Abstract
This chapter offers an account of the Chinese Catholic Church since 1978, when China opened its doors and John Paul II initiated his pontificate. John Paul II closely followed events in China, hoping to make a breakthrough in the relationship between the two sides. Pope Benedict XVI wrote a letter to Chinese Catholics in 2007. In 2013, the election of Pope Francis was compared to the inauguration of Xi Jinping. Ideological nationalism under the “Sinicization” program of Xi Jinping is a great challenge to Christianity today. The 2018 provisional agreement on the appointment of bishops was a breakthrough in Sino-Vatican relations. Nevertheless, the difficulties for the Catholic faithful, in both the official or underground communities, are far from being over.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Criveller, G. (2020). An Overview of the Catholic Church in Post-Mao China. In: Chu, Cy., Mariani, P. (eds) People, Communities, and the Catholic Church in China. Christianity in Modern China. Palgrave Pivot, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-1679-5_2
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-1679-5_2
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Pivot, Singapore
Print ISBN: 978-981-15-1678-8
Online ISBN: 978-981-15-1679-5
eBook Packages: Religion and PhilosophyPhilosophy and Religion (R0)