By Andrea Tornielli
“The Church in China is the same as the Catholic Church in other countries of the world: we belong to the same faith, share the same baptism, and we are all faithful to the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church.”
With these words, Bishop Joseph Yang Yongqiang, bishop of Hangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang Province in China, conveyed his greetings to the Synod a few days ago.
He is one of two bishops from mainland China participating in the ongoing second session of the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod, taking place in the Vatican.
He was joined by Bishop Vincent Zhan Silu, bishop of Xiapu (Funing) in the coastal province of Fujian.
This marks the third time that two bishops from the People’s Republic of China have taken part in the Synod, following previous occasions in 2018 and 2023 (the Synod on Youth and the first session of the Synod on Synodality, respectively).
Before the signing of the provisional agreement between the Holy See and the Chinese government in September 2018, bishops from mainland China had not been able to participate in the Second Vatican Council or the subsequent Synods of Bishops.
Bishop Yang Yongqiang recalled these gatherings in communion with the universal Church.
“We follow the evangelical spirit of ‘becoming all things to all people’,” he said. “We effectively adapt to society, serve it, adhere to the direction of the sinicization of Catholicism, and preach the Good News. The Catholic Church in China has initiated active exchanges with Catholic communities around the world based on the principles of equality, friendship, and mutual respect. We conduct exchanges on topics such as evangelization and pastoral care in the Church, social services, and theological studies; we actively participate in international meetings and prayer activities of religions for peace; we strive to be like ‘light and salt’ for world peace and the promotion of a community where humanity can enjoy a shared destiny; finally, we promote development through various types of projects.”
The bishop concluded by extending “a welcome to Catholic communities and religious groups from all countries who wish to visit the Church in China.”
Bishop Zhan Silu focused his remarks on the history of Christianity in China, recalling the figure of the Jesuit missionary, Fr Matteo Ricci, and his “experiment” to “adapt the Christian Gospel to different human practices.”
However, noted Bishop Zhan Silu, “the discernment between cultural differences and the need to preserve the authenticity of the Christian faith became a source of confusion for missionaries in China. This confusion led to the famous Rites Controversy, which took place precisely in my diocese, in Mindong. From a historical perspective, one of the reasons for this setback was that the Church ignored the differences and complementarity of human cultures.”
“Being a synodal Church engaged in the mission of evangelization,” continued Bishop Zhan Silu, “means respecting and listening to the voices of different stories, cultures, and traditions in the journey of seeking humanity’s ultimate goal, which is God.”
Among the issues that the Chinese Church must face with fresh eyes, the bishop concluded, are “how to address the challenges that mixed marriages present for family education; how to adapt to local laws and regulations; or how to resolve the confusion that exists among the laity between popular beliefs and some aspects of traditional culture. The Church in this new era has been given a new task of discernment, even though the voice of the Holy Spirit is always gentle and difficult to distinguish. For this very reason, learning humbly from both historical and current experiences is an important way to evangelize, that is, to discern the new path the Lord is indicating to the Church.”
