Although the Chinese Constitution formally guarantees freedom of religion, understood as the freedom to believe and practice a religious cult, nevertheless the evaluation of authorizing religious practice falls within the governmental powers. This study focuses in particular on the case of Christian-Catholics, also with regard to the very recent events that have seen the Catholic Church in China as a protagonist. It is good to observe, in fact, that, in the difficult and delicate panorama of the study of religious discrimination in China, the ideological and political context of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) cannot be underestimated, the objectives it sets itself, also through a formal regulation of religious freedom. With the agreement signed in 2018 between the Holy See and China, which is about to be extended, the clandestine Catholic Church seems to find itself in a very delicate situation and not without risks and uncertainties: on the one hand there is a certain resistance to joining the Patriotic Catholic Church on the other hand, the government, even through drastic methods, pushes the faithful, fearful of ending up on the list of xie jiao (and risking being criminally prosecuted for this) to adhere to the confessions controlled by the party. The Catholic Church is called to "use Chinese culture to express the faith" and "to shape Catholic culture with Chinese characteristics". It is the challenge of the new Asian Christianity, much desired by Pope Francis, in continuity with his predecessors.
Covid 19 between the chinese patriotic church and the underground church in the diocese of Shangai (China)
Tavani Angela Patrizia
2020-01-01
Abstract
Although the Chinese Constitution formally guarantees freedom of religion, understood as the freedom to believe and practice a religious cult, nevertheless the evaluation of authorizing religious practice falls within the governmental powers. This study focuses in particular on the case of Christian-Catholics, also with regard to the very recent events that have seen the Catholic Church in China as a protagonist. It is good to observe, in fact, that, in the difficult and delicate panorama of the study of religious discrimination in China, the ideological and political context of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) cannot be underestimated, the objectives it sets itself, also through a formal regulation of religious freedom. With the agreement signed in 2018 between the Holy See and China, which is about to be extended, the clandestine Catholic Church seems to find itself in a very delicate situation and not without risks and uncertainties: on the one hand there is a certain resistance to joining the Patriotic Catholic Church on the other hand, the government, even through drastic methods, pushes the faithful, fearful of ending up on the list of xie jiao (and risking being criminally prosecuted for this) to adhere to the confessions controlled by the party. The Catholic Church is called to "use Chinese culture to express the faith" and "to shape Catholic culture with Chinese characteristics". It is the challenge of the new Asian Christianity, much desired by Pope Francis, in continuity with his predecessors.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
