church, and eager to maintain total fidelity to the Successor of Peter and to Catholic doctrine, have felt themselves constrained to opt for clandestine consecration. The clandestine condition is not a normal feature of the Church's life, and history shows that Pastors and faithful have recourse to it only amid suffering, in the desire to maintain the integrity of their faith and to resist interference from State agencies in matters pertaining intimately to the Church's life. For this reason the Holy See hopes that these legitimate Pastors may be recognized as such by governmental authorities for civil effects too -- insofar as these are necessary -- and that all the faithful may be able to express their faith freely in the social context in which they live.

Other Pastors, however, under the pressure of particular circumstances, have consented to receive episcopal ordination without the pontifical mandate, but have subsequently asked to be received into communion with the Successor of Peter and with their other brothers in the episcopate. The Pope, considering the sincerity of their sentiments and the complexity of the situation, and taking into account the opinion of neighbouring Bishops, by virtue of his proper responsibility as universal Pastor of the Church, has granted them the full and legitimate exercise of episcopal jurisdiction. This initiative of the Pope resulted from knowledge of the particular circumstances of their ordination and from his profound pastoral concern to favour the reestablishment of full communion. Unfortunately, in most cases, priests and the faithful have not been adequately informed that their Bishop has been legitimized, and this has given rise to a number of grave problems of conscience. What is more, some legitimized Bishops have failed to provide any clear signs to prove that they have been legitimized. For this reason it is indispensable, for the spiritual good of the diocesan communities concerned, that legitimation, once it has occurred, is brought into the public domain at the earliest opportunity, and that the legitimized Bishops provide unequivocal and increasing signs of full communion with the Successor of Peter.
Finally, there are certain Bishops -- a very small number of them -- who have been ordained without the Pontifical mandate and who have not asked for or have not yet obtained, the necessary legitimation. According to the doctrine of the Catholic Church, they are to be considered illegitimate, but validly ordained, as long as it is certain that they have received ordination from validly ordained Bishops and that the Catholic rite of episcopal ordination has been respected. Therefore, although not in communion with the Pope, they exercise their ministry validly in the administration of the sacraments, even if they do so illegitimately. What great spiritual enrichment would ensue for the Church in China if, the necessary conditions having been established, these Pastors too were to enter into communion with the Successor of Peter and with the entire Catholic episcopate! Not only would their episcopal ministry be legitimized, there would also be an enrichment of their communion with the priests and the faithful who consider the Church in China part of the Catholic Church, united with the Bishop of Rome and with all the other particular Churches spread throughout the world.

In individual nations, all the legitimate Bishops constitute an Episcopal Conference, governed according to its own statutes, which by the norms of canon law must be approved by the Apostolic See. Such an Episcopal Conference expresses the fraternal communion of all the Bishops of a nation and treats the doctrinal and pastoral questions that are significant for the entire Catholic community of the country without, however, interfering in the exercise of the ordinary and immediate power of each Bishop in his own diocese. Moreover, every Episcopal Conference maintains opportune and useful contacts with the civil authorities of the place, partly in order to favour cooperation between the Church and the State, but it is obvious that an Episcopal Conference cannot be subjected to any civil authority in questions of faith and of living according to the faith (fides et mores, sacramental life), which are exclusively the competence of the Church.

In the light of the principles expounded above, the present College of Catholic Bishops of China[42] cannot be recognized as an Episcopal Conference by the Apostolic See: the "clandestine'' Bishops, those not recognized by the Government but in communion with the Pope, are not part of it; it includes Bishops who are still illegitimate, and it is governed by statutes that contain elements incompatible with Catholic doctrine.

Appointment of Bishops

9. 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. For this reason the Code of Canon Law (cf. c. 1382) lays down grave sanctions both for the Bishop who freely confers episcopal ordination without an apostolic mandate and for the one who receives it: such an ordination in fact inflicts a painful wound upon ecclesial communion and constitutes a grave violation of canonical discipline.

The Pope, when he issues the apostolic mandate for the ordination of a Bishop, exercises his supreme spiritual authority: this authority and this intervention remain within the strictly religious sphere. It is not, therefore, a question of a political authority, unduly asserting itself in the internal affairs of a State and offending against its sovereignty.

The appointment of Bishops for a particular religious community is understood, also in international documents, as a constitutive element of the full exercise of the right to religious freedom.[43] The Holy See would desire to be completely free to appoint Bishops;[44] therefore, considering the recent particular developments of the Church in China, I trust that an accord can be reached with the Government so as to resolve certain questions regarding the choice of candidates for the episcopate, the publication of the appointment of Bishops, and the recognition -- concerning civil effects where necessary -- of the new Bishops on the part of the civil authorities.

