GUIZHOU'S CATHOLIC CHURCH

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CHENGDU 000044

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

FOR EAP/CM, DRL AND G/IRF

E.O. 12958: DECL: 2/9/2027
TAGS: PHUM PGOV KIRD CH
SUBJECT: GUIZHOU'S CATHOLIC CHURCH

REF: 06 CHENGDU 921

CHENGDU 00000044 001.2 OF 002


CLASSIFIED BY: James A. Boughner, Consul General, United States
Consulate, Chengdu.
REASON: 1.4 (b),(d)




1. (C) Summary: The Vatican has approved the upcoming
ordination of a new bishop for Guiyang, according to a
seminarian at the Guiyang North Catholic Church. While Guiyang
has few underground Catholic churches, "patriotic" Catholic
leaders in Guizhou Province hope to "unite with" underground
Catholics as long as they are "true believers in God," he said.
The principal challenges for the Church in Guizhou are a
shortage of rural priests, the need to repair rural churches,
reacquisition of Church property, and the general ageing of the
Church population. End Summary.


2. (C) During a late January visit to Guizhou Province,
Congenoff made unscheduled visits to Guiyang's two Catholic
churches, the North Catholic Church (Reftel) and the Xinhua
Street Catholic Church. A seminarian and a nun discussed the
churches' leadership, the underground church, the general
challenges faced by the Church in one of China's poorest
provinces, and their personal religious backgrounds.

Vatican Approves Ordination of new Guiyang Bishop
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3. (C) Liu Xianjun (strictly protect),a young seminarian at
the North Church told Congenoff a new "assistant" bishop, Xiao
Daijiang, currently a county-level priest, would be ordained in
March. He said the current bishop, Wang Chongyi is 86 years old
and will likely retire in the near future. When asked about the
sensitivity of recent ordinations of Chinese bishops, Liu
acknowledged the Vatican had approved Xiao's upcoming
ordination. Xiao is 38 years old and graduated from the
Catholic Seminary in Shanghai. The other priest at the North
Church, Ma Daijiang, is also a younger priest, Liu said.
According to a nun at the Xinhua Street Church, that church has
an 87-year-old and a 30 year-old priest, but no nuns. There are
three nuns that serve the North Church, she said.

Guizhou's Underground Church
--------------

4. (C) When queried Liu said there were very few underground
churches in the province, but that, in general, the religious
leaders of the Church in Guizhou do not make a distinction
between underground and "above ground" believers. As long as
they are "true believers in God, then we hope to unite with
them," he stated. Liu said he was unaware of any detained
underground church priests or adherents, but admitted there
might be some restrictions on their movement. A nun from the
Xinhua Street Church, in a separate conversation, nervously
denied knowledge of an underground Church in the province.

Challenges for the Church
--------------

5. (C) Liu said the principal challenges for the Church are a
shortage of rural priests, the need to repair or rebuild rural
churches, and the general ageing of the Church population. Liu
cited historical and economic reasons as well as China's
opening-up policy, for the lack of interest of young people in
the Church. He lamented that the majority of Catholic believers
are elderly people. In order to address the problem, the North
Church is organizing a new "Reading Group" (du shu hui) for
children that will focus on teaching the Bible. When asked
whether the Government permitted this type of religious
education, Liu said he did not anticipate a problem. Liu added
that he hoped once young people learned more about the Church,
the population would become more diverse. The nun from the
Xinhua Street Church in a separate conversation echoed Liu's
concern about the difficulty in attracting young people to the
church, but said her church did not yet have programs for the
youth. She also said another serious difficulty was the
reacquisition of church properties and land that were taken
during the Cultural Revolution. She referred vaguely to several
legal cases the Xinhua Street Church had filed on the issue.

Religious Preparation of Priests and Nuns
--------------

6. (C) Seminarian Liu told us he was a native of Guizhou
Province, but attended seminary in Shenyang. He said he became
Catholic in middle school because many of his family members
were Catholic. Part of the curriculum in his final year of
seminary is a six-month "internship" with a parish, which he is
currently carrying out at the North Church. Liu said he will
likely return to Guizhou when he graduates. The current
"manager" of the Xinhua Street Church is a 45-year-old nun who
was not willing to give her name. She said she graduated from

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Guiyang Catholic Nuns' School ten years ago. The school
currently has ten nuns enrolled. The nun said there was also a
seminary for priests in Guiyang, but that there were no
seminarians there now.

Comment
--------------

7. (C) The young seminarian was open and candid in his comments
on sensitive issues of ordination and the underground Church.
In contrast, the Xiamen Street Church nun was much more nervous
and unwilling to provide much detail on the issues facing her
parish.
BOUGHNER