Rome – – For Cardinal Stephen Chow Sau Yan, Bishop of Hong Kong, the anniversaries the Church in China is marking this year call for a reflection on formation. Speaking at the international conference held on 5 November at the Pontifical Urbaniana University for the centenary of the episcopal consecration of the first six Chinese bishops by Pius XI, the cardinal delivered an important reflexion. He examined the notions of inculturation and Sinicization and then proposed interculturality as the framework for the formation of clergy, religious and laity in China.
His starting point was historical. The consecration of 28 October 1926 in St. Peter’s Basilica “marked the beginning of the indigenization of the Catholic Church in China”, he recalled, and led to the establishment of the Chinese hierarchy by Pius XII in 1946 with the apostolic constitution Quotidie Nos, placing the Chinese Church “on equal footing with others in the Universal Church”. However, in his words, “these institutional developments did not, by themselves, resolve the continuing challenge of forming Catholics whose faith is deeply rooted in Chinese cultural life, while staying in communion with the universal Church.”
The double anniversary, the centenary of 1926 and the 80th of the hierarchy, may therefore mark, according to the jesuit cardinal, “an important milestone for the Church in China and the Universal Church to start discerning on the formation of the clergy, religious, and laity in China through synodal dialogue”. He then asked how such formation could be imagined, “considering the history of the Church in China and the current government policy of religions in China”. The aim he set out is a formation that meets “the needs of being a universal-local Church and a religious faith that can be readily embraced by the Chinese as one of theirs”. He gave the example of Buddhism in China, while specifying that “Christianity is distinctively different from Buddhism”.
Cardinal Chow then examined three notions, presented as “ideas that are not totally new but have already caught the attention of scholars in China”.
The first is inculturation, which he described as “a two-way, ongoing dialogue where the Gospel transforms a culture while allowing local cultural values and expressions to enrich the life of the Church”. He cited the Chinese Rites and depictions of Mary and her Son in Chinese attire as examples. He also pointed to its limits: inculturation “raises two related problems, that of the evangelization of cultures and that of the cultural understanding of the Gospel without the integral participation of faith”.
The second notion is Sinicization. The cardinal described the policy of the Chinese Communist Party, which under President Xi Jinping has formally emphasized the “Sinicization of religion” as a national policy requiring religions, Catholicism included, “to align with CCP’s ideology and socialist values, and the spirit of patriotism”. He recalled that Xi described this policy as “the only way” to ensure the country’s long-term stability. He mentioned the redesign of places of worship, such as mosque domes replaced by Chinese roofs, and referred to scholars who argue that current campaigns concern less Han cultural assimilation than “Zhongguohua”, understood as “Chinafication” or political alignment with the Party-State. On this point he offered his own assessment: “Being patriotic and faithful believers, may help the government to exercise desirable governance for all those who dwell in China insofar that is feasible and appropriate.”
Interculturality, the third notion, is the one on which the cardinal built his proposal. Drawing on academic definitions, he presented it as the “co-construction and negotiation of meanings, attitudes, and perspectives” in intercultural encounters, in which participants “open themselves to be influenced or even transformed by other traditions” and examine their own ethnocentrism. He linked this approach to Joseph Ratzinger, who, in an address delivered in Hong Kong in 1993, advocated intercultural dialogue over inculturation. According to Cardinal Chow, the future Benedict XVI saw interculturality – interculturality « grounded on the universality of natural law and human reason, and a culture of faith in every culture where encounters can take place » – as a platform where cultures and religious traditions meet and “engage in mutual correction”. Understood in this way, he observed, interculturality “shares similarities with Synodality promoted by our Church”.
From there he drew the consequences for formation. Intercultural formation, he explained, “takes seriously the Christian faith and the state policy since both shape the circumstances of the Chinese Catholics”, and raises the question of “what being a faithful Catholic who is patriotic towards his or her country could be like”. He described a method based on “intentional dialogues of sincere speaking, empathic listening, identifying converging interests of the common good”, which allows differences to be held “with respect for later actions”, and noted that “differences that contribute to tensions are often needs unrecognized nor met”. Such formation should help learners become aware of “their own blind spots” and look for shared desires in order to “create an alternative pathway to address the gaps or tensions productively”. Recalling the Chinese Rites controversy as “a painful process in history but with helpful outcomes even until today”, he added: “However, the dialogue may not be over.”
The cardinal also referred to the experience of his diocese, where parishes have been asked to use the “Conversation in the Spirit” method to draw up their own three-year plans. As reported by some parishes, he said, it was “an eye-opening experience with greater sense of ownership for the parishioners”. He concluded that, through intercultural formation, clergy, religious and lay people “will be equipped with the know-how for them to ‘become authentic’ Catholics and nationals at the same time”.
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