According to tradition, the Catholic Church was first introduced into China in the third century, but no lasting effects are reported from these initial efforts. A second attempt was made in 1294 by the Franciscans who sought to introduce Christianity to the capital city of Peking, although they experienced similar lack of success.
It was only in 1583, during the Ming Dynasty, that the Catholic Church took roots in China. This was achieved through the missionary achievements of a Jesuit priest, Matteo Ricci, and his companions. Five years ago, the Church in the Republic of China on Taiwan celebrated the 400th anniversary of Ricci's work of evangelization in China.
Spread to Taiwan
Spanish missionaries were the first to come to Taiwan, reaching the cities of Keelung and Tamsui in northern Taiwan in 1626. Dutch occupation of the island at that time, however, did not favor the foundation of the Church. It was only in 1859 that Spanish Dominicans, coming from the Philippines through Amoy, were able to establish the Church successfully in Taiwan's southern city of Kaohsiung.
The Taiwan territory, with regard to Church organization, belonged originally to the Fukien Apostolic Vicariate, which lay on the opposite coast of China. This Vicariate was divided in 1883 into two vicariates, namely, those of Foochow and Amoy—Taiwan belonging to the latter.
After the Japanese occupation of the Island, Taiwan became in 1913 an independent Church territory or Apostolic Prefecture. During the years 1941-1946, the Catholic Church in Taiwan was under the direction of a Japanese Prefect Apostolic. After the Japanese surrender in 1946, a native priest of Taiwan became the administrator of the Taiwan Prefecture. In 1948, Reverend Jose Arregui, OP, was appointed Prefect Apostolic. On December 1949, Taiwan was divided into two Prefectures.
Catholic Membership
In 1949, at the time of Communist occupation of mainland China, Catholic membership had reached 4,000,000. In Taiwan there were then close to 11,000 Catholics. A wave of conversions in the 1950's brought the number to approximately 300,000 by 1970. Later, the movement tapered off. With attrition by death, and with a certain number of Catholics who have escaped registration because of being migrants in the industrial centers, membership currently stands at 292,000. At present there is no way of ascertaining the membership totals in mainland China.
The Organization of the Catholic Church in Taiwan
The overall shepherding of the flock of 292,000 Catholics in Taiwan is under the pastoral leadership of the Conference of Chinese Bishops. From the preliminary and earlier status of apostolic prefectures, the territorial divisions of the Church in Taiwan were established into dioceses on the following dates: Taipei became an archdiocese in 1952; Kaohsiung, Hsinchu, and Tainan in 1961; Taichung and Chiayi in 1962; and Hualien in 1963. Kinmen and Matsu were placed under Apostolic Administration in 1968, and Penghu in 1970.
The Chinese Bishops Conference became a formal body of Church leadership in 1967, and Archbishop Joseph Kuo was elected as its first president. Cardinal Paul Yupin succeeded him in 1971; Archbishop Matthew Kia in 1979; Archbishop Stanislaus Lokuang in 1983; and Bishop Paul Shan in 1987.
Each bishop is also responsible for a Commission which is staffed by a number of sub-commissions, composed of experts, who work together in the areas of Faith Instruction, Evangelization. Clergy and Laity Concerns, Sacred Worship, Education, Culture, Mass Communications, and Social Development.
Personnel in Service
There are currently 800 priests in Taiwan of both Chinese and non-Chinese nationality, plus more than 1,200 Sisters and Brothers and 400 men and women catechists. The catechists give Christian service, in the name of the Church, in its pastoral, educational, social, and charitable work. As social needs arise, new works of charity are established such as the recent new home opened and staffed by Good Shepherd Sisters who look after problem teenagers.
Works
The total number of Catholic churches in Taiwan has increased to 850—large and small. They are found in all kinds of settings: urban, rural, and mountain areas.
Catholic sponsored educational institutions in Taiwan include 370 kindergartens, 10 primary schools, 27 middle schools, 9 technical schools, 4 language schools, 3 colleges and universities, 2 major seminaries, and 6 minor seminaries. Of these, special mention should be made of Fu Jen Catholic University. Originally established in Peking, the university was re-established in Taiwan in 1959 at the request of Pope John XXIII. Cardinal Paul Yupin was appointed Rector Magnificus, and served in that capacity until his resignation in 1978. He was then succeeded by Archbishop Stanislaus Lokuang.
Fu Jen Catholic University plays an important role in Chinese society by giving academic confidence to Catholic intellectuals and reaching out to non-Catholics of the academic world. Providence College, in its new location on the outskirts of Taichung City, central Taiwan, will soon have the status of university and become the second Catholic university in the ROC. Beyond its service to Taiwan's educational system, the Catholic Church also provides some 60 hostels for student use throughout the island.
