Father Tsang was born in mainland China to a Catholic family, “but I escaped by swimming to Hong Kong – four hours to Hong Kong, at night – and then went to the States.” The priest, who now teaches at Fu Jen Catholic University of Taiwan, attended the conference marking the 400th anniversary of Father Ricci’s death.
Father Ricci, who was born in 1552 and arrived in China at the age of 30, delved into studies of the Chinese language, culture and Confucianism. His respect for the Chinese gradually paved the way for his dialogue with China’s government and cultural leaders. At the same time, “he was very frank and strict, explicit and direct on the goodness of the Christian faith,” Father Tsang said, and “he did not hesitate to point out the defects of Taoism and Buddhism.”
While Father Ricci found great fault with what he understood about Taoism and Buddhism, he believed that Confucianism, in its purest form, was a philosophy open to Christianity. After his death, missionaries developed the so-called “Chinese rites” – Confucian-based social rituals involving ancestor veneration and offerings to the emperor – which allowed Chinese converts to preserve elements of their heritage while being Catholic. Centuries of controversy ensued and although the rites developed after Father Ricci’s death, he was so strongly identified with that disputed form of inculturation that his sainthood cause was not opened until the 1980s.
Father Tsang said it was unfortunate that the controversy led some to question Father Ricci’s holiness. It is true, he said, that Father Ricci “was very friendly with the Chinese, respecting the Chinese culture, but in terms of the faith, he was very unabashedly Catholic.” In his speech at Rome’s Pontifical Gregorian University, Father Tsang said Father Ricci was not so “narrow-minded as to regard non-Christian cultures or religions as nothing good; indeed, he saw quite a lot of compatibility between early Confucianism and Christianity,” and recognized that Confucian teachings could be seen as preparing the Chinese to receive the Gospel.
Father Ricci’s respect for the Chinese and his commitment to sharing the Gospel with them offer the still-relevant lesson that Christians cannot claim God is at work only among Christians but, at the same time, they cannot claim that all religions are equally valid paths to salvation, Father Tsang said. According to him, the Chinese today need the Gospel just as much as they did in Father Ricci’s age. The country is enjoying economic prosperity, but “there are grave, hidden problems,” including the repression of human rights, a growing divide between rich and poor, widespread use of abortion and “alarming pollution.” www.catholicnews.com
