RESPONDING TO THE CALL
TOWARD A CHINESE CATHOLIC THEOLOGY IN DIALOGUE WITH THE UNIVERSAL CHURCH
Keywords:
Catholic Theology, Chinese Catholic Church, Chinese Characteristics, Inculturation, Lived Experience, Marian Devotion, SinoVaticanAbstract
In light of the continuing development of theology in the local Church, the Chinese Catholic Church is called to draw from its rich spiritual and cultural treasures to articulate its own distinctive theological voice, so it can further its mission in China and contribute to the communal discernment of the universal Church. This article responds to this call by proposing a triple-engagement in doing Chinese Catholic theology and identifies its two unique Chinese characteristics. It argues that Chinese Catholic theology ought to be done by considering the sacramentality of the history of Chinese Catholicism, everyday encounters of faith and transformation of life through inculturation, and the lived experience of Chinese Catholics in all its complexity and diversity as three valid grounds for theological reflection, and with sustained attention to the contextual reality of mainland China and the ways in which Chinese Catholic identity is expressed in the Chinese language and popular pieties. This article concludes by noting that the task of doing Chinese Catholic theology is a vocational one and requires the collaborative creativity of Chinese Catholic theologians in dialogue with the universal Church.
References
Francis, “Message of the Holy Father to the Catholics of China and to the Universal Church,” September 26, 2018, http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/ en/messages/pont-messages/2018/documents/papa-francesco_20180926_messaggio- cattolici-cinesi.html.
Yi Hui Yi Tuan 一会一ࢫ [CCPA and BCCCC], “推ᬰ我国天主教ࣙ持中国化方向 五年工作ᥢ划（2018 - 2022） [Five-Year Sinicization Plan (2018-2022)],” 中国天主教 [Catholic Church in China], October 8, 2018, http://www.chinacatholic.cn/html1/ report/1810/224-1.htm. The translation of this document used in this article is my own. Edward Schillebeeckx et al., Sacramentalizing Human History: In Honour of Edward Schillebeeckx (1914-2009), London: SCM Press, 2012.
Henrietta Harrison, The Missionary’s Curse and Other Tales from a Chinese Catholic Village, University of California Press, 2013, xiv.
Anthony E. Clark, ed., China’s Christianity: From Missionary to Indigenous Church, Leiden; Boston: Brill, 2017.
Jamie T. Phelps, ed., Black and Catholic: The Challenge and Gift of Black Folk: Contributions of African American Experience and Thought to Catholic Theology, Milwaukee: Marquette University Press, 1997.
Peter C. Phan, Asian Christianities: History, Theology, Practice, Maryknoll, New York: Orbis Books, 2018.
CCPA and BCCCC, “Five-Year Sinicization Plan (2018-2022).”
Diego Irarrázaval, Inculturation: New Dawn of the Church in Latin America, Eugene, Or.: Wipf & Stock, 2008.
Gerald A. Arbuckle, Culture, Inculturation, and Theologians: A Postmodern Critique, Collegeville, Minn: Liturgical Press, 2010.
Yiu Sing Lúcás Chan et al., ed., Doing Asian Theological Ethics in a Cross-Cultural and an Interreligious Context, Bengaluru, India: Dharmaram Publications, Dharmaram College, 2016.
Francis, “Evangelii Gaudium: Apostolic Exhortation on the Proclamation of the Gospel in Today’s World,” November 24, 2013, http://w2.vatican.va/content/ francesco/en/apost_exhortations/documents/papa-francesco_esortazione-ap_ 20131124_evangelii-gaudium.html.
Christian Scharen and Aana Marie Vigen, ed., Ethnography As Christian Theology and Ethics, London; New York: Continuum, 2011.
Benedict XVI, “Letter to the Bishops, Priests, Consecrated Persons and Lay Faithful of the Catholic Church in the People’s Republic of China,” May 27, 2007, http://w2.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/letters/2007/documents/hf_benxvi_let_20070527_china.html.
Benedict XVI, “Letter to the Bishops, Priests, Consecrated Persons and Lay Faithful of the Catholic Church in the People’s Republic of China.”
Joseph You Guo Jiang, “Catholicism in 21st Century China,” La Civiltà Cattolica, 2017
Jeremy Clarke, The Virgin Mary and Catholic Identities in Chinese History, Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, HKU, 2013.
CCPA and BCCCC, “Five-Year Sinicization Plan (2018-2022).”
Avery Dulles, The Reshaping of Catholicism: Current Challenges in the Theology of Church, 1st ed., San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1988
Francis, “Message of the Holy Father to the Catholics of China and to the Universal Church.”
Cindy Yik-yi Chu, Catholic Church in China: 1978 to the Present, New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2016
Benedict XVI, “Explanatory Note — Letter of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI to Chinese Catholics,” May 27, 2007, http://w2.vatican.va/content/benedictxvi/en/letters/2007/documents/hf_ben-xvi_let_20070527_china-note.html.
CCPA and BCCCC, “Five-Year Sinicization Plan (2018-2022).”
John Earl Joseph, Language and Identity: National, Ethnic, Religious, New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2004.
Chloë Starr, Chinese Theology: Text and Context, New Haven: Yale University Press, 2016.
Congregation for Divine Worship and The Discipline of The Sacraments, “Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy. Principles and Guidelines,” Vatican City, December 2001, http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/ccdds/ documents/rc_con_ccdds_doc_20020513_vers-direttorio_en.html. 53Congregation for Divine Worship and The Discipline of The Sacraments, “Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy. Principles and Guidelines.”
Congregation for Divine Worship and The Discipline of The Sacraments, “Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy. Principles and Guidelines.”
Francis, “Letter of the Holy Father to Card. Marc Ouellet, President of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America,” March 19, 2016, http://w2.vatican.va/ content/francesco/en/letters/2016/documents/papa-francesco_20160319_pontcomm-america-latina.html.
Orlando O. Espín, The Faith of the People: Theological Reflections on Popular Catholicism, Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis Books, 1997.
