The Church in China: Special Report

Salt + Light Media

August 17, 2012
In July 2012, an unprecedented event happened in Shanghai, China. Bishop Ma Daqin, was ordained an auxiliary bishop with papal approval. Upon his ordination he denounced his membership with China’s Patriotic Association (a government agency which controls the Catholic Church in China) in front of the government officials.
His courageous declaration received praise inside and outside of China, but also cost him his freedom and his right to exercise his sacred duties as bishop. Today, Bishop Ma is believed to be under detention at the Sheshen Seminary just outside of Shanghai City.
What drove Bishop Ma to defy the government? What impact does his action have on the Shanghai Diocese and the Catholic Church in China? What is the history of the Catholic Church in China under the Communist regime? Where is the Church in China going?
We sat down with three experts on the Catholic Church in China: Cardinal Joseph Zen, SDB, Emeritus Bishop of Hong Kong, Dr Anthony Lam, a scholar from the Diocesan Holy Spirit Study Centre, specialized in Catholic Church in China, and Fr Paul Pang, OFM, retired special envoy from the Vatican’s Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples specialized in pastoral matters of overseas Chinese. In this one hour special in Mandarin Chinese, they share with us their views on the ordination in Shanghai and the events that followed.