Chinese Catholicism

Author: Zhou Tailiang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-10-01
Features: Currently, there are 5.3 million followers and over 6,000 churches in the Catholic Church in China. A national patriotic organization, the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association, has been established. This association is composed of Catholic clergy and laypeople across the country and is a non-profit patriotic and religious mass organization. Its purpose is to unite all Catholic clergy and laypeople in China, uphold the banner of patriotism and religious devotion, abide by the Constitution, laws, regulations, and policies, safeguard the interests of the people, maintain national unity and territorial integrity, and uphold social moral standards. The Catholic Church in China adheres to the principle of an independent, self-governing church suitable for China's context and the spirit of democratic church governance, striving to promote adaptation to contemporary Chinese society, proclaiming the Gospel of Christ, and spreading the teachings of the Church.
The Catholic Church was first introduced to China during the Yuan Dynasty (1206–1368). In 1582, Father Matteo Ricci, an Italian Jesuit, arrived in Macau, marking another important period in the spread of Catholicism in China. After Ricci's death, European missionaries such as Johann Adam Schall von Bell and Ferdinand Verbiest, who came to China later, continued Ricci's missionary work, respecting Chinese culture. While spreading the Gospel, they contributed to cultural exchange between the East and the West through the transmission of Western learning to the East and Eastern learning to the West. The indigenization of the Catholic Church in China has undergone a difficult process. After the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, the Catholic Church in China broke free from imperialist control and strove to adapt to socialism, becoming a religious undertaking self-administered by Chinese clergy and laypeople.
The Catholic Church in China adheres to the principle of unifying patriotism and religious devotion. Guided by the Gospel spirit of "becoming all things to all people," it shares the same faith and baptism as the Catholic Church worldwide, remaining loyal to the "One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church" handed down from the Apostles, and maintaining communion with the Universal Church. In matters of politics, economy, and church affairs, it acts independently and self-governing according to China's national conditions and cultural characteristics, exploring a path suitable for China's context in spreading the Gospel.
This book introduces the spread and development of the Catholic Church in China, including the historical Catholic Church in China, the development of church affairs, the proclamation of the Gospel, the establishment of seminaries, the training of priests, the training of nuns, and the fruitful achievements.