Canonical Issues in Pope Benedict XVI’s Letter to The Catholic Church in China (2007): Review, Analysis and Commentary – Part One

Pope Benedict XVI’s Letter to the bishops, priests, consecrated persons and lay faithful of the Catholic Church in the People’s Republic of China, issued in 2007, is primarily theological and pastoral in nature. However, it contains also some important canonical issues, such as, the (Chinese) state control over bishops and the so-called Bishops’ Conference; the issue of the independence of the Catholic Church in China from political power, with the background of the open and underground groups; the appointment and ordination of Bishops; the formation of the clergy, the religious and the lay faithful; the work of evangelization; religious freedom and the continuous search for “dialogue” with the government, the impending review of ecclesiastical circumscriptions and provinces, the abolition of the extraordinary faculties or privileges conceded to date to the Church in China, etc. In the present study, these issues are systematically analyzed vis-à-vis the provisions of the Code of Canon Law and the current situation in China. The reader may find in these pages not only valid insights towards the solution of actual conflicts between the two polarized sides confronting the Catholic Church in China today – the so-called “open” and “underground” communities, but also some key elements to uncover hidden elements of the Letter and thus contribute to a better understanding of it.