NEWS STORY: Asian synod begins amid questions over role of church

c. 1998 Religion News Service VATICAN CITY _ The monthlong Asian synod of bishops began Monday (April 20) with clergy from some 40 countries saying they expect the meeting to focus on the church’s proper role as a minority religion in the region. But the Roman Catholic Church’s standing came into sharp relief on two […]

c. 1998 Religion News Service

VATICAN CITY _ The monthlong Asian synod of bishops began Monday (April 20) with clergy from some 40 countries saying they expect the meeting to focus on the church’s proper role as a minority religion in the region.

But the Roman Catholic Church’s standing came into sharp relief on two fronts.


Some bishops complained Rome is intolerant of unconventional forms of worship that do not comport with Western models. And the Vatican appeared headed for another collision with the communist government of China, which has not yet agreed to allow two invited bishops loyal to the pope to attend the gathering.

Pope John Paul II took the high road, saying in his homily on Sunday that he hoped Bishop Matthias Duan Yinming of Wanhsien and his coadjutor, Bishop Joseph Xu Zhixuan, would”soon be able to take their places among us and bear witness to the vitality of those communities.” The Catholic Church in China that is loyal to the Vatican does not enjoy rights of free association and most bishops loyal to the pope exist underground. There is also a government-sanctioned”patriotic”Catholic church pledged to support the government.

Duan Yinming, who is 90, and his deputy, Xu Zhixuan, are an exception to the rule, however, because, while loyal to Rome, they are allowed to run a diocese in the state-sponsored church.

(The Associated Press reported from Beijing that Duan said he had heard about the pontiff’s invitation from an international radio report but had not received a formal invitation. He said he would like to go to Rome but had to wait for the Chinese government’s decision).

Repression of Catholics is considered so intense in China and Vietnam that the pope has not revealed the names of two bishops he has selected as cardinals in the two countries for fear of government reprisal.

Catholics in China, like most of the vast continent, are among the minority. They are dwarfed by Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism and Taosim, among others. Only in the Philippines is Catholicism the majority religion. About 83 percent of the population are adherents, according to church figures.

The Japanese Bishops’ Conference has been the most vocal critic of Rome’s refusal to bend its Western notions of liturgy, or rites and prayers of worship, that do not recognize cultural differences.

It also has taken the Vatican to task for stressing that”Jesus Christ is the one and only savior.”That statement, contained in the outline document to the assembly, could inhibit interreligious dialogue, the bishops said, which is critical to their mission.


The Japanese clergymen said the synod would fail if it was aimed at”discovering how the Asian church can be propped up by the Western church.” Archbishop Orlando Quevedo of Nueva Segovia, the Philippines, agreed, saying at an opening news conference Monday,”It is often said that the church is universal. As such there is a tendency to neglect the individual faces of the church.”The churches in Asia consider themselves Asian in character and they wish to contribute to the church of their own distinction … so that they can be appreciated not in uniformity but in their rich distinction,”Quevedo added.

In his homily marking the opening of the synod, John Paul acknowledged that what the church calls”the new evangelization”_ an effort to make its message known in various cultural contexts _”calls for respectful attention to Asian realities,”but he did not indicate how much autonomy, if any, would be granted to the Asian churches.

The assembly marks the third interregional gathering of bishops the pope has called leading up to the year 2000. Synods on Africa and the Americas have been completed. A European assembly is scheduled for next year.

The Asian gathering, which concludes May 14 with recommendations to the pope, is entitled”Jesus Christ the Savior and His Mission of Love and Service in Asia.”It involves 188 bishops or”synod fathers,”and other delegates for a total of 252. Each of them is entitled to make brief speeches to the full congregation, most of which the pope is expected to attend.

The assembly comes at a time of vast economic, social and political change in the hemisphere. Some bishops said they expect the financial crisis throttling much of the continent to prompt calls for debt relief.

Rome sees its fortunes in the region improving, and growth rates of conversion and baptisms appear to bear that out.


But at the same time the church is under pressure to prove its bona fides and demonstrate its ability to deal with social unrest and economic deprivation.”We have to try our best to promote human rights, human dignity and give special attention to the oppressed,”said Cardinal Shan Kuo-Hsi, archbishop of Taiwan, with which the Vatican has diplomatic relations. It does not have formal ties with China.

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