Shanghai Scrap

Not sure how I missed this, but last week UCAN ran a brief interview with Shanghai’s Bishop Jin Luxian that touches on how he views his legacy. It’s of interest for a number of compelling reasons, not least of which is the author: Fr. Ron Saucci, an American Maryknoll priest who befriended Jin in the early 1980s. A few years ago, while preparing my 2007 profile of Jin for the Atlantic, I had the pleasure of sitting down with Saucci in Hong Kong. He’s an incredibly compelling figure in his own right, and one of the most knowledgeable foreigners on the topic of the Chinese Church and its evolution over the last thirty years. He’s known many of its most important figures, and has first-hand knowledge of many of its formative events.

The article references two of those events: the establishment of the Sheshan Seminary in Shanghai, responsible for a significant percentage of the Vatican-approved bishops (including Jin’s auxiliary and hoped-for successor) who’ve emerged over the last decade (covered in my profile), and the establishment of a Catholic publishing house in Qibao (at some point, I intend to write something about the latter). It also offers a glimpse of Jin’s candid view on Chinese Catholicism’s challenges:

We passed an hour chatting, during which I asked him what was the biggest threat to the Church. Without hesitation he responded: “Materialism! We have lost some good priests who succumbed to capitalism surrounding us everywhere. Vocations are harder and harder to find since intelligent young people can get high paying jobs.”

Whether or not you’re interested in Catholicism and religious freedom in China, this is a worthy, quick read. Jin is a critically important figure in modern China’s religious history, and perhaps the most perceptive commentator that I’ve ever met on the difficulties and misunderstandings that continue to exist between Chinese and Western cultures (though he doesn’t go into that latter topic in this piece).

My only complaint with the UCAN article is the abominable, sickly-looking photo that accompanies it. Jin’s health isn’t great, that’s no secret, but what’s the point of pressing the issue with a photo? I’m left scratching my head, and – as penance on behalf of UCAN – offering a photo of a more vivacious, and well-dressed Jin, taken a couple of years ago.

Finally, I can’t post on Jin without noting that Hebei’s underground bishop has – once again – been detained by the government, apparently for having the temerity to consider reconciling with the open church. A couple of things to keep in mind. First, due to its proximity to Beijing, Hebei has long been a hotbed of government religious intolerance second, really, to no other province.  Second, many experienced observers of China’s religious situation have pointed out to me that – as much as certain religious affairs officials dislike “underground” Christianity – they hate the idea of a reconciliation with the government-recognized churches even more, as such a development would likely result in a diminishment of their power. And I’ll leave it at that.