VATICAN CITY (UCAN) – The Holy See will continue its effort to normalize diplomatic relations with China, and Pope Benedict XVI will write a personal letter to Catholics in the mainland. These conclusions emerged from a special meeting convened by the pope to analyze the Catholic Church situation in China and to refine the strategy of the Holy See to address the challenges it faces concerning that country.The Vatican announced these points Jan. 20 in a press release about the Jan. 19-20 summit in the Apostolic Palace, the pope's residence in the Vatican.
The Vatican statement does not disclose all of the meeting's conclusions but does convey a sense of what was discussed. It confirms that bishops from Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan attended the meeting, together with Holy See officials who "more closely follow the Chinese question."
The statement does not name all the participants, but about one-third were Chinese, including two senior prelates born in mainland China: Cardinal Paul Shan Kuo-hsi, 83, emeritus bishop of Kaoshiung, Taiwan, and Hong Kong's Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun, 75, who reportedly pushed hard for the meeting.
According to the press release, Pope Benedict convened the summit "to deepen understanding about the situation of the Catholic Church in mainland China." It points out that the meeting, chaired by the Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, had a "wide ranging and articulate discussion" that was "animated by frankness and great fraternal cordiality" – in other words, diverse views were shared in a blunt but brotherly way.
The statement says "the most serious and urgent problems" facing the church in mainland China had been discussed, but it does not identify them. However, those problems "await adequate solutions" that are linked to "the fundamental principles of the divine constitution of the church and of religious liberty."
It also says the problems were considered "in the light of the troubled history" of the mainland church and "the main events of recent years."
Related to statements issued by the Holy See last May 4 and Dec. 2, one of the "most serious and urgent problems" likely raised during the meeting is the nomination and ordination of bishops, and the way state agencies such as the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association and China's Bureau for Religious Affairs interfere in this process, causing division in the Catholic community.
Other problems are the way in which Catholic Church personnel are pressured and harassed, even by detention or "re-education," and the lack of freedom for Chinese bishops to communicate freely with each other and with the Holy See.
Even so, the press release acknowledges that the meeting took account of several positive qualities evident in China's Catholic Church today.
It recognized, for example, "the shining testimony offered by bishops, priests and faithful people who, without compromise, have maintained their fidelity to the See of Peter, at times even at the cost of grave sufferings."
The summit "also noted with particular joy that today almost all the bishops and priests are in communion with the supreme pontiff." Cardinal Zen stressed this point in October 2005 when he told the Synod of Bishops in Rome that the church situation in the mainland has been improving, and attempts to separate China's Catholics from union with the pope have failed. In 2006, Vatican sources told UCA News in Rome that "less than a dozen" bishops in the mainland are not in communion with the pope.
The summit also took note of the "surprising" numerical growth of Catholics in the country. The exact number is uncertain but the Holy Spirit Study Centre in Hong Kong estimates that the mainland now has 12 million Catholics.
"From the many contributions by the participants," the press release says, "emerged the will to continue the path of respectful and constructive dialogue with the governmental authorities so as to overcome past misunderstandings. Moreover, there is the hope of achieving normal relations at all levels, in order to allow the peaceful and fruitful life of faith in the church, and to work together for the good of the Chinese people and for peace in the world."
Thus far, Sino-Vatican dialogue has yielded little fruit, but the press release signals that the Vatican still aims to normalize its relations with China. Despite the meager results to date, the statement says the church wants to revive its diplomatic ties with China, ended a half-century ago, "to allow the peaceful and fruitful life of faith in the church, and to work together for the good of the Chinese people and for peace in the world."
The release ends by noting that the pope, "who was thoroughly informed about the proposals that developed in the course of the meeting, has benevolently decided to send a personal letter to the Catholics in China."