Catholic Church in China
Christian church in the East Asian nation / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Catholic Church in China (called Tiānzhǔ Jiào, 天主教, literally "Religion of the Lord of Heaven" after the Chinese term for the Christian God) has a long and complicated history. John of Montecorvino was the first Catholic missionary to reach China proper and first bishop of Khanbaliq during the Yuan dynasty (1271–1368).[1]
After the 1949 takeover by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), Catholic and Protestant missionaries were expelled from the country. In 1957, the communist government established the Catholic Patriotic Association in Beijing,[2] which rejects the authority of the Holy See and appoints its own preferential bishops. Since September 2018, however, an agreement was reached, giving the Pope the power to veto any bishop which the Chinese government recommends.[3][4] However, the Church has claimed this agreement was breached in November 2022 and July 2023 when two bishops were installed without prior approval or consultation by the Vatican.[5]