Church in China

In the latest development of the Agreement between China and the Holy See, authortities recognise the ‘underground’ prelate long under arrest for refusing to join the Patriotic Association as leader of the local Catholic community. Archbishop Celli had met him two years ago and presented him with a pectoral cross in the name of Francis. Today's ceremony was held in a hotel and not in the cathedral to reaffirm aappointment's civil rather than canonical character.

The pandemic and the outbreak of dramatic conflicts have changed many things, in the world as well as in China. The generation of boys and girls born after the turn of the millennium, are among those most affected by these events. Young Chinese, believers or not, resemble more their peers from other nations with whom they share the digital and social media worlds, rather than their compatriots from the generations that preceded them.

In the diocese where 'underground' bishop Msgr. Shao is under arrest, an 'official' priest challenges the redesigning of parishes decided by the Party-linked priest who de facto rules the local church: 'Only a bishop can do that.' The gesture after police on Aug. 11 prevented him from celebrating Mass in a church left without pastoral care.

In Shanxi, a court president illegally keeps three Protestant leaders in prison without trial. But the law can also be used to show that religious freedom conforms with the law, this according to Feng Xuewei, a legal expert who worked on China’s entry in the WTO.

The debate at the event promoted at the University of St Joseph on the occasion of the centenary of the Council of Shanghai. Leopold Leeb: In many Chinese there is interest in the newness of the Gospel and this is the precondition for any inculturation. The decisive role of the "sensum fidelium" of Chinese Catholic families in keeping the faith alive in the years of persecution.

A hundred scholars from “greater China" met at the University of Saint Joseph to share thoughts from an ecclesial perspective. Archbishop Savio Hon praised the encounter with the local culture, which owes a lot to the work of Card Celso Costantini a century ago. Prof Wang Meixiu expressed concerns over today's restrictions on the access of children and minors to places of worship. She wonders whether the “number of Catholics is decreasing”.

Joseph Yang Yongqiang, 54, served as bishop in Zhoucun, Shandong. He is one of two Chinese prelates who participated in the Synod last October. He is slated to occupy an historically important see for the Church in China, where the last bishop was chosen following a row in 2000. Zheijang is the same province where the authorities do not recognise and persecute Bishop Shao Zumin.

At the general audience the Pope paid homage to China by greeting the Association of Friends of Card. Celso Costantini, builder of bridges between East and West. A thought also for the Refugee Day that the UN will celebrate tomorrow: "States should work to offer humane conditions and integration". The catechesis dedicated to the psalms: "There is no state of mind that does not find in them the best words to transform them into prayer".

The former apostolic administrator of Kunming and two other dioceses passed away; he was in his nineties. He was seminarian in 1949 when the Communists took over, and had to wait until 1995 to be ordained a priest after spending many years in prison and working in a factory. Highly respected by all, he “led a simple and hard life.”

The election during the 2024 general assembly which took place in Lima, Peru. He succeeds Irish priest Fr. Tim Mulroy and will remain in office for the next six years. A priest since 2009, he has carried out his ministry in Taiwan and also in China and the Philippines. Founded in 1918, today they are present in 15 countries.

A community in Jiangxi wanted images of the Irish priests who served it between the 1920s and 1950s to appear on the stained glass windows in the renovation of its parish restored after long being a kindergarten. Including a martyr killed by Communist militias, whose grave is still a place revered by local Catholics.

The bishop penned his thoughts about the "sensitive” date, which is taboo in Hong Kong, in an article published yesterday by the diocesan weekly Sunday Examiner. In it, the bishop remembers the “life sapping event that took place 35 years ago” in Beijing on 4 June 1989. Although impossible to forget, he suggests to look at it through the eyes of “God’s unconditional love” who forgives even those who “are not yet courageous enough to ask for it.