|
Catholicism in China has a long and complicated history. Christianity has existed in China in various forms since at least the Tang Dynasty in the eighth century A.D. (For a full account of the history of Christianity in China up to contemporary times, see Christianity in China).
Early history Catholic missionary priests from Europe are first recorded to have entered China in the 13th century. They had some success during the Mongol regime of the Yuan Dynasty but their influence gradually faded. Post-Reformation During the post-Reformation explosion of Catholic missionary efforts around the world, particularly in Asia, Jesuit missionaries attempted to enter China. They had mixed success at first, but eventually came to have a strong impact, particularly in inter-cultural scientific and artistic exchanges among the upper classes of China and the imperial court. According to the website AD2000.com.au, the first Catholic mission in Beijing was founded in 1234 by Giovanni de Montecorvino, an Italian Franciscan. By the year 1300, Catholics numbered to about 30,000. (See Jesuit China missions for details) Modern History Since 1949, following the establishment of the People's Republic of China by the Communist Party of China, the status of Catholicism as an institution in Chinese society has been highly ambiguous. The Chinese government maintains that Chinese citizens' activities must not face interference or influence by external powers and demands that all Chinese "Catholics" must be loyal to the State. All worship must legally be conducted through State-approved churches, and though the CPC is a secular organisation it also reserves the right to appoint priests. The resulting church has been referred to as the Loyal Chinese Catholic Church. Beijing does not differentiate between temporal and spiritual loyalty. A Catholic can be loyal to his/her own government, while still listen to the Pope's teachings on religion. In an authoritative survey of Chinese Catholicism in the American Catholic publication, Commonweal, the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association is an organization with oversight over the Chinese Catholic Church. However, it is not a Church itself, and, according to Commonweal, neither priests, bishops, nuns or laity are required to belong to it anymore. In the meantime, two-thirds of China's registered Church bishops are now recognized by the Vatican. More significant, during the Summer of 2005, the Vatican and Beijing agreed upon the appointment of an Auxiliary Bishop of Shanghai. In the past, a major impediment to the re-establishment of relations between the Vatican and Beijing has been the issue of who appoints the bishops. In a further sign of rapprochement between the Vatican and Beijing, Pope Benedict XVI invited four Chinese bishops, including two government recognized bishops, one underground bishop, and one underground bishop recently emerged into the registered church, to the October 2005 Synod of the Eucharist. Beijing ultimately denied the four bishops the right to attend the meeting. It is estimated that there are 13 million Catholics in China, 8 million following the underground church still loyal to Rome and 5 million following the officially sanctioned Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association. * Hong Kong and Macao Donald Tsang, the Chief Executive of Hong Kong is a Catholic. Pope John Paul II was denied a visit (deemed "inappropriate") to Hong Kong in 1999, a decision many believe was made under pressure from the central PRC government. Diplomatic relations with the Vatican The issue of Sino-Vatican relations has been a highly contentious one and often difficult for both sides (see below). The Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association is a division of China's Religious Affairs Bureau, and has oversight over China's Catholics. China's Catholics - including its clergy and sisters - are no longer required to be a members of the CPCA. Chinese terms for God and Christianity The Chinese language typically divides Christians into two groups, Tianzhu jiao (天主教), believers of Catholicism, and Jidu Xinjiao (基督新教), believers of Protestantism. The term referred to God in Chinese is different in different churches. The Catholic church historically favored Tianzhu (literally, Lord of Heaven) over Shangdi (literally, The Emperor from Above), an alternate term used more commonly by traditional Protestants like Anglicans and Lutherans. More contemporary Protestants use "Shen," which just means God. The Mandarin Chinese translation of Christ all Christians use is Jidu. (For full coverage see Chinese terms for God) See also | ||||||||
|
| |||||||||
 |
|
| |