Finally, as to the choice of candidates for the episcopate, while knowing your difficulties in this regard, I would like to remind you that they should be worthy priests, respected and loved by the faithful, models of life in the faith, and that they should possess a certain experience in the pastoral ministry, so that they are equipped to address the burdensome responsibility of a Pastor of the Church.[45] Whenever it proves impossible within a diocese to find suitable candidates to occupy the episcopal see, the cooperation of Bishops in neighbouring dioceses can help to identify suitable candidates.

PART TWO

GUIDELINES FOR PASTORAL LIFE

Sacraments, governance of dioceses, parishes

10. In recent times difficulties have emerged, linked to individual initiatives taken by Pastors, priests and lay faithful, who, moved by generous pastoral zeal, have not always respected the tasks or responsibilities of others.

In this regard, the Second Vatican Council reminds us that, if on the one hand individual Bishops "as members of the episcopal college and legitimate successors of the Apostles, by Christ's arrangement and decree [are] bound to be solicitous for the entire Church'', on the other hand they "exercise their pastoral office over the portion of the People of God assigned to them, not over other Churches nor over the Church universal''.[46]

Moreover, faced with certain problems that have emerged in various diocesan communities during recent years, I feel it incumbent upon me to recall the canonical norm according to which every cleric must be incardinated in a particular Church or in an Institute of consecrated life and must exercise his own ministry in communion with the diocesan Bishop. Only for good reasons may a cleric exercise his ministry in another diocese, but always with the prior agreement of the two diocesan Bishops, that is, the Ordinary of the particular Church in which he is incardinated and the Ordinary of the particular Church for whose service he is destined.[47]

In not a few situations, then, you have faced the problem of concelebration of the Eucharist. In this regard, I remind you that this presupposes, as conditions, profession of the same faith and hierarchical communion with the Pope and with the universal Church. Therefore it is licit to concelebrate with Bishops and with priests who are in communion with the Pope, even if they are recognized by the civil authorities and maintain a relationship with entities desired by the State and extraneous to the structure of the Church, provided -- as was said earlier (cf. section 7 above, paragraph 8) -- that this recognition and this relationship do not entail the denial of unrenounceable principles of the faith and of ecclesiastical communion.

The lay faithful too, who are animated by a sincere love for Christ and for the Church, must not hesitate to participate in the Eucharist celebrated by Bishops and by priests who are in full communion with the Successor of Peter and are recognized by the civil authorities. The same applies for all the other sacraments.

Concerning Bishops whose consecrations took place without the pontifical mandate yet respecting the Catholic rite of episcopal ordination, the resulting problems must always be resolved in the light of the principles of Catholic doctrine. Their ordination -- as I have already said (cf. section 8 above, paragraph 12) -- is illegitimate but valid, just as priestly ordinations conferred by them are valid, and sacraments administered by such Bishops and priests are likewise valid. Therefore the faithful, taking this into account, where the eucharistic celebration and the other sacraments are concerned, must, within the limits of the possible, seek Bishops and priests who are in communion with the Pope: nevertheless, where this cannot be achieved without grave inconvenience, they may, for the sake of their spiritual good, turn also to those who are not in communion with the Pope.

I consider it opportune, finally, to point out to you what canonical legislation provides in order to help diocesan Bishops to carry out their respective pastoral duty. Every diocesan Bishop is invited to make use of indispensable instruments of communion and cooperation within the diocesan Catholic community: the diocesan curia, the presbyteral council, the college of consultors, the diocesan pastoral council and the diocesan finance council. These agencies express communion, they favour the sharing of common responsibilities and are of great assistance to the Pastors, who can thus avail themselves of the fraternal cooperation of priests, consecrated persons and lay faithful.

The same is true of the various councils that canon law provides for parishes: the parish pastoral council and the parish finance council.

Both for dioceses and for parishes, particular attention must be devoted to the Church's temporal goods, moveable and immoveable, which must be legally registered in the civil sphere in the name of the diocese or parish and never in the name of individual persons (that is, the Bishop, parish priest or a group of the faithful). Meanwhile, the traditional pastoral and missionary guideline that can be neatly summarized in the principle: "nihil sine Episcopo''; retains all its validity.

From the analysis of the problems outlined above, it emerges clearly that any real solution will be rooted in the promotion of communion, which draws its vigour and impetus, as from a source, from Christ, the icon of the Father's love. Charity, which is always above everything (cf. 1 Cor 13:1-12), will be the force and the criterion in pastoral work for the construction of an ecclesial community capable of making the Risen Christ present to modern man.

Ecclesiastical provinces

11. Numerous administrative changes have taken place in the civil sphere during the last fifty years. This has also involved various ecclesiastical circumscriptions, which have been eliminated or regrouped or have been modified in their territorial configuration on the basis of the civil administrative circumscriptions. In this regard, I wish to confirm that the Holy See is prepared to address the entire question of the circumscriptions and ecclesiastical provinces in an open and constructive dialogue with the Chinese Episcopate and -- where opportune and helpful -- with governmental authorities.

