The Next Pope Could Change the Future of Chinese Catholicism

Exploring the origins of Catholicism in China and how it functions in modern times.

With the passing of Pope Francis, the wait for a new Vicar of Christ is upon us. The conclave begins tomorrow and there are some implications for China regarding who will be selected.

Before we get into the weeds here, I want to express how much I appreciate Pope Francis’ work over the past 12 years. It wasn’t always that way, however. When I became an active Catholic again, I was one of his detractors. Like many, I believed the misleading headlines and out-of-context quotes indicating he was undermining Church teaching. In reality, Pope Francis maintained the beliefs of the Church and did so in a Christlike manner. I am not prideful to say that I have wept more in the past week than I have in years. We lost a faithful shepherd who embodied Christ’s work and someone who felt like a grandparent to many of us. His charity and kindness lived up to his papal name of Francis. Rest in peace Holy Father, we will miss you and the love you showed God’s children.

Now, let’s jump in. Firsly, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is officially an atheist country, but the Chinese Constitution guarantees freedom of religion.

“Article 36 Citizens of the People’s Republic of China shall enjoy freedom of religious belief.

No state organ, social organization or individual shall coerce citizens to believe in or not to believe in any religion, nor shall they discriminate against citizens who believe in or do not believe in any religion.

The state shall protect normal religious activities. No one shall use religion to engage in activities that disrupt public order, impair the health of citizens or interfere with the state’s education system.

Religious groups and religious affairs shall not be subject to control by foreign forces.” (The State Council of The People’s Republic of China, 2019)

We will focus on the last statement today: “Religious groups and religious affairs shall not be subject to control by foreign forces.” Think about the role of the Vatican in the world today. While it is a sovereign microstate within Rome, Italy, its powers and influence are far-reaching. They are the center of a plethora of branches and dioceses that exist throughout the world. The Vatican reserves the right to appoint, remove, and relocate its personnel to different locations. However, while Catholicism exists in China, the Vatican finds it more difficult to operate in than with other nations.

After all, in the context of the Chinese Constitution, I would define the Vatican as a ‘foreign force.’ You might then ask, how can Catholicism exist in China without the Vatican? Well, let’s introduce you to the middleman, the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association (中國天主教愛國會). The Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association (hereby referenced as the CCPA) is a national organization that oversees Catholicism in the PRC. The association was formed in 1957, after almost a decade of various manifestos (Guangyuan, Chongqing, etc.) penned by Chinese Catholics to condemn foreign imperialism.

It is because of foreign imperialism that the CCP legislated that no foreign forces shall control any religious groups or religious affairs in China. While the imperialism China suffered under was not inherently in the name of a certain religion, it is still perceived to represent the dark colonial past and the Century of Humiliation. To better understand this association, we have to look back at history.

Though the Catholic Church played a significant role in the spread of world colonialism, their approach in China was notably different. In one of my previous articles, I briefly described Matteo Ricci’s life when I visited the parish where he founded The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Beijing. Like the late Pope Francis, Matteo Ricci was also a Society of Jesus (Jesuit) member. Before entering the mainland, Ricci lived amongst Portuguese merchants in Macau. While he was there, he studied the language and customs of the Chinese people so that he could better perform his mission. In addition to that, he sought to compose a complete world map in the Chinese language to facilitate an exchange of knowledge and make his presence more valuable. Eventually, in 1601, he was finally invited to the imperial court by the Wanli Emperor. It is important to note that the Wanli Emperor didn’t invite him because of his faith but because of his versatile expertise in science, mathematics, and astronomy. Essentially, he was coveted for the wisdom he brought to the table. His ability to predict solar eclipses accurately, was one of his skills that the Chinese found so significant. Despite becoming an adviser in the Imperial Court, he died never meeting the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty.

The difference between the Catholic mission in China and anywhere else is that China’s ruling class was well-educated, and their power was well-centralized. The Jesuits had to approach them as equals, not as ‘Godless savages.’ I believe it is precisely because of this reason that the Catholic faith and China were such a good fit. Matteo Ricci and other Jesuits who followed him realized that Chinese culture went back several thousands of years before Jesus Christ was even born. Their philosophies were well-refined, and the culture was a relatively consistent one. Challenging the Confucians and Taoists would be pure folly. While he did challenge them (See his work, The True Meaning of the Lord of Heaven), he aimed to find common ground with his ideological counterparts. Instead of exerting the Catholic faith over the culture, Ricci aimed to appropriate already existing ideas.

