Divided Yet One: The Two Catholic Communities in China

Written by a Chinese Jesuit scholastic, this paper traces the decades-long division between China's “official” (Patriotic Association-linked) and “underground” Catholic communities, from Communist-era suppression and the excommunication controversies of the 1950s through the Cultural Revolution, Bishop Peter Fan's clandestine ordinations, and the wounds of mutual suspicion these produced. It surveys subsequent efforts at reconciliation, including Benedict XVI's 2007 letter, the 2018 Holy See-China Provisional Agreement on episcopal appointments, and Pope Francis's outreach, arguing that despite unresolved tensions there exists a single, if internally divided, Chinese Catholic Church whose two communities are moving unevenly but genuinely toward unity and mutual recognition.