The Many Facets of China’s Catholic Church

People, Communities, and the Catholic Church in China, edited by Cindy Yik-yi Chu and Paul P. Mariani. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2020, 176 pages. Hardcover, ISBN-10: 9811516782; ISBN-13: 978-9811516788. Available from Amazon.

When Pope John Paul II canonized 120 martyrs of China on October 1, 2000, he recalled the words, which are often quoted by Chinese Catholics themselves, of the early Church father Tertullian: “the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.” Historian Anthony E. Clark recalls observing, as have I, Chinese Catholics who pray with fervent devotion at sites where loved ones or even Catholics of distant memory suffered, died, or were buried. He concludes, “China’s Church, as it always has, transforms struggle into pious conviction.”¹ Although the harsh persecution that marked the 1950s and the Cultural Revolution is not the norm for most Chinese Catholics today, a Chinese priest recently confirmed to me that restrictions on religious practice are as tight as ever, and surveillance is everywhere. Despite the challenges, however, faithful Christians, including Catholics and Protestants, continue to worship, evangelize, and teach, their efforts marked by both caution and confidence.

This collection of essays on various dimensions of the Catholic Church in China aims to remedy a purported lack of scholarly attention on Chinese Catholics in comparison with Protestant Christians. It serves as an excellent introduction to their history and present challenges. The contributing authors, experts in their respective fields, provide enough history for context, while explaining current circumstances (since the book’s publication in 2020, some topics discussed have seen new developments, but the core issues remain relevant). It is organized thematically in four sections (“Policies,” “People,” “Organizations,” and “Communities”) each with two essays. It will benefit general readers and scholars who wish to understand both old and new forces affecting Catholics in China.

In the first section, “Policies,” two Catholic priests give historical analyses. PIME missionary Gianni Criveller² reviews the recent history of the Catholic Church in China, including actions of the last three popes, John Paul II, Benedict XVI, and Francis, in the first chapter, “An Overview of the Catholic Church in Post-Mao China.” He details the approaches each pope took toward the Church and the government, and what each accomplished. Among these, he discusses John Paul’s elevation of the imprisoned Bishop Ignatius Kung Pin-mei (Gong Pinmei) of Shanghai as a cardinal in secret (in pectore) in 1979, and the aforementioned canonizations in 2000, as well as Benedict’s 2007 letter to China’s Catholics, in which he expresses his closeness with them and his desire for reconciliation between aboveground and underground Catholics, and calls on civil authorities to recognize and cease pressure on underground bishops to join the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association (CCPA), a government body whose goals are “incompatible with Catholic doctrine” because it demands “independence and autonomy, self-management and democratic administration” for the Church, including the power to appoint bishops.³ Criveller understands both the open and underground church communities. Of the former, he writes, “Members of the open church want to be loyal to their faith and to the pope. They are the object of intense government pressure, control, and manipulation, be this through enticements or harassment” (p. 18). For those in the underground, things are even worse: “the Chinese authorities’ final aim is the elimination of the underground church and the forcing of its members to register in the CCPA” (p. 20). The refusal of underground clergy to sign a declaration of “independence and autonomy” from the Vatican is still the main point of conflict. Regarding the controversial Sino–Vatican Agreement on the Appointment of Bishops signed by Pope Francis in 2018, Criveller writes: “By conceding to the involvement of political authorities in the process of selecting candidates to be presented to the pope, the Holy See made a gesture of great complacency toward China.” Nevertheless, he concludes that, finally, “the Church knows no other way than to follow the pope and to support [his] commitment in guiding the people of God.” It is also important to note that despite the challenges at the political level, Criveller writes that the greatest challenge is the “transmission of faith to the younger generations” (p. 21).

In the second chapter, “The Development of the Underground Church in Post-Mao China,” Sergio Ticozzi traces the government’s attempts first to ignore, then to repress and destroy the underground church. In the late 1970s, although still not registered or officially allowed to practice their faith, underground clergy and faithful kept a vibrant faith, a worshiping in homes or makeshift spaces and often relied on memory or handwritten texts. Underground seminaries and convents reemerged, Pope John Paul II made special allowance for the ordination of underground bishops without prior approval, and an underground bishops’ conference was formed. Repression has come in waves, such as after the issuance of government documents in 1989 and 1991 and 2018, when children under 18 were officially prohibited from participating in church activities. Authorities targeted defiant leaders, such as Bishop Peter Joseph Fan Xueyuan of Hebei, who ordained others, and was detained, tortured, and killed in 1992. Other clergy have been detained and held incommunicado, two for over 20 years, without trial or legal due process, or detained repeatedly and placed under close surveillance.⁴ In some times and places authorities have been relatively less harsh, but Ticozzi characterizes the present situation as one of “oppression from the civil authorities.” He concludes with some sobering observations: 1) that “the underground church tends toward isolation” due to lack of trust; 2) there is “widespread fear” that the oppression of the underground church would increase under the 2018 Sino-Vatican Agreement (a fear that has been validated by events since then); and 3) recent government policies and control measures “seem to aim at the elimination of the unofficial section of the Church in China” (p. 40).