Catholic communities

12. I am well aware that the diocesan and parochial communities, spread over the vast Chinese territory, demonstrate a particular liveliness of Christian life, witness of faith and pastoral initiative. It is consoling for me to note that, despite past and present difficulties, the Bishops, priests, consecrated persons and lay faithful have maintained a profound awareness of being living members of the universal Church, in communion of faith and life with all the Catholic communities throughout the world. They know in their hearts what it means to be Catholic. And it is precisely from this Catholic heart that the commitment must likewise issue forth to make manifest and effective, both within individual communities and in relations between different communities, that spirit of communion, understanding and forgiveness which -- as was said earlier (cf. section 5 above, paragraph 4, and section 6) -- is the visible seal of an authentic Christian life. I am sure that the Spirit of Christ, just as he helped the communities to keep the faith alive in time of persecution, will today help all Catholics to grow in unity.

As I have already observed (cf. section 2 above, paragraph 1, and section 4, paragraph 1), members of Catholic communities in your country -- especially Bishops, priests and consecrated persons -- are unfortunately not yet allowed to live and to express fully and visibly certain aspects of their belonging to the Church and their hierarchical communion with the Pope, since free contact with the Holy See and with other Catholic communities in various countries is ordinarily impeded. It is true that in recent years the Church has enjoyed greater religious freedom than in the past. Nevertheless it cannot be denied that grave limitations remain that touch the heart of the faith and that, to a certain degree, suffocate pastoral activity. In this regard I renew my earnest wish (cf. section 4 above, paragraphs 2, 3, 4) that in the course of a respectful and open dialogue between the Holy See and the Chinese Bishops on the one hand, and the governmental authorities on the other, the difficulties mentioned may be overcome and thus a fruitful understanding may be reached that will prove beneficial to the Catholic community and to social cohesion.

Priests

13. I would now like to address a special reflection and an invitation to priests -- especially those ordained in recent years -- who have undertaken the path of the pastoral ministry with such generosity. It seems to me that the current ecclesial and socio-political situation renders ever more urgent the need to draw light and strength from the well-springs of priestly spirituality, which are God's love, the unconditional following of Christ, passion for proclamation of the Gospel, faithfulness to the Church and generous service of neighbour.[48] How can I fail to recall, in this regard, as an encouragement for all, the shining examples of Bishops and priests who, in the difficult years of the recent past, have testified to an unfailing love for the Church, even by the gift of their own lives for her and for Christ?

My dear priests! You who bear "the burden of the day and the scorching heat'' (Mt 20:12), who have put your hand to the plough and do not look back (cf. Lk 9:62): think of those places where the faithful are waiting anxiously for a priest and where for many years, feeling the lack of a priest, they have not ceased to pray for one to arrive. I know that among you there are confrères who have had to deal with difficult times and situations, adopting positions that cannot always be condoned from an ecclesial point of view and who, despite everything, want to return to full communion with the Church. In the spirit of that profound reconciliation to which my venerable predecessor repeatedly invited the Church in China,[49] I turn now to the Bishops who are in communion with the Successor of Peter, so that with a paternal spirit they may evaluate these questions case by case and give a just response to that desire, having recourse -- if necessary -- to the Apostolic See. And, as a sign of this desired reconciliation, I think that there is no gesture more significant than that of renewing as a community -- on the occasion of the priestly day of Holy Thursday, as happens in the universal Church, or on another occasion that might be considered more opportune -- the profession of faith, as a witness to the full communion attained, for the edification of the Holy People of God entrusted to your pastoral care, and to the praise of the Most Holy Trinity.

Furthermore, I realize that in China too, as in the rest of the Church, the need for an adequate ongoing formation of the clergy is emerging. Hence the invitation, addressed to you Bishops as leaders of ecclesial communities, to think especially of the young clergy who are increasingly subject to new pastoral challenges, linked to the demands of the task of evangelizing a society as complex as present-day Chinese society. Pope John Paul II reminded us of this: ongoing formation of priests "is an intrinsic requirement of the gift and sacramental ministry received; and it proves necessary in every age. It is particularly urgent today, not only because of rapid changes in the social and cultural conditions of individuals and peoples among whom priestly ministry is exercised, but also because of that 'new evangelization' which constitutes the essential and pressing task of the Church at the end of the second millennium''.[50]

Vocations and religious formation

14. During the last fifty years, the Church in China has never lacked an abundant flowering of vocations to the priesthood and to consecrated life. For this we must thank the Lord, because it is a sign of vitality and a reason for hope. Moreover, in the course of the years, many indigenous religious congregations have emerged: Bishops and priests know from experience what an indispensable contribution women religious make to catechesis and to parish life in all its forms; moreover, care for the most needy, offered in cooperation with the local civil authorities, is an expression of that charity and service of neighbour that are the most credible witness of the power and vitality of the Gospel of Jesus.