An example was the borrowing of a Chinese term, Tiānzhǔ (天主), and using it to describe God the Father. Beyond that, he carefully selected words synonymous with Confucianism and used them when explaining the Catholic faith. This practice allowed him to convince the skeptics within the Chinese literati and noble classes that there was plenty of common ground. Beyond vocabulary, Ricci accommodated Chinese customs, specifically ancestor worship (An example would be the Qingming Festival), and allowed converts to continue doing what they have always done.

Ricci’s respect for the Chinese culture made him the pioneer of the Catholic faith in China. His methods were highly successful, and because of them, Catholicism was poised to enjoy a long and mutually beneficial relationship with the Chinese people. So much so that the growth of the faith far exceeded that of other Christian denominations that arrived in China first.

While this all sounds good, the Ming Dynasty fell in 1644. With a new ruling class coming in (the Qing Dynasty), the Jesuits had to respond strategically. Whatever plan they had, they executed it extremely well. Despite gaining influence in the Ming Dynasty, Catholicism in China enjoyed its best spell during the early Qing Dynasty, but it was not fated to last long.

After Dominican friars who came to Beijing from the Philippines saw the Jesuit approach, they were horrified. This revelation kicked off the Chinese Rites Controversy.

Discussing the Chinese Rites Controversy warrants its own body of work, much less an article, but I will do my best to explain the situation succinctly. The Dominicans saw the Jesuits' accommodations as both sacrilegious and blasphemous. They reported back to the Vatican what they saw, which later led to them cracking down on the accommodation policy.

However, in the 17th century, things didn’t happen so quickly, especially instructions from thousands of miles away. For a time, Catholicism flourished even more in the new Qing regime. While Matteo Ricci was never able to get the ear of the Ming emperor, one of his successors, Johann Adam Schall von Bell (who features as a character in my historical fiction novel The Last Jinyiwei), became a close adviser to the Shunzhi Emperor. Even more significant was the work of Ferdinand Verbiest, who became good friends with the Kangxi Emperor.

However, under the Kangxi Emperor’s reign, Catholicism finally started to decline in China. Given that Father Verbiest was his close friend, the Kangxi Emperor felt quite partial to those of the same faith. However, the seeds the Dominicans sowed in Rome had finally sprouted. From 1704 onward, Pope Clement XI decreed that Chinese rites and Confucian rituals were incompatible with the Catholic faith. The Kangxi Emperor did not initially respond to the Holy See and preferred to communicate with the missionaries within the country instead. The missionaries were told that if they wanted to continue preaching in the country, they would have to follow the rules of Matteo Ricci. Eventually, Pope Clement XI responded in a papal bull that officially condemned the Chinese rites. The Kangxi Emperor was furious and formally banned the Christian missions in China.

While officially prohibited, Catholicism continued to grow, albeit extremely slowly. In the 1800s, Western Imperialiists began to exert their will over the Qing and began what would later be known as the Century of Humiliation. One of the colonial powers, France branded itself as the protector of Chinese Catholics, which actually put it at odds with the Holy See. When the Qing fell and gave way to the Republic of China, the Vatican believed there was room to repair relations. The pair sought to establish diplomatic ties but were blocked from doing so by France, who thought they were the sole arbiter of the Catholic faith in China.

While the Vatican did not explicitly engage in colonialism in China, France did. Their presentation as the authority on Catholicism during those times is probably one of the main inspirations for the creation of Article 36 in the Chinese constitution.

Now that we know the background of Catholicism in the country, we can understand the CCPA.

Let’s first discuss the beliefs of the CCPA. To the surprise of many, their theological beliefs are relatively consistent with Rome’s values despite being interpreted through a different lens. CCPA theology emphasizes leftist themes that can be interpreted within Biblical stories as analogs for socialist ideology. That may sound hypocritical, and at times, it could be, but it is important to realize there is overlap, especially when considering Catholic Social Teaching. Pope Francis, in particular, was a very popular Pontiff amongst Chinese Catholics and the CCPA, respectively. They deemed him a “good communist” (Maslákova & Satorová, 2019 p. 9) for his overlap with parts of liberation theology and criticism of capitalism. His humility and support for people experiencing poverty have won him high praise in the PRC.