The second section offers a close-up look at two leaders, Bishop Aloysius Jin Luxuan (1916-2013) of Shanghai, and Archbishop emeritus Joseph Cardinal Zen of Hong Kong (born 1932). Rachel Xiaohong Zhu, in “Bishop Jin Luxian and the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association of Shanghai,” presents Bishop Jin as a pragmatist who, as with Cardinal Kung and others, endured decades in prison, but afterwards Jin chose to cooperate with authorities, believing he could thereby most effectively build up the church. He made major contributions to the rebuilding of schools, charitable organizations, Catholic publishing, and pastoral care in Shanghai and made over thirty visits abroad. Jin was friends with his Protestant counterpart, Ting Kuang-hsun (1915-2012) or Bishop K. H. Ting, the leader of the Three-Self Patriotic Movement (TSPM). Jin, says Zhu, “often felt as if he was walking a tightrope between the Church and the state” (p. 47). He cooperated with the CCPA, hoping to steer it toward serving the church and society (p. 50), while he also “unofficially stated that the CCPA could not be reconciled with Catholic doctrine and faith, at least at a national level” (p. 56). Jin also believed that the principles of “independence and autonomy” from Rome, noted above, could be part of the Church’s “normal administrative autonomy” (p. 56).

Beatrice K. F. Leung, an expert on Sino-Vatican relations, in “Joseph Cardinal Zen Ze-kiun of Hong Kong,” praises Joseph Cardinal Zen as “a prophet of a society in turmoil.” She casts the recent tragedy of Hong Kong in biblical terms: “The Old Testament prophet Jeremiah lamented the fall of Jerusalem and the desperation of Israel. Cardinal Zen laments the fall of Hong Kong” (p. 62). Leung traces Zen’s prophetic role back to 1999, when he advocated for the rights of refugees from China to settle in Hong Kong. He became a vocal leader in Hong Kong citizens’ struggle for democracy and against the PRC’s imposition of vague “national security” laws against “treason, secession, sedition, subversion against the Central People’s Government” and similar offenses (p. 65).⁵ In 2014, 82-year-old Zen slept overnight on the street with “Umbrella Movement” protesters. Zen is known for his support of Benedict XVI’s 2007 letter to China’s Catholics, and for his efforts to dissuade Pope Francis from entering into the 2018 Sino-Vatican Agreement. He has continued to criticize the agreement and its renewals since, in 2020 and 2022, arguing that they have continued to a worsening situation for Catholics, especially in the underground church (p. 72), and has publicly called for the release of detained underground bishops in China, such as Cui Tai. Zen has been called “the new conscience of Hong Kong” and given numerous awards for his human rights advocacy (p. 72).

The next two chapters, in “Organizations,” describe the work of the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum Sinese, which completed the first complete Catholic Chinese translation of the Bible in 1968, and the development of Catholic Charities in China. In chapter 6, “The Studium Biblicum Franciscanum Sinense from 1976 to Present,” Raissa De Gruttola describes the decades-long translation work initiated by Franciscan missionary Gabriele Allegra (1907-1976), who brought together a team to complete the Sigao Bible (so named after medieval Franciscan scholar John Duns Scotus). It is still the official Chinese Catholic version, although others exist, and a new Catholic translation is in progress. Some collaborative translation efforts by Catholics and Protestants have taken place, but the results have never overcome what scholar Irene Eber called “the interminable term question.”⁶ The “interminable” problem is that Catholics have one official name for God, Tianzhu 天主, the favored term adopted by Jesuit missionary Matteo Ricci (1552 -1610) over 400 years ago, and Protestants use multiple names, such as Shen 神(which can simply mean “god” or “diety”) or Shangdi 上帝 (which has various uses throughout history), but lack agreement among them, so their Bible versions in Chinese differ according to the chosen name.

