Learning the Non-Judgmental Attitude of Christ
to Promote Unity in the Church of China

Some three months ago I met with several Chinese priests of the open (official) Church community. We discussed the letter written by the Pope to Catholics in China. I thought it was my duty to echo the call of the Pope and point to their duty to make clear to their faithful that they are united with the Pope and the universal Church. I spoke a rather straightforward language indicating that for them the moment of truth had now come to make their position clear. They said that they had well understood this part of the letter. But then they explained to me at length that they had always expressed their unity with the Pope and that they were ready to do that again but that Catholics outside (and also some inside) China did not realize how difficult and demanding this was for them. They are first of all concerned about the smooth running of their parishes and communities. Now they are at least allowed to celebrate and pray, generally without too many problems. But if they are so outspoken and frank about their unity with Rome pressure upon them from various official entities becomes so strong that it seriously impedes their work. They gave many examples which clearly illustrated their hardships and suffering.

Understanding while prompting to move on
I sat there, listening to them in silence. I could not answer anything at all because I knew that what they were saying is true. Still, at the end of this long conversation I kindly, with much understanding and charity, but clearly added: "Yes, I understand. Still, the Lord wishes His Church to be one and also the Holy Father suggests that we make our unity with him clear. Let us try to take steps in that direction!" Like the Pope, I did not say how soon and how fast this should be done. Yet, I felt that if I had said "You are right, time for making unity has not yet come", then I would not have echoed properly the historical call of the Pope to take steps towards unity, no matter how small.

One month later I met in China with a group of 4 priests of one unofficial (underground) community. We also discussed the letter of the Holy Father. After I gently pointed to the kind invitation of the Holy Father towards reconciliation, they too started to explain to me their problems. They were not unwilling to do that, but then they had so many objections. They told stories of past suffering - of themselves or their families - as well as of recent harassing by government officials because they had refused to establish a Church independent from Rome. I heard long moving stories of deep human suffering; and again I sat there listening in silence, unable to say anything at all because I knew that all what they said was true. Still, at the end of our long conversation, I made the same gesture, by kindly pointing to the prayer of the Lord Jesus and to the kind invitation of the Holy Father to Catholics in China to start walking the way towards reconciliation. Once again I felt that if I had not done that and if I had told them that time for unity is not mature, I would have confirmed them in their division. I would not have done justice to the letter of the Pope who said that time for reconciliation has come indeed. In some way one may say that time to move towards unity is always there in the Church because the Spirit is always at work where He is allowed to. The fact that human situations prevent some Catholics from moving right away, this, I believe, the Lord understands and so does the Pope and with him all the shepherds in the Church. But shepherds may never fail to echo the prayer of Christ and the letter of the Pope. Precisely their constant, kind and understanding invitations are essential to open the hearts of Christians to the prompting of the Spirit. Shepherds echoing the call of the Lord give the faithful strength to pass beyond the human obstacles in their hearts.

The prayer of Christ - the words of the Pope
During the Last Supper Christ prayed for unity among the faithful. This represents a peak moment in His life during which he expresses one of His main concerns. It is significant that this concern is expressed in a prayer to the Father and not in a conversation with his apostles stressing their grave duty to remain united whatever happened. The words of Christ are a prayer to the Spirit of the Father to guide His Church in its efforts to keep unity or to remake it when it was lost. This same prayer is echoed in the very gentle and kind words of Pope Benedict XVI who expresses in his letter to the Catholics in China his and the Lord's wish that unity of the Church in China be remade. Just as Christ, Pope Benedict XVI does not impose upon them the obligation to realize unity immediately. He respects the suffering inflicted upon people by the dramatic events of the past and of the present. In full respect for the human condition and understanding all the human suffering that caused trauma's in the hearts of many, he gently points to the crucial need for the Church to be one. The Pope's words imply the understanding that reconciliation is a process which moves in God's time and not at our command nor in our way of reckoning time.

This prayer of Christ and of the Pope's letter is echoed today in homilies of shepherds all over China. One could hardly expect that a whole movement towards reconciliation and unity suddenly comes about. Still many moving stories of courageous steps and initiatives taken by Christians in China prove that the Spirit is at work. For shepherds to encourage this reconciliation process is a very delicate matter. One must avoid judging or condemning the steps that people took in the past as well as in the present. They made choices in very difficult circumstances. It is part of our ministry of reconciliation to search for the non-judgmental attitude towards both communities of the Church and to echo the prayer of Christ for unity.

The need for an adequate vocabulary
Visiting the Church in China and meeting with friends I try to echo the Pope's letter as best I can. The one Church to which the Pope refers is obviously the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church in China. To realize this Church, the "official" or "open" Church community is not the norm, nor will the "unofficial" or "underground" be the norm, but simply "the Catholic Church in China". Today shepherds look for the adequate vocabulary and avoid condemning any of the two communities in order to encourage Catholics to move towards the creation of one community. In fact I do believe that the large majority of Catholics in China feel that they have always belonged to the one Church and have never liked anyone of the above mentioned labels. But the reality that the Church was divided in two communities prompted them and also observers abroad to start using these labels so as to make clear about whom they were speaking. The question is now how to get rid of the labels and how to grow into a new reality of one Church. This mentality must grow in our minds, in our way of speaking and especially in our way of celebrating and living our faith. The two experiences I had recently in China, as told here above, made clear to me how delicate it is to take on the correct, non-judgmental attitude when sharing about this question with brothers and sisters of both Church communities in China. We are all in this learning process.

(March 2008)