中梵关系:超越外交--宗教与政治的混战

The Vatican has its eyes on the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.On such international occasions,there are expectations<br> for China in terms of opening up,transparency,signs of friendship and gestures of peace.The Vatican therefore,is<br> keen to take this opportunity to facilitate China's opening up.In the past year,episcopal ordinations of bishops in<br> China have been occurring with both the approval of the Holy See and the Chinese government.Thus the question<br> arises,is a breakthrough in Sino-Vatican relations likely in the near future?What is still holding China back from<br> normalization?<br> This essay argues that the issue preventing restoration of diplomatic relations is not the conditions of Taiwan and<br> bishop consecration.The crux of the problem is the fact that the Chinese government takes a political interpretation<br> of the church's leadership,whilst the Vatican's proceeds from a theological point of view.Ultimately the problem is<br> that Sino-Vatican relations goes beyond simple diplomacy,entering the complex realm of religion and politics,<br> involving one ultimately religious body negotiating with an ultimately political body.It is more than a matter of<br> international relations,and yet is not just a theological kink that needs ironing out.The religious issue of bishop<br> selection could be easily overcome but due to political implications,it remains unresolved,as the'informal<br> penetration'of the Vatican hard to imagine or measure.How can a basic understanding be created for the basis of<br> negotiations?The hope is that those interested in this issue,as well as both the Vatican and China,can learn to<br> understand the different perceptions in this matter,and come to a mutual agreement to find a space where both can<br> coexist.<br> Much of the information about the status of Sino-Vatican relations,as well as the Catholic situation in China,is<br> limited and old,and the confusion this creates over religious freedom in China does not serve China's image,or the<br> reconciliation of Sino-Vatican relations,well.Rather than point fingers,it is more constructive to view the issue<br> from both different,but equally valid,perspectives,and from this,establish a language for dialogue that is<br> understood by both parties.<br> This essay will firstly provide the historical groundwork to explore the development of Sino-Vatican relations and<br> status of the Catholic Church in China today.It will then explain the crux of the Sino-Vatican problem,which is<br> manifested in the stalemate over the issue of bishop consecration,as lying in the unique nature of the Vatican,an<br> institution with both religious and political authority.Finally,through this exploration,it hopes to address in the<br> broader picture the relationship between religion and politics,and the role of a religious organization such as the<br> Vatican in the process of democratic transition.Throughout,it hopes to point out that although the Pope has played a<br> pivotal role in international affairs and in promoting the Third Wave(Huntington,1991)and although democracy<br> has become a worldwide political ethics and has become increasingly popularized by the Chinese,it does not ipso<br> facto mean that the Vatican will play the same role in China's democratic change as China's social and political<br> realities differs greatly from Latin American or Eastern European countries.