In chapter 7, “The Jinde Charities Foundation of Hebei Province and Catholic Charities in China,” Zhipeng Zhang discusses the recovery of Catholic charitable work in China since 1979, focusing on the first registered non-profit, Jinde Charities in Hebei. Zhang finds that despite challenges, social services in China in the past 40 years have made major contributions in areas such as disaster relief, medical treatment, elder and orphan care, adoption, scholarships, and more. They have become “a very important and effective way to witness to the Gospel,” and “have raised the status of the Church in Chinese society, contributing to eliminating the prejudice and misunderstanding of the Church in Chinese society” (p. 107).

Part IV, “Communities,” includes “Recent Developments of Youth Ministry in China” by Hong Kong-based French missionary priest Bruno Lepeu, and “The Sheshan ‘Miracle’ and Its Interpretations,” by Jesuit historian Paul P. Mariani. Lepeu describes the emergence of vibrant ministries to youth since 2000, which have borne much fruit despite great challenges, including poor resources and training and the attractions and distractions of city life, not to mention government restrictions. Despite these, through the experiences of community with other Catholic youth, often in summer camps, their faith comes to life and deepens. Leadership training for youth, Bible study and catechism, prayer, worship, service, and, crucially, accompaniment on the path of faith, all lead to a deeper relationship with Christ.

Mariani analyzes a historic event that occurred at China’s most famous Marian pilgrimage site, Sheshan, outside Shanghai, in March 1980. Not long after the desolation of the Mao years ended in 1976, thousands of Catholic pilgrims gathered, to the vexation of government authorities who did not expect such a reappearance of religious devotion. The unexpected arrival of crowds of devoted pilgrims from around China, singing hymns en route and lighting firecrackers in celebration, caused a spontaneous joyous atmosphere that many thought could not occur at that point in history. Some believed the rains that brought dried-up canals back to life, and mysterious lights that appeared in the sky, as well as the size and exuberance of the crowds, to be miraculous. Mariani analyzes the event from four perspectives: the experience of participants; a “scientific explanation” offered by the government to counter the miracle narrative, a “social scientific” explanation describing the event as a predictable, non-miraculous phenomenon aided by the government’s tolerance and help. Finally, a “political interpretation” published a decade later aimed to discredit the origins of the Sheshan pilgrimage, attacking it as the scheme of a “Counterrevolutionary Clique” led by Jesuit priest Zhu Hongsheng, a political attempt to turn China into a “second Poland” after the fall of communism there.

This volume opens up many still unresolved problems facing the Church. Despite the serious challenges, one can still come away with a sense of hope. Many heroic Catholic Christians in China have considered what Dietrich Bonhoeffer called the “cost of discipleship,” and followed the Lord Jesus, remained on the vine, and borne much fruit. Taken as a whole, this volume offers an excellent introduction to major issues shaping the experiences of Catholics in China today and is highly recommended.

1. Anthony E. Clark, “China’s Church(es): An Interview with Father Daniel Cerezo (June 2006),” in China’s Catholics in an Era of Transformation: Observations of an “Outsider,” (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2020), 49.
2. Gianni Criveller is a missionary priest and theologian with the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions (PIME), who has served in greater China since 1991. He is currently editor-in-chief of AsiaNews. See Gianni Criveller, “AsiaNews, our unbiased window on Asia,” October 1, 2023, accessed June 27, 2024, https://www.asianews.it/news-en/AsiaNews,-our-unbiased-window-on-Asia-59263.html.
3. Pope Benedict XVI, “Letter to the Bishops, Priests, Consecrated Persons and Lay Faithful of the Catholic Church in the People’s Republic of China,” The Holy See, May 27, 2007, accessed June 27, 2024,   https://www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/letters/2007/documents/hf_ben-xvi_let_20070527_china.html.
4. The Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) publishes a searchable online Political Prisoner Database containing records on prisoners of conscience, including these Catholics and other Chinese citizens detained for practicing their religion, or for human rights advocacy, criticizing the government or its policies, and other actions protected under international human rights law. See www.cecc.gov.
5. Zen’s activities also included, after this book’s publication, opposition to the 2020 “Law of the People’s Republic of China on Safeguarding National Security in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region,” often referred to as the “National Security Law.” Zen was convicted and fined with around four others for establishing a group to help democracy advocates with their legal expenses following the protests, and Zen has been vilified in PRC state media.
6. Irene Eber, “The Interminable Term Question,” in Bible in Modern China: The Literary and Intellectual Impact, ed. Irene Eber, Sze-kar Wan, and Knut Walf (Sankt Agustin; Nettetal: Institut Monumenta Serica, 1999).