This is a sociological and historical analysis of the conflict between the state and the Catholic Church in China between 1949 and 2001 during half of a century of the socialist regime. The relationship began with conflict, followed by accomodation and finally a cooperative spirit had developed for a complex web of political and diplomatic reasons. Never in the past the Catholic Church has shown a rigorous growth under the encouragement of the Communist Party to shape the Church in the image of a indigenous and local church and to minimize the influence of the Vatican. There remains a...

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? This question has been at the center of recent relations between the Roman Catholic Church and China. In this first book-length study of the subject, Dr. Beatrice Leung analyzes the interactions between China and the Holy See from 1976 to 1986. She 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,...

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? This question has been at the center of recent relations between the Roman Catholic Church and China. In this first book-length study of the subject, Dr. Beatrice Leung analyzes the interactions between China and the Holy See from 1976 to 1986. She 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,...