I am aware, however, that this flowering is accompanied, today, by not a few difficulties. The need therefore emerges both for more careful vocational discernment on the part of Church leaders, and for more in-depth education and instruction of aspirants to the priesthood and religious life. Notwithstanding the precariousness of the means available, for the future of the Church in China it will be necessary to take steps to ensure, on the one hand, particular attention in the care of vocations and, on the other hand, a more solid formation with regard to the human, spiritual, philosophical-theological and pastoral aspects, to be carried out in seminaries and religious institutes.

In this regard, the formation for celibacy of candidates for the priesthood deserves particular mention. It is important that they learn to live and to esteem celibacy as a precious gift from God and as an eminently eschatological sign which bears witness to an undivided love for God and for his people, and configures the priest to Jesus Christ, Head and Bridegroom of the Church. This gift, in fact, in an outstanding way "expresses the priest's service to the Church in and with the Lord'' [51] and has a prophetic value for today's world.

As for the religious vocation, in the present context of the Church in China it is necessary that its two dimensions be seen ever more clearly: namely, on the one hand, the witness of the charism of total consecration to Christ through the vows of chastity, poverty and obedience, and on the other hand, the response to the demand to proclaim the Gospel in the socio- historical circumstances of the country today.

The Lay Faithful and the Family

15. In the most difficult periods of the recent history of the Catholic Church in China, the lay faithful, both as individuals and families and as members of spiritual and apostolic movements, have shown total fidelity to the Gospel, even paying a personal price for their faithfulness to Christ. My dear lay people, you are called, today too, to incarnate the Gospel in your lives and to bear witness to it by means of generous and effective service for the good of the people and for the development of the country: and you will accomplish this mission by living as honest citizens and by operating as active and responsible co-workers in spreading the word of God to those around you, in the country or in the city. You who in recent times have been courageous witnesses of the faith, must remain the hope of the Church for the future! This demands from you an ever more engaged participation in all areas of Church life, in communion with your respective Pastors.

Since the future of humanity passes by way of the family, I consider it indispensable and urgent that lay people should promote family values and safeguard the needs of the family. Lay people, whose faith enables them to know God's marvellous design for the family, have an added reason to assume this concrete and demanding task: the family in fact "is the normal place where the young grow to personal and social maturity. It is also the bearer of the heritage of humanity itself, because through the family, life is passed on from generation to generation. The family occupies a very important place in Asian cultures; and, as the Synod Fathers noted, family values like filial respect, love and care for the aged and the sick, love of children and harmony are held in high esteem in all Asian cultures and religious traditions''.[52]

The above-mentioned values form part of the relevant Chinese cultural context, but also in your land there is no lack of forces that influence the family negatively in various ways. Therefore the Church which is in China, aware that the good of society and her own good are profoundly linked to the good of the family,[53] must have a keener and more urgent sense of her mission to proclaim to all people God's plan for marriage and the family, ensuring the full vitality of each.[54]

Christian initiation of adults

16. The recent history of the Catholic Church in China has seen a large number of adults coming to the faith, thanks partly to the witness of the local Christian community. You, Pastors, are called to devote particular care to their Christian initiation via an appropriate and serious period of catechumenate aimed at helping them and preparing them to lead the life of Jesus' disciples.

In this regard, I would mention that evangelization is never purely intellectual communication, but rather includes experience of life, purification and transformation of the whole of existence, and a journey in communion. Only in this way is a proper relationship established between thought and life.

Looking then to the past, it is unfortunately the case that many adults have not always been sufficiently initiated into the complete truth of Christian life and have not even known the richness of the renewal brought by the Second Vatican Council. It therefore seems necessary and urgent to offer them a solid and thorough Christian formation, in the shape of a post-baptismal catechumenate.[[55]

The missionary vocation

17. The Church, always and everywhere missionary, is called to proclaim and to bear witness to the Gospel. The Church in China must also sense in her heart the missionary ardour of her Founder and Teacher.

Addressing young pilgrims on the Mount of the Beatitudes in the Holy Year 2000, John Paul II said: "At the moment of his Ascension, Jesus gave his disciples a mission and this reassurance: 'All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations ... and behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age' (Mt 28:18-20). For two-thousand years Christ's followers have carried out this mission. Now, at the dawn of the third millennium, it is your turn. It is your turn to go out into the world to preach the message of the Ten Commandments and the Beatitudes. When God speaks, he speaks of things which have the greatest importance for each person, for the people of the twenty-first century no less than those of the first century. The Ten Commandments and the Beatitudes speak of truth and goodness, of grace and freedom: of all that is necessary to enter into Christ's Kingdom''.[56]

Now it is your turn, Chinese disciples of the Lord, to be courageous apostles of that Kingdom. I am sure that your response will be most generous.

