Luo Wenzao: the first Chinese bishop in Catholic history
2022-04-12
In 1633 ad, it was the sixth year of Chongzhen in the Ming Dynasty in China, and the year of Guiyou in the theory of trunk and branch. This year is not very remarkable in human history, but it can be said to be a year of setbacks in the development of modern science. In June of that year, Galileo, an Italian scientist in his 70s, signed a letter of repentance on the stone floor of the hall of the monastery of Santa Maria in Rome and was sentenced to life imprisonment. In the East, Xu Guangqi, who was committed to saving the country through science, died in October this year. 1633 was also a crucial year for Chinese Catholicism. In 1630, three years ago, Li Zhizao died; One year ago, in 1632, Yang Tingyun died. With the death of Xu Guangqi this year, the three pillars of Chinese Catholicism fell one after another, and the first generation of Chinese Catholics faded out of the historical stage. At this time, a larger external crisis is fermenting. In February 1633, the Holy See allowed all monasteries in Europe to choose any route to enter the Far East. As early as 1495, the Holy See classified the Far East into the sphere of influence of Portugal and granted Portugal the mission obligation and privilege in the Far East. Portugal used this power to require non Portuguese missionaries to go to the East through Lisbon and Goa, monopolizing the missionary work in the East. However, with the rise of other European countries, Portugal's monopoly power in the Far East began to face challenges. In 1565, the Spanish entered the Far East from Mexico to the west, occupied the Philippines and used it as a stronghold to expand their influence in the Far East. When the Holy See allowed other orders to enter the Far East by any route without following the Portuguese rules in 1633, the Catholicism in the Far East fell into the chaos of the struggle for hegemony of the Western Empire and the conflict between the orders. In July, 1633, Li Yufan, a member of the Dominicans, and Li An, a member of the Franciscans, appeared to preach in Fu'an, Fujian. They appeared there because they did not follow the usual routes and rules of the Jesuit Church, but sneaked into the coastal area of Fujian from Taiwan. In September of that year, a few days before Xu Guangqi's death, Luo Wenzao, a poor 16-year-old young man in Fu'an, accepted the baptism of Lian Dang and converted to Catholicism. The identity of this young man born in poverty is very different from that of the first generation of Chinese Catholics. The first generation of Catholics were usually scholar bureaucrats or their families. The Franciscans and the Dominican order, these ancient mendicants, boasted of poverty, and they were more inclined to deal with the bottom of society. Two different types of Catholics seem to be complementary, but unfortunately, there has been a fierce conflict between the two sides, and Luo Wenzao has become one of the central figures in the vortex of the conflict. Luo Wenzao first served as an assistant to Lian Dang and followed him north to Nanjing and Beijing, east to Taiwan and south to Macao and the Philippines. In 1645, Luo Wenzao studied Latin, Spanish and philosophy at Thomas college in Manila, Philippines; In 1650, Luo Wenzao officially joined the Dominican Association, and later joined the Dominican association to study philosophy of God in the chamber of the Philippines; In 1654, Luo Wenzao became a priest in the Diocese of Manila, becoming the first Chinese priest in history; In 1655, Luo Wenzao returned to his hometown. At this time, China was at the turn of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, with wars everywhere. Luo Wenzao has won the love of believers by rushing to help those suffering from disasters regardless of safety. After entering the Qing Dynasty, Chinese Catholicism suffered heavy losses again. In 1664, Yang Guangxian, the eunuch of imperial heaven, accused Tang ruowang, a Jesuit missionary, of three major crimes. Tang ruowang was arrested and sent to prison. The imperial court issued an edict prohibiting westerners from preaching in China, and all foreign missionaries were sent to Guangdong. Luo Wenzao is the only Chinese priest. Only he is not restricted by the ban and can move freely. Therefore, during this period, all monasteries entrusted their parishes to Luo Wenzao, who supported the educational administration of the whole China on his own. In view of the needs of the times and personal performance, Luo Wenzao was promoted to bishop and became the first Chinese bishop in Catholic history. When a Chinese becomes a bishop, it means that the localization