Four hundred years after Francis Xavier died on an island off the mainland, the Jesuits continue to dream of establishing good relations between the Church and China. According to Fr John Lee Hua SJ, Provincial of the Chinese Jesuit Province, it is a dream too for Francis, the first Jesuit Pope.
In an interview with The Tablet while in Rome for the 36th General Congregation, Fr Lee said that Chinese Catholics believe Francis will realise his dream, in spite of the many setbacks in recent years to efforts to re-establish diplomatic relations between the Holy See and the People’s Republic of China.
A key sticking point has been whether the Church or the Chinese Government should have the final say in the appointment of bishops.
But Fr Lee’s ministry is a world away from this question. He characterises the work of the Jesuits in China as trying their best “to understand, to make friends and to serve.”
The Chinese province of the Society of Jesus takes in mainland China, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan. The main ministry is education although the Jesuits also work as pastors and on social projects to support the poor. Half of the 170 Jesuits are Chinese, the other half are missionaries from 30 different countries.
Fr Lee, who is from Taiwan, said the Jesuits are careful to tailor their ministry according to the local situation and government guidelines.
In China, they work to diminish the gap between rich and poor, educated and uneducated, city and rural dwellers. They provide scholarships to enable poor children in rural areas to go to school, and they support leper communities.
“Reconciliation is a very important thing for us,” said Fr Lee. “Gaps in civil society breed anger and resentment. I think the Government is also aware of this.”
The Jesuits work towards reconciliation by creating dialogue between different parties.
“We try to create opportunities for people to talk. For example, when we are helping the poor we try to bring all the parties together: the government officers, social workers, poor people, we outsiders. We all come together to look at the situation, what needs to be done and how. Through this kind of dialogue all the parties gradually understand the point from the other side better.”
With this approach, they are following in the footsteps of Matteo Ricci (1552-1610), who himself followed in the tradition of Francis Xavier in identifying positive aspects of other cultures.
“So many Jesuits have taught us a lot of lessons through their failures, through their wisdom, through their experiences. Many foreign Jesuits went to China. Their dream was to deliver God to the Chinese people, but eventually they found that God was already there. So they just needed to experience God through the Chinese culture.”
Jesuits in China today, said Fr Lee, want to introduce Eastern wisdom to the West.
“We Chinese Jesuits believe that Chinese culture, philosophy and wisdom can really enrich the whole Church. We are still looking at how we can do this … it is not to build a huge Church and to say ‘We are strong’. That would be inappropriate.”
He believes that Pope Francis is also influenced by the example of Francis Xavier.
“Francis has a dream for China. He takes concrete steps to tackle this issue. I know many people are working behind the scenes to improve the relationship between China and the Vatican. The West and East sometimes misunderstand each other. Pope Francis is eager to open the dialogue. But of course, at the same time, some people in China are worried because once you take one step forward you might feel insecure. At the same time most Chinese Catholics are confident in Pope Francis. We believe he will make a decision led by the Holy Spirit for the good of China and the Chinese Church.”
Read the full story in The Tablet.
Main photo: Life and Passion of Christ (woodcut on paper) by Giulio Aleni SJ, Jinjiang (Fujian province), China (1637)