'What future for the Church in China?' published in Chinese
Hong Kong (AsiaNews) - With the arrival of Pope Francis at the helm of the papacy and the rise of Xi Jinping in Beijing, real and would-be China observers have been caught up in a wave of optimism about the possibility of improved relations between China and the Vatican.
Recently, the Holy Spirit Study Centre of the Diocese of Hong Kong, one of the best resource centres on the Church in China, has translated into Chinese a book by Fr Angelo Lazzarotto.
The book's Italian edition was first released by Emi, a Bologna publisher in 2012, under the title Quale futuro per la Chiesa in Cina? (What future for the Church in China?), as AsiaNews reported at the time. Now the Chinese edition is available on online in pdf format.
Fr Lazzarotto, a PIME missionary, knows China and its Church very well.
In his book, he looks first at the ambiguous history of the Communist Party of China, split as it is between the desire to destroy the Church and religions and that of subordinating them to the raison d'État.
He also describes the current situation of the Chinese Church, full of evangelising vivacity, but also stifled by the government to the point that it might undergo a schism.
The reference here is to the government's ordination of illegal bishops in the past few years, an action that could end in dividing the Church.
Still, the author is hopeful that China's government will recognise the fact that, by adhering to their faith, Catholics have always been good citizens.
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