trend of Chinese Catholicism is taking shape. With the emergence of more Chinese priests and priests, there is no need for foreign missionaries. Chinese Catholics have their own bishops, their own clergy, and even their own unique etiquette and rules, which is unacceptable to some monasteries and the Empire behind them. Portugal and Spain are clearly opposed, while Luo Wenzao's own congregation Domingo threatened to expel him from being bishop. Luo Wenzao suffered many misfortunes after becoming a Catholic. Annan was kidnapped by the Philippine house arrest Association, and he was kidnapped by the Dutch house arrest Association in Nanjing. I was kidnapped by the Dutch house arrest Association in Nanjing. Luo Wenzao clearly realized that many of his misfortunes came from the conflict between the Catholic inner orders. The best way for Chinese Catholicism to develop healthily is undoubtedly to cultivate its own strength and build an independent Chinese Catholicism. Luo Wenzao therefore opposed the Latin level as the basis for the promotion of priests, and demanded that Chinese people be allowed to preside over mass in Chinese. He advocated the selection and promotion of older Chinese Catholics, excluding some western missionaries, and promoted three Chinese monks to priests. More importantly, Luo Wenzao should safeguard China's own cultural tradition, which is the key to the survival of Chinese Catholicism. The core issue of the etiquette dispute is whether the ritual activities of worshipping heaven, ancestors and Confucius in Chinese society are an idol worship in the view of Catholicism. The Jesuit Church dealt with this problem with a realistic strategy. They understood these rituals with their own explanations, respected Chinese cultural traditions, and allowed believers to worship heaven, ancestors and Confucius. As soon as the new Franciscans and the Dominican order came to China, they believed that these rites were in conflict with the Catholic faith. Xunzi once said, "gentlemen think of literature, while the people think of God". The ritual of sacrifice is the same: people regard various sacrifices full of magical power, and scholar bureaucrats regard them as a way of culture and education. From the perspective of scholars and bureaucrats, the Jesuit Church made humanistic explanations on worshipping heaven, ancestors and Confucius, so as to make Catholicism based in China; The Dominican church and the Franciscans explained these rites oppositely, pushing the Chinese Catholic Church to the edge of the cliff. As a Chinese, Luo Wenzao is well aware of the importance of Chinese etiquette to Chinese Catholicism. Although he is a member of the Dominican church, he bluntly accused the missionaries of the Dominican church of "misinterpreting the meaning of Chinese philosophy and wisdom with the meaning of words, changing the original meaning, and provoking himself and others empty." As a bishop, Luo Wenzao directly wrote a long report to the Holy See, detailing the origin and connotation of Chinese etiquette. Luo Wenzao warned the holy see that China's Catholicism would suffer a devastating religious disaster if Chinese priests were forced not to abide by Chinese etiquette. However, Luo Wenzao's warning did not work, especially after his death, the conflict between etiquette became irreparable. In 1633, when the Holy See allowed other orders to enter the Far East at will, Luo Wenzao, then 16, found that the new missionaries in his hometown did not understand Chinese culture, and some did not even master Chinese language, but were eager to make waves by taking advantage of etiquette issues. Among these missionaries, Yan Dang, a doctor of theology of the foreign missionary Church in Paris, arrived in Fujian in 1684 and once worked with Luo Wenzao. In March 1693, two years after Luo Wenzao's death, Yan Dang, who has become the acting pastoral bishop of Fujian, issued an order to prohibit Chinese etiquette in his diocese. From then on, the dispute over etiquette became uncontrollable. As a bishop, Luo Wenzao wears traditional Chinese clothes although he holds a scepter and rosary beads. He has always stressed to the holy see that he is Chinese and the importance of Chinese etiquette. In October 1690, Luo Wenzao suddenly became seriously ill and died in Nanjing the next year. Chinese priests and religious friends held a funeral for him according to Chinese etiquette and buried him in Yuhuatai Renjia garden outside Nanjing. More than 200 years after his death, the Catholic Church did not have a Chinese bishop until 1926. (outlook new era)
Edit：Yuanqi Tang Responsible editor：Xiao Yu
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