The leader of China’s Communist Party-sponsored version of the Catholic church will visit Hong Kong this month at the invitation of the city’s pope-appointed Roman Catholic cardinal, fostering dialogue as China-Vatican relations remain strained. Joseph Li, the state-appointed archbishop of Beijing, will take a five-day trip to Hong Kong starting Nov 14 at the invitation Read more
Posts Tagged ‘Catholic Church in China’
Pope, in Mongolia, sends apparent message to China on Catholic aims
Monday, September 4th, 2023On his first working day in Mongolia, the government feted the pope with traditional events such as a parade, including men on horseback dressed as ancient Mongol warriors. In an address to bishops, priests, missionaries and pastoral workers, he said Jesus gave no political mandate to his apostles but told them to alleviate the sufferings Read more
China vows more ‘friendly consensus’ amid Vatican complaints
Thursday, December 1st, 2022
China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson said the country is willing to expand the “friendly consensus” achieved with the Vatican over bishops’ nominations. Zhao Lijian (pictured) was responding to complaints from the Vatican that Beijing was violating a 2018 interim accord over bishop appointments. The Vatican issued an unusually harsh statement on Saturday complaining that Beijing on Read more
Catholic app shut down as part of Chinese government crackdown
Thursday, September 1st, 2022An app called CathAssist, designed for Chinese Catholics, was shut down last week. The company behind it was unable to get a licence from the Chinese government to continue operations. According to the CathAssist team, “Since the implementation of [new rules] on 1 March, we have made various efforts to apply for an Internet Religious Read more
New Chinese Catholic leaders to follow Communist Party principles
Thursday, August 25th, 2022Two state-sponsored church bodies in China have elected new leaders who promised to invigorate the Catholic faithful pastorally in line with the socialist principles of the Chinese Communist Party. The three-day 10th National Congress of Catholicism in China ended in Wuhan, the capital of Hebei province in central China, in August. The national conference is Read more
Pope hopes China deal on bishops will be renewed soon
Thursday, July 14th, 2022
Pope Francis said he hopes the Vatican’s agreement with China on the appointment of Roman Catholic bishops would be renewed in October. In an interview with Reuters, Francis discussed the China deal first struck in 2018 and to be renewed every two years. The agreement was put in place to ease a longstanding divide across Read more
Chinese bishop remains in detention one year on
Monday, May 30th, 2022A Vatican-approved Chinese bishop remains in detention more than one year after his arrest for allegedly violating the communist country’s repressive regulations on religious affairs. Bishop Joseph Zhang Weizhu of Xinxiang in Henan province was arrested on May 21 last year. His arrest came a day after police arrested 10 priests and an unknown number Read more
Christian funerals banned in China
Monday, February 10th, 2020
Christian funerals are banned in some areas of China as the government begins to enforce new regulations on religious practices. In the eastern province of Zhejiang, a set of Regulations on Centralized Funeral Arrangement are being enforced. These regulations ban priests from attending funeral prayers outside a religious place. The new rules – enacted in Read more
Chinese Catholics barricade themselves in church to prevent demolition
Monday, November 4th, 2019Priests and parishioners have barricaded themselves in a Catholic church in the Chinese province of Hebei. According to reports, the Catholics are attempting to prevent the Chinese government from tearing down the Church. The protest began at 6am Thursday morning at the church in Wu Gao Zhang, part of the Guantao district of Hebei, on Read more
Catholics in China: perseverance under Peter
Thursday, June 22nd, 2017
“We cannot command our final perseverance, but must ask it of God.” — St. Thomas Aquinas “St. Peter is the leader of the choir, the mouth of the apostles and the head of that tribe, the leader of the world, the foundation of the Church, and the ardent lover of Christ.” — St. John Chrysostom Few issues Read more