The Relationship between the Chinese Catholic Church and the PRC during the Reform Era: Hostility and Resilience

Introduction

The Catholic Church has a long and extensive history in China. Throughout its time in China, the Catholic Church has had a complex relationship with other aspects of Chinese society, especially the government of China. This fact is especially clear in the Reform Era when the Chinese Catholic Church was reeling from the effects of the Cultural Revolution: Catholic churches were closed, priests and other prelates were imprisoned, and “all forms of religious practice were condemned as a part of the ‘four olds’” (Madsen 472). Despite this harsh persecution, the Catholic Church survived in China and would enter into a complex period known as the Reform Era. 

The relationship between the Chinese Catholic Church and the PRC was characterized by opposition from the Peoples’ Republic of China (PRC) and resilience from the faithful during the Reform Era. While the PRC loosened some of its policies from the Cultural Revolution, it still tried to control the Chinese Catholic Church and did not totally abandon its goal of eradicating religion from China. These attempts at control were met with resistance from Chinese Catholics which led to increased religious devotion and freedom for them. Therefore, the relationship between the Catholic Church in China and the PRC during the Reform Era was characterized by hostility from the PRC, which can be seen through the development of the “underground” church, and resilience against these forces from Chinese Catholics, as shown in the ways in which the Chinese faithful maintained their faith despite opposition.

The PRC’s Opposition to the Chinese Catholic Church During the Reform Era

This formation of the “underground” church represented a victory for the PRC in its quest to regulate and ultimately destroy religion in China as it resulted in a more unstable Chinese Catholic Church during the Reform Era. The PRC had always been opposed to foreign influences on China and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) saw the Vatican as one of those foreign influences from early stages of the PRC (Madsen 471). “In 1957, the government found five bishops who were willing to assume leadership within the CPA, and, in violation of Church canon law, these bishops consecrated several other bishops without Vatican approval” (Madsen 472). This represented an attempt by the PRC to control the Chinese Catholic Church and this continued into the Reform Era when “the official government policies (set forth in 1982 in Party Central Committee “Document 19”) required that all Catholic religious activities be firmly under the supervision of the CPA” (Madsen 472). 

This hyperregulation on the part of the PRC led many Catholics away from the CPA as “most Catholics, both clergy and laity, refused to participate in institutions controlled by these bishops” (Madsen 472). The Vatican saw this development and it facilitated the creation of the “underground” church through “regulations that” they “had secretly directed towards the Chinese Church in 1978,” which was contrasted with the PRC sanctioned or “open/patriotic” (Madsen 472; Mariani 32 2003). This was an attempt by the Vatican to avoid the PRC’s control over the Chinese Catholic Church as the purpose of the “underground” church was to have a place for Chinese Catholics where they could have access to priests and bishops who were guaranteed to have authority and sacramental power with Vatican approval (Madsen 472). 

This was incredibly important as the Catholic Church is a highly centralized and structured religion where connection to the Vatican is not only an integral part of the administrative structure of the Church, but also its spiritual structure (Rodriguez). In order for a Catholic to properly receive the sacraments, one has to receive them from a properly ordained priest, which means that in order for Catholics to properly receive the sacraments, they must be connected to the Vatican. This can be contrasted with a religion like Daoism where there is no hierarchical structure and while there are important spiritual institutions, such as monastic communities, one need not be connected to these institutions in order to be a practicing and faithful Daoist (Hansen). 

The founding of the “underground” church was successful insofar as Chinese Catholics now have a secure source of spiritual nourishment, but it had the unintended consequence of causing division in other ways. Even though the “underground” was founded under the directives of the Vatican, the PRC still held a tight grip over the Chinese Catholic Church and separation between the Vatican and the “underground” church formed as a result. This resulted in tension between the “underground” church and the “open/patriotic” church (Tang and Wiest 53). Such tension shows the ability of the PRC to manipulate religious institutions to further their goals. This also shows the reality that the PRC did not try to change its end with the publishing of Document 19, but simply tried to regulate and control religion in a new way so that the ends of the PRC could be achieved as the PRC did not appreciate the Vatican interfering with the affairs of the Chinese Catholic Church. Moreover, this can be seen as continuation of the aversion to the “four olds” from the Cultural Revolution as the hostility towards the Vatican was, in large part, a hostility towards the foreignness of the Vatican.

This division can be further seen in the consecration of ​​Aloysius Jin Luxian (Mariani 42 2014). Jin was a Chinese Jesuit who had resisted the impostions of the PRC on the Catholic Church and was imprisoned in 1956 as a result (Mariani 43 2014). He was eventually released from prison and in the 1980s, was selected to be the “auxiliary bishop of Shanghai” and “he was also a coadjutor bishop, which meant that he had the right of succession to “Bishop” Aloysius Zhang Jiashu,” who was the Bishop of Shanghai at the time (Mariani 42 2014). This was problematic, however, as Zhang was not himself a properly consecrated bishop and Jin’s appointment had no papal approval, and if they had moved forward with the consecration despite not having papal approval, the prelates involved would have incurred automatic excommunication (Mariani 42-43 2014). Jin was consecrated anyways, despite lacking papal approval (Mariani 43 2014). 

