"I think it is important that we say that Pope Francis made a distinction. Evangelisation is really to help people to understand the love of God — and the love of God without the agenda of turning them into Catholics. Because that shouldn't be the focus, as that focus would be very restrictive," Chow said.

During an interview in Rome on September 28, Chow (pictured) referenced Pope Francis' distinction between "evangelisation" and "proselytism".

"Evangelisation is essentially witness," Francis told the Jesuits in Mozambique in 2019. "Proselytising is convincing, but it is all about membership and takes your freedom away."

Cardinal Chow echoed this sentiment. He emphasised that the focus of evangelisation should be on helping people understand God's love as a source of goodwill and a better life.

"And it does not begin by trying to convince others, but by witnessing every day to the beauty of the love that has looked upon us and lifted us up," he said.

Religious restrictions in China

Considering increased religious restrictions in China, Cardinal Chow's message of evangelisation there has added significance.

Catholic priests can minister only in recognised places of worship. People under the age of 18 are prohibited from entering.

Recent government measures further limit religious activities to government-approved venues. The display of religious symbols outdoors is banned and requires preaching to align with "core socialist values".

Despite these challenges, two mainland Chinese bishops have been permitted to travel to Rome to participate in the Synod on Synodality assembly in October. There, Cardinal Chow will serve as a synod delegate, personally nominated by Pope Francis.

Cardinal Chow said he is "excited that the laypeople - men and women - and religious are represented as full voting members."

Sources

Catholic News Agency

CathNews New Zealand

The decision by the United Front Work Department of the Chinese Communist Party, first reported by America, the Jesuit magazine, is the latest sign of tension in the already strained relations between China and the Holy See.

Flying to Mongolia on Aug 31 for his four-day visit, Francis issued a telegram while in Chinese airspace to the country's president, Xi Jinping: "Assuring you of my prayers for the wellbeing of the nation, I invoke upon all of you the divine blessings of unity and peace," the pope wrote.

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Rev. Lazarus, general secretary of the Lahu Baptist Convention in Kyaing Tong, eastern Shan State, said that about 100 Wa Christians were released recently after signing a pledge to pray only privately.

However, he said 92 ethnic-Lahu Christians were still held by the United Wa State Army (UWSA).

Myanmar's largest non-state army has upped its persecution of Christians, detaining pastors and destroying churches in areas bordering China and Thailand in Shan state, a new report has revealed.

Last month the Asia Times reported that UWSA recently released a six-point statement instructing all of its military officers and administrators to "find out what the [Christian] missionaries are doing and what are their intentions."

The Chinese language statement vowed to punish any local administration cadres who support missionary activities, bans the construction of new Christian churches, and requires that priests and workers in existing churches must be local, not foreign.

In September, Rev. Soe Naing, a Catholic, said he had heard that the UWSA has called and questioned clergy about whether they are doing development work or persuading people to convert to Christianity.

"If an individual or an organization builds a church in any area, they investigate to see whether it is being built because it is in a Christian community or whether it is being built to proselytise to get people to convert to Christianity," he said.

The United Wa State Army (UWSA), a 30,000-strong ethnic armed group comprising the military wing of the United Wa State Party (UWSP), has set up a self-proclaimed autonomous area bordering China and Thailand in Shan state.

Source

• ucanews.com
• reliefweb.int
• Image: atimes.com

"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 have plagued China-Vatican relations since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949 more than the question papal authority.

China's political leaders remain uncomfortable with foreign leaders exercising power over Chinese citizens, and Chinese Catholics are among the only people in China who submit to an outside power.

In 1951, China's new communist government committed itself to solving the problem of the "foreign pope" by installing a Chinese one. Party officials approached the Vincentian archbishop, Joseph Zhou Jishi, and invited him to be the pope.

Zhou responded that he would be happy to serve as pope, as long as his election was made by the cardinals of the Church in Rome, and that once elected he would live and lead the entire Catholic Church from his papal apartment at the Vatican.

For his answer, Archbishop Zhou was arrested in May 1951, subjected to three "people's trials," and sent to prison.

Since 1949 China's Catholics have struggled to find ways of remaining loyal to the successor of St. Peter that assuage the government's requirement to obey the pope in only "spiritual matters," and not in areas of administration.

This situation has created a painful sense of separation between Chinese Catholics and their spiritual leader in Rome, and an expression of this pain was observed recently during the March 15th general audience with Pope Francis at St. Peter's.

Pope Francis allowed a group Chinese pilgrims to pass through the barrier of Swiss Guards and Vatican carabinieri, approaching him on their knees and sobbing.

These Chinese Catholics passed a few tender moments with the successor of the leader of the apostles. No pope has ever visited China, today he remains forbidden from visiting his flock in the Middle Kingdom.

While one pilgrim performed the traditional Chinese gesture of obedience, the kowtow, another asked him to bless their statue of Our Lady of Fatima.

There are two realities that define China's Catholics: Today they are sustained by their abiding devotion to Jesus Christ, and they are plagued by their abiding struggle to navigate between a political requirement to remain distanced from the pope of Rome and a spiritual requirement to submit to his authority.

Recent events in China highlight the complexities of this situation. Continue reading

Sources

• Catholic World Report article by Anthony E. Clark, an associate professor of Chinese history at Whitworth University.
• Image: New York Times