CNA: Reactions to Letter to Chinese Catholics to be studied by Vatican commission

Posted on 10 March 2008 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Reaction from Letter to Chinese Church being examined by papal commission

Vatican City, Mar 10, 2008 / 10:59 am (CNA).- A commission on the Church in China is meeting March 10-12 at the request of the Pope to examine the reaction from the Chinese Church to the recent letter he wrote to them and to analyze its implications in the daily life of their Church.  

The commission is made up of superiors from the different Vatican-based offices that help the Pope with issues related to the life of the Church in China and certain members of the Chinese episcopate and religious congregations.

According to a statement released by the Holy See’s Press office today, "This first meeting will examine the reactions to the Letter which the Holy Father sent to Chinese Catholics on 27 May 2007. The rich contents of the pontifical document will be analyzed in-depth and, in the light thereof, the principal aspects of the life of the Church in China will be considered".

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Fr. Z is the guy who runs this blog. o{]:¬)
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4 Responses to CNA: Reactions to Letter to Chinese Catholics to be studied by Vatican commission

  1. Matt Q says:
    10 March 2008 at 12:18 PM

    Dear Father Z:

    I don’t understand the purpose of the need for studying the letter. It wasn’t arbitrary. Since it was a letter affirming Chinese Catholics and Rome’s affection for them, what is there to study? Is it something on how to approach Chinese Catholics pastorally? Seems a bit confusing right now.

    If I’m not mistaken, the Tridentine Rite is used more in China than the Novus Ordo, one, because it is what they prefer, and, two, at the time the Novus Ordo came out, it the at the height of the evil Communist oppression there and never quite made inroads?

    Thanks.

  2. Fr. John Zuhlsdorf says:
    10 March 2008 at 12:23 PM

    Matt Q: I don’t understand the purpose of the need for studying the letter.

    “reaction” to the letter, I believe.

    If I’m not mistaken, the Tridentine Rite is used more in China than the Novus Ordo,

    That is not my understanding. I believe for the most part, the Novus Ordo is used even in the “underground” Church.

  3. J. Wong says:
    10 March 2008 at 1:27 PM

    I attended Mass twice at St. Joseph’s Church in Beijing during the Fall of 2005. The first was a Sunday TLM (low mass) and the second, also on a Sunday, a Novus Ordo in Mandarin. At that time, both TLM and NO of Mass were also celebrated at St. Francis Cathedral in Xian. I noted only Novus Ordo masses in other cities that I traveled to (Shanghai, Guangzhou, Guilin, Nanjing, Suzhou…)

  4. Matt Q says:
    10 March 2008 at 1:30 PM

    Thank you, Father, for replying. Now, LOL–not to belabor the point, if it’s the Reaction being studied, who’s reaction? The Chinese Faithful whom appreciated the Letter, or their Communist jailers whom DIDN’T? I hope this doesn’t turn into another GF Prayer thing.

    Thanks again. ;)

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