This consecration is a perfect example of the desperate situation the PRC has placed the Chinese Catholic Church in during the Reform Era. The “underground” church was formed in order to subvert the PRC’s attempts to control the Chinese Catholic Church, but it ended up distancing the Chinese Catholic Church from Rome and led to further fragmentation within the Chinese Catholic Church, as seen with the consecration of Bishop Jin. This can all be seen as a continuation of the PRC’s policies during the Cultural Revolution which were aimed to suppress religion. These policies simply took a more subtle form during the Reform Era as the PRC realized that the policies of the Cultural Revolution were not as successful in achieving the ends of the PRC as they had hoped. All of this taken together shows how the development of “underground” churches led to a more divided and unstable Chinese Catholic Church which was more susceptible to the influence of the PRC. 

The Resilience of the Chinese Faithful during the Reform Era

This instability, however, was not the whole story and the Catholic response to the opposition of the PRC demonstrates the resilience of Chinese Catholics during the Reform Era. Christianity has a tradition of martyrdom and celebrating those who have kept the faith in the face of persecution and this can be seen during the Reform Era. As Goosaert and Palmer point out: “The imprisonment, torture, and execution of many priests . . . and lay leaders only steeled the resolve of communities, which developed narratives of martyrdom and of bearing the cross for their faith . . . It was such people who, once released, returned to minister to their flocks in caves, in fields, and in private homes at night, or even to missionize to other villages” (Goosaret and Palmer 380). Many of the Chinese faithful were able to thrive despite the threat of the PRC and this only strengthened their faith. Chinese Catholics saw themselves in continuity with this great tradition of martyrdom which bolstered their faith as they felt a new spiritual connection with their ancestors in the faith. This also frustrated the PRC as they were surprised to find that their efforts to subvert the Chinese Catholic Church actually strengthened that Church in a paradoxical way. 

The formation of the “underground” church also created a space for Chinese Catholics to be in contact with Rome, their spiritual home. The “underground” church was a haven for Chinese Catholics who did not trust the CPA (Madsen 472). It was an incredibly bold move to form the “underground” church as it was an explicit act of disobedience against the PRC and would have been met with harsh punishments against those who were involved in the church. This shows incredible resolve on the part of Chinese Catholics as they were willing to disobey the government for the sake of their faith. This also represents a subversion of the PRC’s plan to control religion as what fundamentally characterized the members of the “underground” church was a recognition of the priority of their faith over the PRC. It also displays the limitations of the extent to which the PRC could control its citizens as these Chinese Catholics were moved by inner faith which could not be extinguished by the PRC. 

This reality is also very Protestant as the inner convictions of these Chinese Catholics was the main motivation for forming and participating in this “underground” church. This commonality between Chinese Protestants and Catholics is also shown in the very nature of the “underground” church itself as it had a direct parallel in the Protestant “house churches” (Madsen 473). It also represents a spiritual communion between Chinese Protestants and Catholics as both sought to subvert the PRC’s agenda in similar ways and this continues into the present day as Chinese Protestants and Catholics are the most vocal supporters of increased religious liberty in China. So this contemporary alliance between Chinese Protestants and Catholics can be seen as having roots in the Reform Era.

There is also the fact that the PRC “made concessions to Catholic concerns about doctrinal and sacramental integrity” and “most decisions on theological and liturgical matters were left to the Chinese Catholic Bishops conference, not to the CPA” (Madsen 473). This represents a victory for Chinese Catholics as the PRC finally officially recognized the legitimacy of the Chinese Catholic Bishops conference and Catholics who were dissatisfied with the CPA. This does represent a significant shift in the policy of the PRC and shows a move towards more tolerance of Catholicism in China and this was, in large part, due to the subversion of the PRC’s older policies by Chinese Catholics. The PRC felt that they could no longer control the Chinese Catholic Church in the way they wanted to and so they ended up conceding to Chinese Catholics. While this was not a total concession of control by the PRC, as was discussed earlier, it shows that the resilience of Chinese Catholics was not in vain and that this resilience led to real, palpable change. Moreover, The PRC of the Cultural Revolution would never have made such concessions to the Church as it was solely focused on extinguishing the “four olds.” The fact that Catholicism is foreign to China would have only made it even more impossible for the PRC of the Cultural Revolution to make concessions to the Chinese Catholic Church. These concessions, therefore, represent a transition to a more tolerant attitude towards religion from the PRC.

Conclusion

The Chinese Catholic Church exhibited a complex relationship with the PRC during the Reform Era. The relationship between the Chinese Catholic Church and the PRC can be characterized as a struggle where both sides were influenced by the other, although the PRC can be seen as being the more aggressive of the two as it sought to control the Chinese Catholic Church during the Reform Era. This struggle can be seen in the hostility towards the Chinese Catholic Church from the PRC, which is noticable through the development of the “underground” church, and resilience against these forces on the part of Chinese Catholics, as shown in the ways in which the Chinese faithful maintained their faith despite opposition. An interesting thing to note is that the Vatican has recently moved towards seeking reconciliation with the PRC. This has resulted in the Vatican failing to aid the “underground” church which has put many Chinese Catholics in an odd position where they feel somewhat estranged from the Vatican, but also hopeful that relations between the Vatican and PRC will improve so that Chinese Catholics will finally be able to practice their faith openly (Masláková & Satorová 446). How this development will unfold is a mystery, but it will be an area for future inquiry and historical exploration.

Works Cited

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Masláková, Magdaléna, and Anežka Satorová. “The Catholic Church in Modern China: How Does State Regulation Influence the Church?” Religions, vol. 10, no. 7, 2019, p. 446., https://doi.org/10.3390/rel10070446. 

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Tang, Edmond, and Jean-Paul Wiest. The Catholic Church in Modern China: Perspectives. Wipf & Stock, 2013.