Conference addresses challenges facing Christianity in
China
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| Children take part in a procession for Mass at a Catholic church in Beijing.-RV |
(Vatican Radio) The future of
Christianity in China has been the focus of a four day conference which
concluded in Hong Kong on Saturday.
Organised by the Ecclesiological Investigations
International Research Network, the meeting brought together a wide range
of theologians from different denominations and many national or ethnic
backgrounds to discuss the challenges facing the different Christian Churches
and communities in China today.
Philippa Hitchen has been
following the conference and sent this final report:
Officially there are five
faiths recognised by China’s ruling Communist party today: Buddhism and Taoism,
the growing Islamic community, plus Christianity – meaning the many Protestant
denominations – and the Catholic Church. Protestants and Catholics are required
to register with the two state-run patriotic church organisations and in the
past, Catholics who have refused and declared their loyalty to the Pope in
clandestine house churches have risked persecution and long prison sentences.
Changing attitudes
But, at least in the rapidly
developing towns and cities of China today, attitudes are changing, even though
rights groups continue to report violations of the right to religious liberty
and freedom of expression, with the persecution of activists on the grounds of
enhanced national security. But as one Jesuit theologian, with long time ties
to China, told the conference, there is a growing will among Chinese leaders to
resolve the conflict between Beijing and the Vatican over the appointment of
Catholic bishops – a key to improving conditions for the estimated nine to
twelve million Catholics in the vast country today.
Appointment of bishops
Other Asian experts agreed
there are increasing expectations of an agreement that would see Pope Francis
offering rapprochement – within this year of mercy - to eight bishops
consecrated without Vatican approval and the setting up a system of new
nominations acceptable to both Beijing and Rome. This would most likely reflect
the practise elsewhere in Asia, or nearer to home in the Swiss city of Basel,
where local Church leaders nominate bishops whose names are forwarded for
approval by the Holy See. That could lead to a resumption of diplomatic
relations, 65 years after all missionaries were expelled and the communist
crackdown on religion began.
Business ethics
In the meantime, I discovered
much work is being done to engage ecumenical and interfaith partners to show
how much religious faith can contribute to common good. Caritas services to the
poor and needy or Catholic social teaching, though documents like the ‘Vocation
of the Business Leader’, recently translated into Chinese, highlight practical
ways in which the Church offers insights and experience to tackle the many
crises facing Chinese society.
Environmental crisis
I also heard a compelling
study of the way Pop Francis’ encyclical ‘Laudato Si’, both echoes the ancient
wisdom of Buddhist, Tao and Confucian philosophy and points the way towards
resolving the environmental disaster overshadowing China’s huge economic development.
Legacy of dialogue
As the Pope himself remarked
in an interview marking the Chinese New Year in February, “the great richness
of the country’s future lies in “the memory of its cultural past.” Recalling
the work of 16th century Jesuit missionary Matteo Ricci, he insisted it’s vital
to enter into dialogue with China, which he described as “an accumulation of
wisdom and history”. Ricci's huge legacy of learning and encounter, I
discovered, thrives among those seeking to promote harmony and hope for Christians
in China today.
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