Though organized as the Chinese administrator of the faith, the CCPA was not immune to hard times either. During the Anti-Rightist Campaign (1957-1959) and the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), public religious activities were scrutinized, leading to the CCPA dissolving for a time.

Even after Deng Xiaoping restored the state of religion with his reforms in the 1980s, many believers were reluctant to emerge from the shadows. Even though the CCPA reestablished itself, Catholicism in China split. As a Catholic, you had two choices: continue the underground church that persisted privately during the period of 1957-1976 or join the state-sanctioned CCPA.

While the language indicates that the underground church is secret, that is untrue, and it is crucial to make that distinction as many Westerners hear that term and erroneously believe Catholicism is outlawed in China. Underground churches in the context of China are essentially Catholic churches that refuse to associate with the CCPA and profess their loyalty to the Vatican.

I knew that Catholic Churches existed before I visited China, but I thought that the only time I would see them would be in the big cities. However, as we traveled to lesser industrialized and rural areas in Hebei and Zhejiang province, we did see small parishes sprinkled around. I did not have the opportunity to visit, unfortunately. However, if I had to guess, these remote churches are likely the ones to have clergy that exhibit loyalist beliefs while the ones situated in the major metropolitan areas are firmly aligned with the CCPA.

The existence of these underground churches threatened the faith and its believers in the country. Pope Francis seemed to recognize that and pushed towards an agreement with the PRC in September 2018. Previously, the CCPA appointed bishops at their discretion. This is a significant deviation to the Vatican’s usual operations. Usually, the pope appoints the bishops himself. However, Pope Francis reached a consensus with the CCPA so that they could still comply with Article 36 of the Chinese Constitution. From 2018 onward, the CCPA can nominate bishops to the Holy Father and give him the final say on whether or not to approve or veto their ordination. On top of this provision, Pope Francis went a step further and approved the following list of bishops: Joseph Guo Jincai, Joseph Huang Bingzhang, Paul Lei Shiyin, Joseph Liu Xinhong, Joseph Ma Yinglin, Joseph Yue Fusheng, Vincent Zhan Silu and Anthony Tu Shihua OFM. The latter of which was approved posthumously. (Holy See Press Office, 2018) Pope Francis chose to do this as a gesture of goodwill as these bishops were appointed by the CCPA without Vatican approval. The recognition of these individuals helped to further legitimize the faith in China whilst still complying with local regulations.

It's important to distinguish that the 2018 agreement is not political or diplomatic but is rather a religious one. In fact, there are still no diplomatic ties between China and the Vatican as that would warrant them not recognizing Taiwan. As a matter of fact, the Vatican City is the last country in Europe to recognize Taiwan as a country.

While not perfect, the agreement is vital for the faithful in China. The compromise from the Vatican on this matter has inspired many underground churches to join the CCPA and enjoy more freedom of practice. Though, the 2018 agreement is not without its detractors. The Hong Kong based cardinal, Joseph Zen, is one of the most voiced critics of the deal. The 92-year-old cardinal has been highly critical of Pope Francis and those responsible for the agreement. Zen and other more traditional members of the Catholic faith claimed this agreement was a sellout that would only hurt the faith in China in the long run.

In my opinion, I disagree wholeheartedly. Fervently maintaining the traditional order of things is respectable but incompatible with the current environment in China. Should the Vatican loyalists and priests in China adopt an uncompromising stance, their fate is one behind bars, not within the pews. Again, this choice can be seen as respectable and follow in line with various martyrs of the Church. However, I ask my traditional brothers and sisters this question: what is a flock without a shepherd?

The relationship between the Vatican and the PRC is not perfect. It stands to be improved during the reign of the next pontiff. Our next pope will have his hands full right at the beginning of his reign as it appears that China has violated the 2018 agreement after the Holy Father’s passing. (Mares, 2025). How will the next pope respond? Will they rescind the agreement altogether? Or take a page from Pope Francis’ book and accept the installation of these two bishops after the fact? I do not envy the next pontiff’s responsibilities in this matter, as it is a highly delicate issue.

I will not overly speculate who the next pope of the Catholic Church will be, but I will emphasize that whoever he is, he will play a pivotal role in Vatican-PRC relations.

