The rumors of division between the pope and his top aides made headlines in late January after Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun, retired archbishop of Hong Kong, met personally with Pope Francis
China
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
Chinese Christian churches face new threats as state religious code is revised
Under the new regulations, lower-level officials can oversee the activities of China’s religious communities—a move expected to lead to intensified harassment of Christians and churches.
Posted inNews, Politics & Society
Vatican, China exchange art amid stall in hard diplomacy
Pope Francis has made normalizing relations with China a priority. But the Vatican and China remain at odds over the Vatican’s insistence that the pope have the authority to name bishops.
Posted inFaith, News
Chinese officials pay poor to swap religious images for portraits of Xi Jinping
Father John, in northern China, said he felt Xi had become “another Mao” Zedong.
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
As a prison sentence looms, a Hong Kong democracy activist remains steadfast
“I believe it’s essential for some people to go to jail for the sake of democracy. It will in the end strengthen the movement.”
Posted inFaith, Film
The Catholic Church in China | A Short Documentary
Christianity has a long and storied history in China, dating back nearly 1,300 years. It’s seen periods of prosperity and also of darkness. Since the late 1970’s, sweeping changes in Chinese society have lead to a rebirth of Christianity. And China today is arguably more open than ever to the faith. We traveled to China […]
Posted inFaith, Features
How the top-heavy Catholic Church is losing the ground game in China
Even if relations improve with the government, the Catholic Church in China needs evangelization efforts to grow beyond a devout but tiny membership.
Posted inNews, Politics & Society
Efforts to mend China-Vatican rift seem stalled over bishops
The ruling Communist Party is again telling members that atheism remains a core value, not to be transgressed.
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
Jail terms for pro-democracy leaders raise concerns of political persecution in Hong Kong
The sentences made the young activists Hong Kong’s first political prisoners under Chinese rule and prompted a massive street protest on Aug. 20.
Posted inFaith, News
Vatican official hints at unofficial agreement with China on bishops
“The real thing is that at this moment China and (the) pope have a very good relation,” said Argentine Bishop Marcelo Sanchez Sorondo, chancellor of the pontifical academies of Sciences and of Social Sciences.