Make no mistake: the Holy See is in business--the business of saving souls, or so it claims. And, nowhere else in the world are there more souls than in China with its population of 1.3B. Officially, China claims to be an atheist state in line with the tenets of communism. No need for the opiate for the masses here, thank you very much. The Communist Party has traditionally seen organized religions as potential enemies of the state. The belief is that they may foment political unrest and divided loyalties. After half a century of strained ties with China, however, the Roman Catholic Church is reconsidering its stance on China. Like almost everyone else, the Holy See perceives China as an attractive growth market.However, distrust among these two parties is still rife. The Vatican has taken a relatively hard line until now by encouraging the faithful to attend services at approved venues. It also extends diplomatic recognition to Taiwan (The Republic of China) and not to the People's Republic of China. China has returned the favor of mistrust by installing its own bishops. To make amends, the Vatican has now made moves toward rapprochement in an open letter written by Benedict XVI to Catholics in China. The Associated Press summarizes the horse-trading that the Vatican is willing to engage in to make the Church more viable in the Middle Kingdom:
It is interesting that while the Pope is seeking better ties, his previous reputation as "God's Rottweiler" still comes through in some of his statements that are not bound to be received especially warmly by Chinese officials--especially those dealing with the Church's persecution:Pope Benedict XVI on Saturday invited all Roman Catholics in China to unite under his jurisdiction and urged the government in Beijing to restore diplomatic ties and permit religious freedom.
He called China's state-run Catholic Church "incompatible" with Catholic doctrine but nevertheless made unprecedented overtures toward it.
China forced its Roman Catholics to cut ties with the Vatican in 1951, shortly after the officially atheist Communist Party took power. Worship is allowed only in the government-controlled churches, which recognize the pope as a spiritual leader but appoint their own priests and bishops.
Millions of Chinese, however, belong to unofficial congregations that remained loyal to Rome.
In the eagerly awaited letter to the faithful in China, Benedict insisted on his right to appoint bishops, but said he trusted that an agreement could be reached with the Beijing authorities on nominations. The Vatican would like to have a formula similar to the one it has with Vietnam, another communist country, where the Vatican proposes a few names and the government selects one.
Significantly, Benedict revoked previous Vatican-issued restrictions on contacts with the clergy of the official church, and recognized that some Chinese faithful have no choice but to attend officially recognized Masses.
The Vatican said in a note accompanying the letter that it was prepared "at any time" to move its diplomatic representation from Taiwan — which split from China in 1949 — to Beijing, as soon as an agreement with the government was reached.
The letter was the most significant effort by Benedict to balance his pastoral concerns for the up to 12 million Roman Catholics in China who are divided between an official church — the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association — and an underground church that is not registered with the authorities...
The text was believed to have been sent to the Beijing government in recent days as a courtesy. However, the vice chairman of the Patriotic Association, Liu Bainian, said Saturday after its release that he had not seen the letter and that the church had no immediate plans to read it out to the faithful or distribute it.
Qin Gang, a spokesman for China's Foreign Ministry, said in a statement posted to the ministry's Web site that China would "continue to have a frank, constructive dialogue with the Vatican in order to resolve differences between the two sides."
The statement called on the Vatican to sever ties with rival Taiwan and not interfere in Beijing's internal affairs in the name of religion.
"We hope that the Vatican take practical action and does not create new barriers," Qin said, without elaborating.
On several occasions, Benedict praised Catholics who resisted pressure to join the official church and paid a price for it "with the shedding of their blood."
But he urged them to forgive and reconcile with others for the sake of unifying the church.
Tellingly, Benedict referred repeatedly to the "Catholic Church in China," without distinguishing between the divisions — an indication of his aim to see the two united and in communion with Rome.
The Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, said the revocation of the 1988 restrictions on contacts with the clergy of the official church was "significant" because it meant that the Catholic Church in China did not require special Vatican regulation.
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.The Pope also gives partial blessing to the "scabs" chosen by the Chinese officialdom if those of the Vatican-ordained variety are unavailable:
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.It will be interesting to see how this matter plays out, especially with regard to Taiwan's diplomatic recognition. My view is that China will not accept these overtures lock, stock, and barrel just as it hasn't throughout the years. While the Vatican may make some inroads, it will be tough for it to gain followers in China due to constant Communist Party intervention.