CONCLUSION

Revocation of faculties and of pastoral directives

18. Considering in the first place some positive developments of the situation of the Church in China, and in the second place the increased opportunities and greater ease in communication, and finally the requests sent to Rome by various Bishops and priests, I hereby revoke all the faculties previously granted in order to address particular pastoral necessities that emerged in truly difficult times.

Let the same be applied to all directives of a pastoral nature, past and recent. The doctrinal principles that inspired them now find a new application in the directives contained herein.

A day of prayer for the Church in China

19. Dear Pastors and all the faithful, the date 24 May could in the future become an occasion for the Catholics of the whole world to be united in prayer with the Church which is in China. This day is dedicated to the liturgical memorial of Our Lady, Help of Christians, who is venerated with great devotion at the Marian Shrine of Sheshan in Shanghai.

I would like that date to be kept by you as a day of prayer for the Church in China. I encourage you to celebrate it by renewing your communion of faith in Jesus our Lord and of faithfulness to the Pope, and by praying that the unity among you may become ever deeper and more visible. I remind you, moreover, of the commandment that Jesus gave us, to love our enemies and to pray for those who persecute us, as well as the invitation of the Apostle Saint Paul: ''First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all men, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life, godly and respectful in every way. This is good, and it is acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth'' (1 Tim 2:1-4).

On that same day, the Catholics of the whole world -- in particular those who are of Chinese origin -- will demonstrate their fraternal solidarity and solicitude for you, asking the Lord of history for the gift of perseverance in witness, in the certainty that your sufferings past and present for the Holy Name of Jesus and your intrepid loyalty to his Vicar on earth will be rewarded, even if at times everything can seem a failure.

Farewell

20. At the conclusion of this Letter I pray that you, dear Pastors of the Catholic Church which is in China, priests, consecrated persons and lay faithful, may "rejoice, though now for a little while you may have to suffer various trials, so that the genuineness of your faith, more precious than gold which though perishable is tested by fire, may redound to praise and glory and honour at the revelation of Jesus Christ'' (1 Pet 1:6-7).

May Mary Most Holy, Mother of the Church and Queen of China, who at the hour of the Cross patiently awaited the morning of the Resurrection in the silence of hope, accompany you with maternal solicitude and intercede for all of you, together with Saint Joseph and the countless Holy Martyrs of China.

I assure you of my constant prayers and, with affectionate remembrance of the elderly, the sick, the children and young people of your noble Nation, I bless you from my heart.

Given in Rome, at Saint Peter's, on 27 May, the Solemnity of Pentecost, in the year 2007, the third of my Pontificate.

* * *

[1] Benedict XVI, Angelus of 26 December 2006: "With special spiritual closeness, I also think of those Catholics who maintain their fidelity to the See of Peter without ceding to compromises, sometimes at the price of grave sufferings. The whole Church admires their example and prays that they will have the strength to persevere, knowing that their tribulations are the fount of victory, even if at that moment they can seem a failure''. L'Osservatore Romano, English edition, 3 January 2007, p. 12.

[2] Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World "Gaudium et Spes," 10.

[3] Message to the participants of the International Convention ''Matteo Ricci: for a dialogue between China and the West'' (24 October 2001), 4: L'Osservatore Romano, English edition, 31 October 2001, p. 3.

[4] Cf. John Paul II, Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation "Ecclesia in Asia" (6 November 1999), 7: AAS 92 (2000), 456.

[5] Cf. ibid., 19, 20: AAS 92 (2000), 477-482.

[6] Cf. Address to members of the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences (Manila, 15 January 1995), 11: L'Osservatore Romano, English edition, 25 January 1995, p. 6.

[7] John Paul II, Apostolic Letter "Novo Millennio Ineunte" (6 January 2001), 1: AAS 93 (2001), 266.

[8] Benedict XVI, General Audience (Wednesday 23 August 2006), L'Osservatore Romano, English edition, 30 August 2006, p. 3.

[9] John Paul II, Message to the participants of the International Convention ''Matteo Ricci: for a dialogue between China and the West'' (24 October 2001), 6: L'Osservatore Romano, English edition, 31 October 2001, pp. 3-4.

[10] Ibid.

[11] Cf. Fonti Ricciane, ed. Pasquale M. D'Elia, S.J., vol. 2, Rome 1949, no. 617, p. 152.

[12] Message to the participants of the International Convention ''Matteo Ricci: for a dialogue between China and the West'' (24 October 2001), 4: L'Osservatore Romano, English edition, 31 October 2001, p. 3.

[13] Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World "Gaudium et Spes," 76.

