China Church

Donglu is a tinny village with a huge church in china.
The church is a gothic-style.
A scene of tense occurred in 1996 between ruling communist party and the faithful.
How was it like?
Authorities surrounded the church.
Authorities blocked the pilgrims and detained the bishop.
His name was Su.
He was a Vatican ordained bishop and a member of the underground church.
There are two kind of church in china: underground church & state-backed official church.
Underground church recognizes the pope’s authority to name bishops, the other didn’t.
There have been so many repeated appeals from Vatican officials and underground clergy to Chinese authorities.
It is unclear whether Su is still being held or is even alive. He would now be 86.
Decades on, church’s ties with official are now convivial.
Dio is a local priest.
These ties are reflecting a generational shift towards acceptance of the ruling communist party’s authority over china’s catholics.
Before, it was as if they kept wanting to see what we were hiding in our fist (kepalan tangan).
Bu then, we opened it.
And they realized there was nothing dangerous in there in the first place.





There was a secretive deal with the Vatican last month.
The deal gives the holy see a long-sought and decisive say over the appointment of new bishop.
It sets the stage for Beijing to recognize some underground congregations.
Details of how and when this process might happen have not been released.
 Previously, there were stark divisions between underground Catholics (loyal to the Vatican) and churches officially registered with the Chinese authorities.
The divisions have blurred in recent years.

The older generation that had expressed staunch opposition to the party are either silenced or dead.
It reflects acceptance of government oversight by the faithful.
The coming together reflects growing.
As Vatican pushes for a reconciliation with Beijing.
Zen is an outspoken former archbishop of Hongkong.
He has led an international chorus of conservative critics.
the critics say the deal is a sellout to the communist party.
The deal is also an insult (penghinaan) to those who had suffered under oppression.

 
There are many opponents of the secretive deal.
They warn the expected gradual folding of unofficial churches into a government system of control.
The folding risks abandoning a group of loyalist bishops and priest.
They have resisted joining the catholic patriotic association and have been punished as a result.
CPA is the state-backed church,

BLURRED LINES
China says …
There are 6 million catholics in the country, across 98 officially approved diocess.
the Holly Spirit Study center is run by the diocese of Hongkong.
It estimates that that there are 10 million believes spread over 144 dioceses.
Such discrepancies have been the subject of closed-door negotiations between Beijing and the Vatican for more than a decade.
The Vatican wants to preserve and expand the catholic community in china.
The Vatican went ahead with the provisional deal.
The Vatican has failed to address some outstanding points contention.
The Vatican feared the 2 churches would split even further apart.
The split may result in a schism that will become irreparable.
There was little a discernibly different between those at churches loyal to Beijing or the Vatican.

 


Donglu is now run under the leadership of bishop An.
An had been an underground coadjutor bishop alongside Su.
He had been granted right of succession by the Vatican.
An was also detained in the 1996 crackdown …but reappeared a decade later.

In 2009 he announced he had joined the Patriotic Association.
In 2010 he became the officially recognized bishop of Bao diocese where Do is located.
He declined to be interviewed when contacted by Reuters, citing health problems.
Dio is the village priest.

He hoped for an end to the divisions that have riven (membelah) the church since 1951.
In 1951 Beijing cut ties with the Vatican and banished its diplomatic mission.
People want to say they have more faith than others. They made these divisions.
The church was built in 1992 to replace the original shrine.
The original shrine was destroyed by Japanese bombers during WW 2.
 The church remains one of China’s most important pilgrimate sites.
Thousands travel there every May to celebrate … a claimed miraculous appearance of the virgin marry in 1990.

 

There is a depiction of our lady of china and the baby Jesus.
There is a painted image of a Chinese woman holding baby, both dressed in the yellow imperial robes of the Qing dynasty. This paint hangs in the church.
The dynasty ruled china until 1912.
Chinese president has overseen a tightening of restrictions on religious belief since 2012.
Muslims and Christians are being targeted most.
Regular weekend classes at one church had been cancelled by the authorities over the summer.
He declined to be a named for fear of retribution from the authorities.
declining to be named for fear of retribution from the authorities
In light of the Vatican deal, he preached patience and acceptance of government restrictions.
This is not about us who already believe; it is about those who did not yet believe.
We must have the foresight to think about how to let them find faith.

FRAGILE ACCORD
The deal between them was struck without resolution.
There was not resolution of some long-held church concerns over clerics in detention.
It is church sources familiar with the substance of the deal.
There are seven excommunicated Patriotic Association bishops ordained without church approval.



As part of the deal, the Vatican approved them, meaning all of them have now been accepted by the Holy See.
There are approximately 30 underground bishops whose uncertain fate could still scupper the accord.
This is a baby step and the relationship looks very fragile.
The acceptance of government-backed bishop has already started to blur the lines. As
More bishop were seen as both Vatican and Beijing - approved
The eyes of the government are still on those churches that have not registered.
The eyes of the government are still on those underground clerics that have not approved.