The Dynamic 1990s

In the 1990s, Chinese society witnessed further efforts to promote the Catholic Church. On the societal level, there were more opportunities for church members to take initiative, make a difference, and engage in exchanges. A reviewer, Arne Sovik, commented on an edited volume on the Chinese Catholic Church published in 1995 that the contributors, in writing their articles, offered “hope for the future of a living, dynamic church in tomorrow’s China.” 1 There was greater recognition of the necessity and importance of providing more and improved training for priests and nuns. Given the essential role of exchange, priests and nuns who were chosen by the approved bishops and were approved by the government could enroll in courses held outside the mainland, for example in the United States. 2 The open church and the underground church had coexisted for so long that the boundary between them had become blurred. Beijing accepted the presence of both the open church and the underground church in society. The concern of the Beijing government was how to deal with the underground church to its own advantage. What were the acceptable modes and boundaries of behavior of the underground church? 3 These were not straightforward questions. These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.