There are 10 Church-operated publishing houses, two weekly newspapers, 10 monthly periodicals, two radio stations and six audio-visual centers currently contributing to the quality of life in Taiwan through their mass media activities.
Other Catholic services offered to the people of the ROC include 16 hospitals, 24 clinics, seven orphanages, five homes for the aged, and many centers for the care and rehabilitation of handicapped and mentally-retarded persons.
Influence
But the influence of the Catholic Church in Taiwan goes beyond the importance that statistical figures might indicate. Its schools, hospitals, and social institutions, which are open to all people, make possible a broad range of substantial contacts with people from all walks of life. Therefore, the Church has the great advantage of sharing its vision of humankind with others, a vision that serves the needs of society.
The Church sees one of its key roles in local society to promote the primacy of the human person in the spheres of family, culture, and politics, as well as in the realm of economics. To this end, statements have been issued by the Chinese Bishops Conference, presenting the Church's stand against abortion, and giving positive alternatives to save the personal dignity of unwed mothers and take care of unwanted children.
Ethical and moral values are taught in Catholic schools and teachers are given better and better training so that they may more effectively impart Christian quality to the lives of students, their parents, and other relatives.
Religious Sisters, in all their ministries and areas of influence, seek to raise awareness of the important roles of women in the family, in society, and in the Church. This is done so that the potentialities of Christian womanhood will be recognized and fully used, thus contributing to the cultural enrichment of the community at all levels.
Recent Outreach Activities
June 1982: A group of researchers, known as TARGTI (Taiwan Area Research Group on Theological Issues) issued, in both Chinese and English, a noteworthy book entitled "Economic Development and Quality of Life—The Case of Taiwan." The core group of researchers included Catholic and Protestant theologians and sociologists who are professors in local universities.
April 1983: The Sixth Asian Meeting of Religious Women (AMOR VI) met in Changhua, Central Taiwan. The 42 delegates represented Australia, Hongkong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Macao, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, and Thailand. The meeting was designed for an exchange of thought, experience, and joint prayer on the theme: "Quality of Life of Women in Asia."
July 1983: A Caritas-Taiwan report, covering 6 years (1977-1983) showed that through the Caritas staff (which functions as part of the Bishops Commission for Social Development) a total of 1,683 "small boat" refugees from Vietnam were processed for resettlement in countries abroad.
January 1985: Mother Teresa of Calcutta, the Missionary of Charity and winner in 1979 of the Nobel Peace Prize, came to Taiwan for a 3-day visit. Members of her religious community, both women and men, are working in three areas of Tainan and Taipei.
April 1986: The National Council of the Lay Apostolate in the Republic of China sponsored its First Regional Meeting on "The Role of the Laity in East Asia." East Asia was represented by delegates from Hongkong, Japan, Korea, Macao, and Taiwan, ROC.
Symposium on Evangelization—1988
The Catholic Church will sponsor a National Symposium on Evangelization at Fu Jen Catholic University, February 2-8, 1988. Flowing from the initiatives of the Chinese Bishops Conference and the leadership of Bishop Paul Shan, president of the Episcopal Commission for Evangelization, this project has been in preparation for three years. It has mobilized the Catholic population of Taiwan at all levels—individual Christians, families, parishes, schools, and other institutions of all dioceses.
The major event is designed as an all-out effort to make more effective the spread of Christian values, as well as offset the dominant influences of the materialistic spirit which increasingly militates against the appeal of the Gospel message in Taiwan's modern society.
The symposium will be attended by some 200 delegates. The president of the Roman Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, Cardinal Jozef Tomko, will be present, plus eleven bishops from Taiwan. Other delegates will include priests and seminarians, religious women and men, representatives of various schools, Christians from all dioceses of Taiwan, and experts from abroad.
The delegates will consider topics that have already been under discussion throughout the Church with the goal of further deliberation and decisions for implementation. Key topics include: Evangelization; Formation of Laity; Vocations, Seminary Education, and Pastors in Ministry; Unity between Pastors and the Faithful; Charisms of Religious Congregations; Sanctification of the Family; The Parish; Lay Christian Organizations; The Local Church; Liturgy and Worship; Education and Cultural Works; Social Services and Works of Charity; and Communications Media.
Conclusion
In the honesty of its self-searching and the intensity of its striving for genuine witnessing to the real Gospel values, the Catholic Church in the Republic of China is "alive and well." —(Fr. Joseph Huang is Vice Secretary-General of the Secretariat of the Chinese Bishops Conference).