Chinese bishops at the Vatican
Last week several Chinese bishops visited the Vatican for a three-day meeting about the state of the Catholic Church in China. The bishops came from Macau, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, all Chinese regions that are not part of the PRC.
The meeting was described frequently in the press as "closed door," so I watched the short daily news reports for clues about what direction the meetings would be going. It has been about nine months since the Pope's letter was released, and yet, it seems no one can agree what the Pope meant. On March 13th, Ambrose Leung reported from the Vatican
Another option listed in that same March 13 article was to address some more pressing practical concerns on the mainland "on issues such as co-operation with the state, and the authority of state-appointed bishops and diocesan administrations, a package of questions and answers in Chinese." But why stop with just Chinese?
It is odd that there is still a lot of head scratching about "what the Pope meant." Normally, when we talk about Pope Benedict's writing on just about any other subject, people frequently remark on the clarity of his writing. There usually is no doubt about his meaning. Except then, with this particular letter. And while people debate his meaing, his gestures cannot be mistaken. His approval granted to recently-ordained Mainland Bishops who are also recognized by the government. His special invitation to Cardinal Zen to compose the Stations of the Cross Meditations this year (watch this space for other languages such as English, but maybe not Chinese?).
One thing I do love about being here is what I have experienced with the Chinese Christians I've met here. I know that living in Shenzhen my experiences are much different than other parts of the country. Many of the PRC policies are admistered differently here than other places, like Northern China. Also, our proximity to Hong Kong provides a lot of opportunity for exchanges of ideas. While I haven't had contact with any underground Chinese Catholics, some of what I have done with the "open church" Catholics would cause trouble in other regions. It is so easy, though, to see what the Chinese church can be....almost connected to the rest of the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church and getting closer.
The meeting was described frequently in the press as "closed door," so I watched the short daily news reports for clues about what direction the meetings would be going. It has been about nine months since the Pope's letter was released, and yet, it seems no one can agree what the Pope meant. On March 13th, Ambrose Leung reported from the Vatican
The meeting was the first opportunity for the members of the Vatican commission on China affairs, set up in January last year, to meet and review the latest developments following the Pope's letter.In fact, one proposal listed in that same article was "a compendium consisting of the letter, a series of commentaries by experts on mainland affairs to elaborate on the points made by the Pope, and a simplified version of the document." While this is an academic excerise that would be right up the alley of a body like the Hong Kong Holy Spririt Centre, would this really clarify the Pope's meaning or cloud it?
Despite speculation that the Vatican, which maintains diplomatic ties with Taipei, and Beijing would step up negotiations on resuming diplomatic ties ahead of the Olympic Games in August, the focus of the meeting was on how to implement the Pope's religious directives to mainland Catholics.
"What were discussed were problems surrounding the Pope's letter," said one participant. "Among things we have assessed was whether the mainland government, the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association and the underground church really understood what the Pope meant."
Another option listed in that same March 13 article was to address some more pressing practical concerns on the mainland "on issues such as co-operation with the state, and the authority of state-appointed bishops and diocesan administrations, a package of questions and answers in Chinese." But why stop with just Chinese?
It is odd that there is still a lot of head scratching about "what the Pope meant." Normally, when we talk about Pope Benedict's writing on just about any other subject, people frequently remark on the clarity of his writing. There usually is no doubt about his meaning. Except then, with this particular letter. And while people debate his meaing, his gestures cannot be mistaken. His approval granted to recently-ordained Mainland Bishops who are also recognized by the government. His special invitation to Cardinal Zen to compose the Stations of the Cross Meditations this year (watch this space for other languages such as English, but maybe not Chinese?).
One thing I do love about being here is what I have experienced with the Chinese Christians I've met here. I know that living in Shenzhen my experiences are much different than other parts of the country. Many of the PRC policies are admistered differently here than other places, like Northern China. Also, our proximity to Hong Kong provides a lot of opportunity for exchanges of ideas. While I haven't had contact with any underground Chinese Catholics, some of what I have done with the "open church" Catholics would cause trouble in other regions. It is so easy, though, to see what the Chinese church can be....almost connected to the rest of the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church and getting closer.
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