[14] Encyclical Letter "Deus Caritas Est" (25 December 2005), 28: AAS 98 (2006), 240. Cf. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World "Gaudium et Spes," 76.

[15] Cf. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church "Lumen Gentium," 26.

[16] Ibid., 23.

[17] Cf. Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church on some aspects of the Church understood as Communion "Communionis Notio" (28 May 1992), 11-14: AAS 85 (1993), 844-847.

[18] Cf. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church "Lumen Gentium," 23.

[19] Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church on some aspects of the Church understood as Communion Communionis Notio (28 May 1992), 13: AAS 85 (1993), 846.

[20] See also Benedict XVI, Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation "Sacramentum Caritatis" (22 February 2007), 6: ''The Church's faith is essentially a eucharistic faith, and it is especially nourished at the table of the Eucharist. Faith and the sacraments are two complementary aspects of ecclesial life. Awakened by the preaching of God's word, faith is nourished and grows in the grace-filled encounter with the Risen Lord which takes place in the sacraments: 'faith is expressed in the rite, while the rite reinforces and strengthens faith.' For this reason, the Sacrament of the Altar is always at the heart of the Church's life: 'thanks to the Eucharist, the Church is reborn ever anew!' The more lively the eucharistic faith of the People of God, the deeper is its sharing in ecclesial life in steadfast commitment to the mission entrusted by Christ to his disciples. The Church's very history bears witness to this. Every great reform has in some way been linked to the rediscovery of belief in the Lord's eucharistic presence among his people''.

[21] Apostolic Letter "Novo Millennio Ineunte" (6 January 2001), 42: AAS 93 (2001), 296. See also Benedict XVI, Encyclical Letter "Deus Caritas Est" (25 December 2005), 12: "Divine activity now takes on dramatic form when, in Jesus Christ, it is God himself who goes in search of the 'stray sheep', a suffering and lost humanity. When Jesus speaks in his parables of the shepherd who goes after the lost sheep, of the woman who looks for the lost coin, of the father who goes to meet and embrace his prodigal son, these are no mere words: they constitute an explanation of his very being and activity. His death on the Cross is the culmination of that turning of God against himself in which he gives himself in order to raise man up and save him. This is love in its most radical form'': AAS 98 (2006), 228.

[22] Benedict XVI, General Audience (Wednesday 5 April 2006): L'Osservatore Romano, English edition, 12 April 2006, p. 11.

[23] The lived experience of the ancient Church in time of persecution should be a source of enlightenment for all, as should the teaching given on this matter by the Church of Rome herself. Rome rejected the rigorist positions of the Novatians and the Donatists, and appealed for a generous attitude of pardon and reconciliation towards those who had apostatized during the persecutions (the "lapsi''), and wished to be readmitted to the communion of the Church.

[24] John Paul II, Message to the Catholic community in China Alla Vigilia (8 December 1999), 6: L'Osservatore Romano, English edition, 15 December 1999, p. 5.

[25] Cf. Mt 4:8-10; Jn 6:15.

[26] Cf. Is 42:1-4.

[27] Cf. Jn 18:37.

[28] Cf. Mt 26:51-53; Jn 18:36.

[29] Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Declaration on Religious Liberty Dignitatis Humanae, 11.

[30] Benedict XVI, General Audience (Wednesday 5 April 2006): L'Osservatore Romano, English edition, 12 April 2006, p. 11.

[31]Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World "Gaudium et Spes," 28.

[32] Benedict XVI, General Audience (Wednesday 5 April 2006): L'Osservatore Romano, English edition, 12 April 2006, p. 11.

[33] Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, 174. Cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 857 and 869.

[34] John Paul II, Apostolic Letter Apostolos Suos (21 May 1998), 10: AAS 90 (1998), 648.

[35] Cf. Code of Canon Law, c. 447.

[36] Statutes of the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association (CCPA), 2004, art. 3.

[37] Homily for the Jubilee of Bishops (8 October 2000), 5: AAS 93 (2001), 28. Cf. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Decree on the Pastoral Office of Bishops in the Church "Christus Dominus," 6.

[38] Ibid., 27.

[39] Benedict XVI, Address to new Bishops (21 September 2006): AAS 98 (2006), 696.

[40] Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen Gentium, 21. Cf. also Code of Canon Law, c. 375 § 2.

[41]Dogmatic Constitution on the Church "Lumen Gentium", 22. Cf. also "Preliminary Explanatory Note'', No. 2.

[42] China Catholic Bishops' College (CCBC).