It does ease me somewhat to hear that two of the favored choices for the pope represent a positive outlook on China. The first being Pietro Parolin, the former Vatican Secretary of State who was the engineer behind the Vatican’s 2018 agreement with the PRC. The second choice is Luis Antonio Tagle, who not only supports the Vatican-China agreement but also reportedly has Chinese ancestry on his mother’s side. (Pullella, 2022) That said, these two could be amongst the favorites now, but it is important to remember that nothing is guaranteed. A little over a decade ago, an older and unsuspecting Jorge Mario Bergoglio from Argentina stunned the world when he was selected.

Whatever happens, it’s important to understand that the dilemma of this underground church vs. the CCPA is a matter of politics. This issue matters very little to an average Chinese mass attendee, of course, with a caveat of those still attending an underground church.

I had the opportunity to visit the parish that the Venerable Matteo Ricci built while in Beijing. The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception was something of a pilgrimage for me as Matteo Ricci is a personal hero of mine for his work in China. With my own eyes, I saw a faithful community and parish that had a strong devotion to Mary, the Holy Mother. There is a beautiful Marian Shrine on the premises, just to the right of the statues of Matteo Ricci and Saint Francis Xavier (another important Catholic figure in China.) Following mass, several parishioners walked over to the left courtyard to ask Mary for an intercession. It was stunning to see. In terms of Church traditions, the mass was executed reverently and followed all customs to the letter.

Therein lies the reality of it all. From our couches and chairs thousands of miles away, the political nature of Catholicism in China seems quite big. Yet, when you are there sitting in the pews with the Chinese people, it invokes a very different feeling. All around us were people just looking to grow closer to God. Despite the church being a little cold inside, its atmosphere was warm and familiar and its worshippers piously Catholic.

So, as we approach the day of the conclave, I urge you to remember one thing. The Catholic Church in China first established itself with compromise and accommodation in mind. Had Matteo Ricci not adapted the faith to the local customs and beliefs, Catholicism would have fallen flat on its face in the country. Yet now, some choose to decry the 2018 Vatican-China agreement as a sellout. If you find yourself within that camp, please consider that the Dominicans during the 1600s felt the same way about Ricci’s approach, and 3 centuries later, Pope Pius XII reaffirmed the Jesuit visionary’s policy of accommodation. If Catholicism is to thrive in China, the clergy and Vatican leaders must play the long game.

Should the next pope choose to walk back on the 2018 Vatican-China Agreement, he would repeat the same mistake Pope Clement XI made over 200 years ago. The Catholic faith would become as good as dead in China, or at minimum, become a caricature of itself as the CCPA takes full control without the Vatican’s input.

I pray that the next pope continues Ricci’s policy of accommodation and builds off Pope Francis’ work to stabilize the Catholic faith in China.

However, as with everything, we must surrender ourselves to the Holy Spirit as he guides the Cardinal electorates in the upcoming conclave.

God, please let us have the pope You desire, not the one that we want.

References

David, R. (2023, April 30). China’s “patriotic” and “underground” Catholics. INQUIRER.net. https://opinion.inquirer.net/162779/chinas-patriotic-and-underground-catholics

Lau, M. (2020, October 23). China and the Vatican renew controversial bishops deal after “good start.” South China Morning Post. https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3106657/beijing-and-vatican-renew-controversial-bishops-deal

Lavanga, C. (Ed.). (2018, September 22). Vatican announces deal with China on bishop appointments. NBCNews.com. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/vatican-announces-deal-china-bishop-appointments-n912186

Matteo Ricci, SJ (1552-1610). Ignatian Spirituality. (2023, August 15). https://www.ignatianspirituality.com/ignatian-voices/16th-and-17th-century-ignatian-voices/matteo-ricci-sj/

Pang, J., & Torode, G. (2022, May 24). Hong Kong catholic cardinal criticises China deal after national security arrest | reuters. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/hong-kong-catholic-cardinal-criticises-china-deal-after-national-security-arrest-2022-05-24/

Rocca, F. X. (2018, September 22). Vatican and China Sign Deal Over Bishops, Allowing Pope a Veto. The Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/vatican-and-china-agree-deal-over-bishops-allowing-pope-a-veto-1537613087

Wimmer, A. (2024, October 19). “pray for a decent end to the synod”: Cardinal zen and George Weigel criticize Vatican’s China strategy. Catholic News Agency. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/259961/synod-zen-and-sinicization-vatican-s-china-deal-sparks-tensions