Sino-Vatican Relations
Problems in Conflicting Authority, 1976–1986

In this study of the subject, Dr Beatrice Leung analyses the interactions between China and the Holy See from 1976 to 1986.

Beatrice Leung (Author)

9780521122566, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 5 November 2009

440 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 2.5 cm, 0.64 kg

"[Leung] makes many contributions to academic understanding in her explication of the China-and-Catholicism case....Leung's book also provides a new angle of interpretation on the Vatican's diplomatic strategy of Ostpolitik...." Michael L. Budde, Critical Review

How can the government of the People's Republic of China with its claim to absolute sovereignty be reconciled with the spiritual authority of the Catholic Church? In this study of the subject, Dr Beatrice Leung analyses the interactions between China and the Holy See from 1976 to 1986. Dr Leung examines the historic relationship between the Catholic Church and China both prior to 1949 and from 1949 to 1976. Using a wide range of Chinese language sources as well as interviews, she then analyses the major problems between these two institutions as they tried to establish a dialogue for future reconciliation. These include the need for the Vatican to transfer its recognition of China from Taiwan to Beijing; the role of the Pope with his spiritual leadership of the Chinese; and the handling of the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association.

Foreword
Preface
1. Introduction
2. The cultural encounter of China and Catholicism (1552–1949)
3. The Vatican's Ostpolitik
4. The CCP and the Catholic Church before and after 1949
5. The religious policy of China in the modernisation era
6. Constraints on the freedom of the Catholic religion
7. Sino-Vatican relations in the modern era
8. Negotiations and concerns
9. Conclusion
10. Postscript
Abbreviations
Appendices
Bibliography
Index.

Subject Areas: International relations [JPS]