Sunday Mass at Beijing's North Church | Anthony E. Clark, Ph.D. | September 16, 2011 | Ignatius Insight
Sunday Mass at Beijing's North Church | Anthony E. Clark, Ph.D. | September 16, 2011 | Ignatius Insight
http://www.ignatiusinsight.com/features2011/aclark_beitangrpt_sept2011.asp
After Sunday Mass at Beijing's largest and oldest church,
Beitang (North Church), well over a thousand faithful filed out of their pews
into the Chinese-style courtyard leading to the church's dramatic entrance.
Inside, one man, roughly mid-thirties, stretched his arms high above his head,
looked upward, and offered prayers of thanksgiving. His right hand held a long,
worn, rosary. Behind him several elderly men and women began intoning Catholic
hymns that still use the melody and style of Ming dynasty Buddhist chanting.
Several priests gathered in the courtyard to meet with
members of the parish – most of the priests are older, but at least one
appeared recently ordained. During Mass, the celebrant spoke animatedly about
Christ's exhortation: "Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take
up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it,
but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. What profit would there be
for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life."
This is a difficult topic in modern China, wrenched apart by
its two antagonized personalities, one explicitly Marxist, and another
implicitly capitalistic. China's class division grows more intense while it
purports to espouse Marx's ideology of class elimination. But the Middle
Kingdom has always been a place of accepted paradox. The ancient philosopher,
Han Feizi, once wrote about a weapons seller who boasted that his spears could
pierce through anything, and that his shields could not be pierced – a
nearby man then asked the seller if his spears could pierce his own shields.
"Spear/shield" (maodun) is thus the
Chinese word for paradox, and the notion that all things are essentially
"spear/shield" is a common Chinese assumption. China's Catholics, who live in a
society that seemingly accepts that Marxism can be materialist (Marx would have
blanched), try to live their faith in an impossible situation. To some extent,
even they live in a state of paradox – "spear/shield."
As the Church in China grows, so does the level of control
and oppression it is forced to endure. While many faithful remained in their
pews after Mass to offer thanks to God and his Mother, I met with an old
acquaintance, Mr. T, and a new priest, Fr. X, who updated me on recent events
in China's Catholic community. We first spoke of how many Chinese Catholics
feel as though their history has been "cut at the root," that since the
Cultural Revolution (1966-76) the Church in China has had little freedom to
investigate or discuss its own history. Few Americans know that the Church in
China is centuries older then the Church in America. Many records that were in
China during that turbulent decade were either destroyed by Maoist radicals or
confiscated by the government, and China's present authorities are uninterested
in making Catholic historical documents available for consultation.
China's faithful are hungry for a sense of continuity with
their historical past, a past that they are prevented from accessing. Fr. X and
Mr. T were unaware, for instance, that only thirty feet from where we stood an
elderly priest had been struggled against and buried alive by Red Guards, an
event still remembered, but seldom discussed, by some of Beitang's older
parishioners. The diocesan archives for Beijing, including the church records
of all of the major Catholic parishes, were taken and burned by the Red Guards
in 1966 and 1967. It is like being a child with little memory of, and no
documentation about, his own family.
Perhaps the most divisive recent event in the Chinese Church
is the ordination of Leshan's government-appointed bishop, Lei Shiyin. While
the local faithful might sometimes accept, to some degree, the ordination of a
non-Vatican supported bishop, the rumors that the new bishop has two children
has turned the country's Catholics against him in an unusually intense fashion.
The additional fact that Rome excommunicated this new bishop has made matters
even more complicated, as Beijing's own bishop, Li Shan, was involved in Bishop
Lei's ordination. Many of Beijing's Catholics now feel compelled to avoid
attending Masses or events connected with Bishop Li Shan, and some refuse to
visit Beijing's cathedral church, Nantang (South Church). Beijing's post-Mao
Catholic history is complex – its previous bishop, Fu Tieshan, headed the
Patriotic Catholic Association, and was known to be married. Local Catholics
had hoped that the capital's next bishop could avoid such controversies.
The lack of access to its own history, married bishops,
bishops with children, excommunicated bishops, and the forced ordinations of
illicit bishops are among the issues confronted by the Catholics of China's
massive capital city. But amid these trials, triumphs paradoxically emerge
– "spear/shield." Just as state control becomes tighter, the state has
begun to release some of the property it had previously taken from the Church,
and return it to the diocese. Not too long ago the only property still held by
the Beitang parish was the church itself and a small building behind it
reserved for a community of nuns. Before the government confiscated the church
property, the Betiang consisted of a great complex of buildings, including a
library, seminary, convent, and bishop's residence. For some reason, the city
government has returned the bishop's residence to the church, which it had
converted into a school during the Maoist era, and the Catholics have already
placed a sizable cross over the residence entrance. Architects and construction
workers have also nearly completed restoration of the beautiful structures and
courtyards.
I was allowed to photograph the restored church property,
including the bishop's former private chapel. A graceful painting of Our Lady
displayed in this chapel has survived decades of Communist rule, and plans are
being made to restore the space so that the Holy Sacrifice can once again be
offered there. Beitang's Catholics weren't quite sure what shall become of the
government's generous gift, but the restored property will soon have two
pavilions, one dedicated to Mary and another to St. Joseph, and the thriving
parish will finally have enough room for its growing number of activities.
China's complex political situation has notably affected
China's Catholic community, and the problems of China's Catholic community are,
in fact, mostly political. Beijing's Catholics cannot escape state control;
after all, the "emperor" and his dragon throne are just down the street. But
despite the State's looming presence, churches continue to fill, the faithful
continue to pray the rosary and chant old Chinese hymns; the diocese happily
accepts the return of its property. The life of an average Catholic in the pews
is not easy. Beijing's Olympic games are over, and the sense here in China is
that the world is no longer watching.
What this means for the Chinese Church in coming years
remains to be seen. Politics are politics and faith is faith, and the Catholics
of Beitang, as much as possible, try to remain centered on the God of their
faith. Just now, Beijing is gearing up to celebrate the 90th
anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party. And I could not help but think of
this as I left Beitang; even more so as Fr. X stretched out his arms to bless
us, invoking God and his Holy Mother to watch over us and
the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church.
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Anthony E. Clark, Ph.D. is Assistant Professor of Asian History at Whitworth University
in Spokane, Washington.
He completed his doctoral studies at the University of
Oregon, where he studied Chinese history, literature, philosophy, and religion.
His current research centers on the history of the Church in China, and he has
recently finished a book on the Catholic martyrs saints in China. His other
interests include East/West religious dialogue, especially between Catholic and
Buddhist ideas of faith and salvation. Dr. Clark has written several academic
books and articles on the topic of Chinese history and has been a guest on
"EWTN Live," "Catholic Answers Live," and Relevant Radio to talk about
Catholicism in China. He is also the host of
the EWTN series, "Saints of China".
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