In a sign that things may be moving forward in China, the St Vincent de Paul Society has established charities in the atheist country – albeit under a non-Catholic name.
By Anthony Barich
THE Society of St Vincent de Paul has established 20 parish-based charity centres in China, but must operate under a different name to placate a government suspicious of the charity organisation’s ties to the Pope.
The Society has established centres in and around the city of Guangzhou (Canton) in the Guangdong Province, China’s southernmost mainland province, run in collaboration with local Catholic charities aligned with the government-sanctioned Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association.
The Society’s international President General Michael Thio, in Perth earlier this month, said that he made it clear to the Chinese government that the Society is present all over the world and that its main aim is to promote its mission to help alleviate the suffering of the poor, “and there is much to do in this area”.
The operations are the fruit of a year of planning before discussions with the Chinese government began three years ago, which Mr Thio said was receptive to the Society “so long as we followed the norms of the country – the (parish charities) must report to the parish community, which in turn reports to the local council”.
Mr Thio said that his recent visits to Canton have revealed that the Society’s collaboration with local Catholic charities in assisting the poor is doing well, and “so far we have not faced any problems as we don’t get involved in any political activities but focus on helping the poor”.
The Society steers clear of the “underground Church”, he said, which makes operations easier.
“When we go to a new country we’re very careful we don’t get into any political sidings, we lean only towards our charitable leanings. That gives us the freedom to be able to do the work of the mission of the society,” Mr Thio said.He believes that it is only a matter of time before China establishes relations with the Holy See, as “the new breed of leaders in China are more open and always think in terms of progress”.
“They know they have to move forward and engage with the world. This is the feeling I get when I go there,” he said. “The present Holy Father is very open, he knows China is going stay engaged with (the Holy See) and he’s looking forward to establishing ties in China.”
Recent events have had mixed responses.
In July, Chinese Bishop Julius Jia Zhiguo of Zhengding was released after 15 months in detention and, in his first Mass upon release, made a point of stating that he had not accepted the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association, nor the authority of the Bishops’ Conference of the Catholic Church in China, which are government-approved Church bodies.
China began suppressing the Church in the late 1950s when it established the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association, whose members initially were asked to reject ties with the Vatican.
Catholics who refused to join the patriotic association and overtly maintained their loyalty to the Vatican suffered decades of persecution.
For decades, the Catholic Church in China has existed with two communities: one in which Catholics register with the Chinese authorities – and therefore operate under certain official limits – and one in which Catholics practise the faith in a more clandestine fashion, who are known as the “underground Church” which is loyal to the Pope.
Recent progress was made in April when two Bishops were ordained with both the Pope’s and the Chinese government’s approval – the first Bishops ordained in mainland China since December 2007.
A 2007 letter from Pope Benedict XVI to Chinese Catholics urged reconciliation between the communities, which in some parts of China operate in the same areas, and emphasised that some aspects of the patriotic association were incompatible with Church teaching and said the Holy See “leaves the decision to the individual Bishop,” having consulted his priests, “to weigh … and to evaluate the possible consequences” of joining the association.