[43] At the universal level, see, for example, the provisions of art. 18, paragraph 1, of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of 16 December 1966 ("Everyone shall have the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. This right shall include freedom to have or to adopt a religion or belief of his choice, and freedom, either individually or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in worship, observance, practice and teaching'') and the interpretation, binding for Member States, given to it by the Human Rights Committee of the United Nations in "General Comment 22'' (paragraph 4) of 30 July 1993 ("the practice and teaching of religion or belief includes acts integral to the conduct by religious groups of their basic affairs, such as freedom to choose their religious leaders, priests and teachers, the freedom to establish seminaries or religious schools and the freedom to prepare and distribute religious texts or publications'').
At the regional level, then, see, for example, the following commitments, assumed at the Vienna Meeting of the Representatives of States participating in the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE): "In order to ensure the freedom of the individual to profess and practise religion or belief, the participating States will, inter alia ... respect the right of these religious communities to ... organize themselves according to their own hierarchical and institutional structure ... select, appoint and replace their personnel in accordance with their respective requirements and standards as well as with any freely accepted arrangement between them and their State''. (Concluding Document of 1989, Principle No. 16 of the Section 'Questions relating to Security in Europe''). Cf. also Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Declaration on Religious Liberty "Dignitatis Humanae," 4.

[44] Cf. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Decree on the Pastoral Office of Bishops in the Church "Christus Dominus," 20.

[45]See, in this regard, the relevant norms of the Code of Canon Law (cf. c. 378).

[46] Dogmatic Constitution on the Church "Lumen Gentium," 23.

[47]Cf. Code of Canon Law, cc. 265-272.

[48] For a reflection on the doctrine and spirituality of the priest and on the charism of celibacy, I refer to my address to the Roman Curia (22 December 2006): L'Osservatore Romano, English edition, 3 January 2007, p. 6.

[49] Cf. John Paul II, Message to the Church which is in China on the Seventieth Anniversary of the Ordination in Rome of the First Group of Chinese Bishops and on the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Institution of the Ecclesiastical Hierarchy in China La Memoria Liturgica (3 December 1996), 4: AAS 89 (1997), 256.

[50] Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Pastores Dabo Vobis (25 March 1992), 70: AAS 84 (1992), 782.

[51] Ibid., 29: AAS 84 (1992), 704.

[52] John Paul II, Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation "Ecclesia in Asia" (6 November 1999), 46: AAS 92 (2000), 521. Cf. Benedict XVI, Address at Fifth World Meeting of Families in Spain (Valencia, 8 July 2006): ''The family is a necessary good for peoples, an indispensable foundation for society and a great and lifelong treasure for couples. It is a unique good for children, who are meant to be the fruit of the love, of the total and generous self-giving of their parents. To proclaim the whole truth about the family based on marriage as a domestic Church and a sanctuary of life, is a great responsibility incumbent upon all ... Christ has shown us what is always the supreme source of our life and thus of the lives of families: 'This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends' (Jn 15:12-13). The love of God himself has been poured out upon us in Baptism. Consequently, families are called to experience this same kind of love, for the Lord makes it possible for us, through our human love, to be sensitive, loving and merciful like Christ'': AAS 98 (2006), 591-592.

[53] Cf. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World "Gaudium et Spes," 47.

[54] Cf. John Paul II, Apostolic Exhortation "Familiaris Consortio" (22 November 1981), 3: AAS 74 (1982), 84.

[55] As the Synod Fathers of the Seventh Ordinary Assembly of the Synod of Bishops observed (1-30 October 1987), in the formation of Christians "a post-baptismal catechesis in the form of a catechumenate can also be helpful by presenting again some elements from the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults with the purpose of allowing a person to grasp and live the immense, extraordinary richness and responsibility received at Baptism'': John Paul II, Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation "Christifideles Laici" (30 December 1988), 61: AAS 81 (1989), 514. Cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1230-1231.

[56] Homily on the Mount of the Beatitudes (Israel, 24 March 2000), 5: L'Osservatore Romano, English edition, 29 March 2000, p. 9.

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BEIJING, JULY 31, 2004 (Zenit.org).- China seems determined to restrict the spread of Christianity in the country. Authorities are now using the same tactics against Christian churches that they deployed to quash the Falun Gong spiritual movement, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.

The crackdown, ordered late last year by the China's political leadership, according to the Journal, is being carried out by an offshoot of the task force that coordinated the campaign against the Falun Gong. The main focus is on the rural zones, where religious fervor is on the rise.

"The spread of Christianity is really worrying the government, so it has become a target," said Kang Xiaoguang of the Chinese Academy of Sciences to the Wall Street Journal.

The government is targeting what it terms "cults," which are only loosely described. In practice the term is applied to whatever groups have not received official permission to operated. Apart from the continued persecution of Catholic groups that do not submit to official control, the government is particularly worried about evangelical and Protestant groups, who have been rapidly expanding.

Two groups active in documenting religious persecution, the Center for Religious Freedom, a division of Freedom House, and Compass Direct, have collected news on the crackdown by authorities from a wide range of sources. Among the reports from past months are the following items.

