The yin and yang of China's contradictions: prosperity is only a part of the big picture, and a relatively small part at that

National Catholic Reporter, April 11, 2003 by Robert J. McClory

The new opening has clearly benefited the church--but again, nothing is so simple in China. All the places we visited are official, registered, "above-ground" churches and are under the jurisdiction of the State Administration of Religious Affairs. Their bishops and leading clerics are members of the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association, an organization formed in the 1950s when Communist China ruled that the Catholic church must be self-governing and independent of any foreign power, namely the Vatican. New bishops were then consecrated by certain validly ordained bishops, but without papal approval, thus establishing a thorny juridical problem that continues today. During the Cultural Revolution all forms of religion were banned. But with the restoration of churches in the 1980s, the practice of consecrating bishops independently of the Vatican was resumed. Many, in fact, have been elected by local priests, sisters and laity, with firm oversight by government officials. Registered churches today claim about 5 million members.

Bishops and others who fail to cooperate with state authorities are subject to penalties including imprisonment or periods of "reeducation." The bishops with whom we met were sometimes accompanied by "secretaries" assigned by the Patriotic Association to report on any statements or activities out of line. It is evident many bishops, priests and sisters live with this situation because there is no other way to openly serve the faithful; they are keenly aware that accommodation to unfriendly or barely tolerant governments has been a characteristic of Catholicism in China from the beginning.

Catholics in the '50s who refused to accept Communist domination went into hiding, were imprisoned or killed. Today some Catholics still refuse to participate in registered churches; instead, they support their own secret churches, bishops, priests and seminaries. The Beijing government considers these churches a threat, and reports of arrest and imprisonment of underground Catholics surface regularly.

Still, many people told us the split between approved and unapproved churches is dissolving. While no announcement has come from the Vatican or anywhere else, there is a common conviction among Chinese Catholics that Pope John Paul II has quietly recognized as legitimate the vast majority of the registered bishops. As a result, underground Catholics are beginning to attend registered churches, formerly underground seminarians are entering approved seminaries, and some priests are functioning in both arenas.

Catholicism's future in the country may be uniquely Chinese. Almost everywhere we visited, we were told of the great attraction Christmas has for non-Christians. At the Xian cathedral, for example, the midnight Mass ceremony is piped outside to overflow crowds in the huge plaza in front of the church. Elsewhere some churches have been remodeled to accommodate the Christmas visitors. A young Chinese journalist told me she knew nothing about the Catholic church, except "it's where we've always gone to on Christmas." What accounts for this fascination? We asked church leaders. It's the music, the lights, the mother and child, the whole ceremony at night, we were told. And, they added, Christmas Mass is one of the major ways non-Christians are attracted and a reason why the church is growing.