Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) – “With great pleasure.” With these words, Pope Francis announced today the addition of Chinese among the languages in which the summaries of his catechesis are read during the Wednesday general audiences. The Pontiff wished to dedicate a special message to the Chinese-speaking faithful: “I address my cordial greeting to the Chinese-speaking people present here and to those who are connected through the media. Upon all of you and your families I invoke joy and peace. May God bless you.”
The parts in Chinese will be read immediately after the speeches in Spanish and before those in Portuguese. During the audience held today in a sunlit St. Peter's Square, the passage from St. Paul's Letter to the Corinthians, the summary of the catechesis and the greetings in Chinese were read by Marta Zhao Nan, head of the Chinese edition of our Fides Agency.
Born in Beijing to a Catholic family for several generations, Marta Zhao has been working and writing for Fides Agency since 1998, when the edition she edits was launched as the first Catholic missionary bulletin in Chinese, on the occasion of the opening of the Continental Synod on Asia. In those days, Fides published an interview with Mattia Duan Yinming, the great bishop of Wanxian who had not been able to come to the Synod, despite the invitation he had received. His words reached the synod hall thanks to that interview. In August of that same year, the Fides editorial team gave John Paul II the first bulletin printed in Chinese ideograms.
The inclusion of Chinese among the languages that resound in St. Peter's Square or in the Paul VI Hall during the general audiences is a beautiful gift first of all for Chinese Catholics scattered throughout the world. To understand the scope and implications of the decision taken by the Pope, rather than dwelling on the strategies of the "Vatican policy" towards China, it is worth looking at the suggestive and singular link that unites the ordinary Magisterium of the Successors of Peter to the Sensus Fidei of Chinese Catholics.
Thanks above all to the daily work of Marta Zhao, Fides has been documenting for decades the affection and immediacy with which Chinese Catholic communities treasure the suggestions and pastoral indications that come to them from the Church of Rome and from their Bishop.
Thousands of news published online since 1998 attest to how Chinese Catholic parishes advance in their daily journey always following the guidelines of the ordinary Magisterium of the Successor of Peter. Even during the most turbulent historical phases, fidelity to the Magisterium of the Pontiffs has been a hallmark of Chinese Catholic communities. This commitment has become a privileged means of expressing and living communion with the universal Church, adapting to the specific circumstances of the country.
The Pope's ordinary Magisterium directly inspires much of the vital fabric of prayers, liturgies, catechesis and pastoral initiatives that mark the daily ecclesial life of every diocese and every Catholic community in China. These days, it is news (see Fides, 30/11/2024) of the multiplication of initiatives launched to deepen the contents of the Papal Bull "Spes non confundit" in view of the Jubilee.
Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, Pro-Prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization, highlighted in a speech given at the headquarters of Civiltà Cattolica (see Fides, 14/5/2023) how Catholic communities in China have welcomed and put into practice with devotion the ordinary Magisterium of the last three Pontiffs, despite the historical and social challenges.
A significant example dates back to 2004, during the Year of the Eucharist proclaimed by St. John Paul II. In that period, priests in numerous Chinese parishes made an effort to transmit to the faithful the spiritual reasons for this Year, explaining in detail the Apostolic Letter Mane nobiscum Domine. In 2008, when Benedict XVI launched the initiative of a special year dedicated to St. Paul, the communities and dioceses of China launched an impressive series of initiatives dedicated to the Apostle of the Gentiles. Courses on missionary theology and conferences on the missionary vocation that concerns all the baptized were organized. And when Pope Ratzinger announced the Year for Priests, in the diocese of Jinzhong, already at the end of June 2009, the Pope's Letter to Priests was presented and studied, while Bishop John Baptist Wang Jin gave each priest a copy in Chinese of the writings of St. John Mary Vianney.
The same thing happened when Pope Benedict XVI announced the Year of Faith (October 11, 2012-November 24, 2013). The Apostolic Letter Porta Fidei, with which Benedict XVI proclaimed the Year, was read and studied in depth during some study days organized in the dioceses, while in dioceses such as Fengxian preparatory courses were organized to prepare catechists, “called to transmit the proclamation of the Gospel with special dedication in the Year of Faith”.
Even with Pope Francis, Chinese Catholics are simply expressing their desire to walk in the faith of the Apostles following the help and support provided to them by the ordinary Magisterium of the Pontiff. In the Holy Year of Mercy, many bishops published pastoral letters to relaunch the Magisterium of Pope Francis.
During the first months of the pandemic, when the daily liturgies and moments of prayer of the Bishop of Rome were broadcast live on television, groups of young Chinese Catholics, thanks to their digital skills, were able to send images of the Pope's Masses to homes, along with simultaneous translations into Chinese of his homilies.
In the Message addressed by Pope Francis to Chinese Catholics and to the universal Church on 26 September 2018, the Pontiff wrote that Chinese Catholics are daily present “in my prayers” and, on behalf of the entire Catholic Church, he expressed his gratitude “for the gift of your fidelity, constancy in trials and deep trust in God’s Providence, even when some events have proven particularly adverse and difficult.”
From today, the papal catechesis on Wednesdays will also be able to confirm and nourish the mutual preferential affection that unites the Bishop of Rome and Chinese Catholics in faith. (Agenzia Fides, 4/12/2024)
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