-- July 22. More than 100 religious leaders were arrested in the western province of Xinjiang. The arrests came during a meeting organized by the Ying Shang Church, a large house-church network headquartered in Anhui Province. The arrests came shortly after 40 house-church leaders were arrested while attending a training seminar in Cheng Du City in the province of Sichuan.

-- July 19. Chinese authorities detained and interrogated house-church leader Samuel Lamb after worship services on June 13. Ten of his co-workers were also detained and interrogated. This is the first time in 14 years that Chinese authorities have taken repressive steps against Lamb, who reportedly hosts 3,000 worshippers per week at his meeting place in Guangzhou.

-- July 5. A 34-year-old woman was beaten to death in jail on the day she was arrested for handing out Bibles in Guizhou province. Police arrested Jiang Zongxiu on June 18 on suspicion of "spreading rumors and inciting to disturb social order," according to the local press. Her mother-in-law, Tan Dewei, was arrested with Jiang but later released. She said police kicked Jiang repeatedly during interrogation.

-- June 23. The Vatican strongly protested to China over the arrest of three Catholic bishops -- one of them 84 years old -- in the previous month. The statement called the bishops' arrest "inconceivable in a country based on laws." The 84-year-old bishop of Xuanhua was arrested May 27. Another two bishops, from Xiwanzi and Zhengding, were detained for several days in June.

-- May 24. Gu Xianggao, a teacher in a house-church group, was beaten to death by Public Security Bureau officers.

-- May 16. Two Catholic priests, Lu Genjun and Cheng Xiaoli, were arrested May 14 in An Guo, Hebei province, by government security policemen. The priests were set to begin classes for natural family planning and moral theology courses. Father Lu was previously arrested on Palm Sunday 1998 for a short period. He was arrested again shortly before Easter in 2001 and detained for three years.

-- May 10. Chinese Christians gave evidence of persecution at a special meeting called by the U.N. Commission on Human Rights in April. The speakers testified to beatings, imprisonment, torture and harassment. Female members of the South China Church also testified to torture and sexual assault at the hands of police officers. Their evidence was supported by documents and a video showing the destruction of a church in Zhejiang province.

An in-depth look at the reasons behind the government's persecution of religious groups was published March 31 by the Norway-based human rights group Forum 18. The 10th National People's Congress that concluded in Beijing on March 14 included an amendment to the Chinese Constitution, stating that "The state respects and safeguards human rights."

Forum 18 observed that this new provision aroused skepticism among commentators, given that the constitution already contained safeguards protecting human rights. Those safeguards have not impeded past violations.

In fact, the report noted that on March 5, the very day the meeting opened, Bishop Wei Jingyi of Qiqihar in Heilongjiang province was arrested. And on the same day, police arrested, detained and beat Hua Huiqi, an unofficial house-church leader in Beijing.

A major factor behind the repression, according to Forum 18, can be found in the Communist ideology. Official policy bars Communist Party members from adhering to any religious belief or participating in religious activities.

And even if Communist ideology is no longer so popular, as recently as November an article in the People's Daily, the Communist Party newspaper, entitled "A Historical Study of the Communist Party of China's Theory and Policy Concerning Religion," inveighed against religion.

"To uphold the fundamental opposition in world outlook of Marxism and religion," stated the article, "it is of course essential to uphold the fundamental opposition of science and religion. Religion is an illusory, inverse reflection of the external world, whereas the task of science is to understand the objective world in accordance with reality, advocating seeking truth from facts and pursuing objective truth."

Forum 18 said that the government further fears religion because it represents a threat to the Communist Party's ability to mobilize the masses, particularly the peasantry. Officials estimate there are at least 100 million believers of all faiths throughout China, and authorities are worried that religious organizations could repeat what happened in the past, when religion was a key factor in popular revolts.

China also continues to maintain tight controls over political _expression and organization. An April 14 press release by Amnesty International (AI) outlined some of the concerns over human rights in China.

-- Crackdown on Internet users: By the end of March, at least 60 people had been detained or imprisoned after accessing or circulating politically sensitive information on the Internet. According to AI the Internet censorship practiced by the Chinese government is the most extensive in the world, and many of the toughest controls have been issued since 2000.

-- Death penalty: China continues to execute more people than the rest of the world combined. Executions are carried out following trials that fall far short of international fair-trial standards. AI declared that the death penalty continues to be used extensively and arbitrarily as a result of political interference. And people continue to be executed even for nonviolent crimes such as tax fraud and pimping.

-- Torture, unfair trials and administrative detention: Ill-treatment remains widespread in police stations, prisons and labor camps. As well, those accused of both political and criminal offenses continue to be denied due process and detainees' access to lawyers and family members is severely restricted. China's economic progress in recent years has yet to be matched by advances in religious and political liberty.

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