ONCE, the Catholic church in China was not underground. In the 17th century Jesuits were favoured advisers to the emperors of the Qing dynasty. In…
ONCE, the Catholic church in China was not underground. In the 17th century Jesuits were favoured advisers to the emperors of the Qing dynasty. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, abetted by a growing Western presence, the church thrived. But after two years of trying to establish formal ties with the new Communist regime, the Vatican gave up in 1951 and resumed diplomatic relations with the Nationalist government, now in exile in Taiwan. Foreign priests and bishops were expelled from the mainland. Many Chinese priests fled to Taiwan.
In 1957 the Communist Party established the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association as an official overseer. The outraged Pope Pius XII decreed that all bishops consecrating new bishops under its aegis would be excommunicated. Since then, a schism constantly threatened between China’s official Catholic church and the underground one loyal to the Vatican. About half of China’s estimated 10m Catholics sit in each camp. In the coastal Mindong region of Fujian province, for centuries a Catholic stronghold, an estimated 70,000 worshippers all belong to the underground church.
In the hope of healing the rift, on September 22nd the Vatican announced what it said was a breakthrough: China’s first recognition of papal authority. Neither side is giving away the details of the “provisional” deal, but its outline can be divined. China will give the Vatican a say in the appointment of bishops in the state-controlled church. In return, Pope Francis has in effect acknowledged its legitimacy, even though his predecessors spent much of the Middle Ages resisting this sort of state interference. He is bringing seven bishops, excommunicated because they were state-appointed, back into communion with the church.
