Chinese Catholics are resisting Beijing’s campaign to restrict religious freedom. As the law forbids minors from entering places of worship, Catholics are “reinventing” their homes as temporary “churches” for services that can include the whole family. “Each family is continuing its faith activities at home and maintaining its strong bonds with God,” says a young Read more
Eradicating all religions apart from “open” state-sanctioned ones is part of an “ambitious new effort” in China, according to a recent Associated Press (AP) investigation. AP found churches in China being shut down, Bibles being seized and restrictions being placed on a number of religions. Crescents have been removed from mosques. Tibetan children have been Read more
Chinese dioceses have been told to prepare local versions of a sinicisation programme. The programme aims to bring Catholicism, Protestantism, Islam, Daoism and Buddhism Churches more in-line with the government’s understanding of Chinese culture, society and politics. For Catholics, a spokesperson says the programme could also be a factor in ongoing Chinese-Vatican relations. “China and Read more
Catholics in China’s Henan province are the subject of new government-issued rules. Some see these as tightening restrictions against Catholics in the province. Henan is thought to have one of the most significant proportions of Christians of any Chinese province. According to Pew Institute figures, 10 percent of China’s ten million Catholics are concentrated there. Read more
The Patriotic Association of Chinese Catholics and the Council of Chinese Bishops has approved the “Five-Year Plan of Development for the Sinicisation of the Catholic Church in China.” The plan aims to develop the Catholic Church altering religious principles and practices to match Chinese communist ideals and eliminate “foreign influence” ensuring governmental control of all Read more
Chinese authorities have detained 21 Japanese missionaries over the past few weeks. The missionaries were working in several southwestern provinces and in the northwestern autonomous region of Ningxia. The detention of the 21 Christian group members is thought to be part of the Chinese authorities’ efforts to crack down on missionary work. They are categorising missionary Read more
China is backing enhanced international collaboration to help fight global organ trafficking. At an organ trafficking summit at the Vatican’s Pontifical Academy of Sciences this week, Wang Haibo said global collaboration could start with sharing information and developing a coding system. Wang, who is head of the China Organ Transplant Response System, suggested China’s organ Read more
Cardinal Zen would do well to take a short course in Catholic history. In what is both false and misleading, Cardinal Zen keeps repeating the claim that the Vatican’s behavior in its relations with Beijing on the appointment of bishops in China is “unprecedented.” It is not and it is false to claim it is Read more
Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kuin, 86, sits down for lunch. Chatting and smiling, he lists the options for main course at a private dining room in Bishop Lei International House, a church-owned hotel founded originally as a school for the De La Salle brothers. It’s perched high in the Mid-Levels of Hong Kong Island, high but Read more
What is happening right now is no way unprecedented in recent Catholic history in China. Moral outrage and high emotion are a potent cocktail. Such is what is reverberating around the world right now about the Vatican’s moves to replace two bishops in China. The events have triggered reports and comments in the Catholic media Read more