Seoul – The “Concilium sinense”, which took place in Shanghai between May and June 1924, was an event of crucial importance for the history of the Church in Asia. This ecclesiastical event “marked a fundamental turning point in the history of the Catholic Church in China” and “in my opinion also had a profound impact on the Korean Church,” and today “the Holy See promotes and actively pursues the path of dialogue initiated by Archbishop Costantini,” said Korean Cardinal Lazzaro You Heung-sik , Prefect of the Dicastery for the Clergy, in a video link from Rome to the participants in the Symposium entitled “The Council of Shanghai: positive impact on the inculturation of the Church in East Asia,” which took place on Saturday, November 15, at the Spirituality Center of the Archdiocese of Seoul.
In his address, Cardinal Lazzaro You also recalled his participation in the Roman Conference held on May 21, 2024, in the Aula Magna of the Pontifical Urbaniana University, commemorating the centenary of the celebration of the Concilium Sinense. On this occasion, the Korean cardinal recalled, “I also had the honor of forging a new friendship with the Bishop of the Diocese of Shanghai, Joseph Shen Bin,” who participated as a speaker at the Conference in Rome, organized by the Pontifical Urbaniana University in collaboration with the Fides News Agency and the Pastoral Commission for China.
According to Cardinal You, the European Church seized the opportunity presented by the Council of China to take its first courageous step toward transferring ecclesiastical jurisdiction to the local clergy. After more than sixty years of attempts, the Holy See finally convened the Conference of Catholic Bishops in China in 1922 through its Apostolic Delegate, Archbishop Celso Costantini. Furthermore, the representative of the Asian Church in the Roman Curia expressed his firm conviction that the symposium in Seoul would be a valuable opportunity for us to reflect deeply on the historical foundations of the Catholic Church in Korea and to prepare for the future, given that the principle of inculturation, emphasized during the Council of Shanghai, has also had a profound impact on the Korean Church. The participation of Bishop and Servant of God Bonifatius Sauer , a German Benedictine missionary and Apostolic Vicar of the Apostolic Vicariate of Wonsan, in the Council of Shanghai clearly demonstrated the profound influence of the Council of Sinensis on Asia and the Korean Church. The principle of inculturation, emphasized at the Council of Shanghai, also led the Catholic Church in Korea to move away from “Eurocentric” models of ecclesiastical organization and to highlight the importance of training native clergy, added the Prefect of the Dicastery for the Clergy. This change of perspective helped the Church in Korea to take root and grow within its national culture. Cardinal Lazzaro expressed his regret that he could not personally attend the symposium at the “Spirituality Center of Myeongdong Cathedral in Seoul, the heart of the Catholic Church in Korea.” He added that he hoped the academic event would “provide an opportunity to reflect on the significance and impact of the Council of Sinense in Shanghai and represent a milestone in reaffirming the Catholic Church in Korea as a center of evangelization in Asia.” “Let us contemplate,” the Korean Cardinal added, “our courageous martyrs who lived their faith until death. May we, their descendants, build a future filled with new hope in these turbulent times we are experiencing.” According to the Korean Catholic website “catholictimes.org”, the symposium on the “Council of Shanghai” was jointly organized by the Korean Institute of Church History , the Association for Studies on the Catholic Church in Asia , and the Institute of Theology at Sogang University . Korean and Chinese scholars and academics participated in the symposium. Professor Paul Choi Byeong-wook of Kangwon University gave a lecture on the “Concilium sinense” and the historical role of Costantini, while Daegun Andrea Lee Min-seok of the Korean Institute of Church History gave a lecture entitled “The 1924 Council of Shanghai and the Inculturation of the Korean Church: The Promulgation of the Maximum Illud of 1919 and the formation of local priests in the Diocese of Pyongyang.” The guests from China were Father Leopold Leeb from Renmin University of China and Professor Liu Zhiqing from Anyang University, who gave a lecture entitled “General Reflections on the influence of the 1924 Shanghai Council on the inculturation of Chinese Catholicism.”
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