Religion Wiki
Register
Advertisement
Blessing message Christianity in China portal
Part of a series of articles on
20th Century
Persecutions of the
Catholic Church


Mexico

Cristero War  · Iniquis Afflictisque
Saints  · José Sánchez del Río
Persecution in Mexico  · Miguel Pro

Spain
498 Spanish Martyrs
Red Terror (Spain) · Dilectissima Nobis
Martyrs of the Spanish Civil War
Martyrs of Daimiel
Bartolome Blanco Marquez
Innocencio of Mary Immaculate

Germany

Mit brennender Sorge  · Alfred Delp
Alois Grimm · Rupert Mayer
Bernhard Lichtenberg · Max Josef Metzger
Karl Leisner  · Maximilian Kolbe

China
Persecution in China · Ad Sinarum Gentem ·
Cupimus Imprimis  · Ad Apostolorum Principis
Ignatius Kung Pin-Mei · Beda Chang
Dominic Tang
Poland
Stefan Wyszyński
108 Martyrs of World War Two · Policies
Poloniae Annalibus  · Gloriosam Reginam
Invicti Athletae · Jerzy Popiełuszko

Eastern Europe
Jozsef Mindszenty  · Eugene Bossilkov
Josef Beran  · Aloysius Stepinac
Meminisse Juvat  · Anni Sacri

El Salvador

Maura Clarke  · Ignacio Ellacuría
Ita Ford  · Rutilio Grande
Dorothy Kazel  · Ignacio Martín-Baró
Segundo Montes  · Óscar Romero

General

Persecution of Christians
Church persecutions 1939-1958
Vatican and Eastern Europe
Vatican USSR policies

Eastern Catholic persecutions
Terrible Triangle
Conspiracy of Silence (Church persecutions)

Ad Sinarum Gentem issued October 7, 1954, is an encyclical of Pope Pius XII to the Chinese people on the super-nationality of the Church.

Background[]

The encyclical is written against the background of continued persecution of Christians in China, the expulsion of foreign missionaries, the jailing of domestic priests and lay people and the attempts by the State, to institute a national Chinese Catholic Church. Three years earlier, the Pope had issued the apostolic letter Cupimus Imprimis [1] to the Chinese people, to express his "sympathy in your afflictions, but also to exhort you paternally to fulfil all the duties of the Christian religion with that resolute fidelity that sometimes demands heroic strength".[2] "Since that time, the conditions of the Catholic Church have not improved. Accusations and calumnies against the Apostolic See, and those who keep themselves faithful to it, have increased. The Apostolic Nuncio has been expelled. Although the "great majority of Catholics have remained steadfast in the Faith, some adhered to dangerous movements from the enemies of all religion".[3]

"The consciousness of Our duty demands that We once more direct Our words to you through this Encyclical Letter, with the hope that it can become known to you. May it be of some comfort and encouragement for those who persevere staunchly and bravely in truth and virtue. To the others may it bring light and Our paternal admonitions.[4]"
―{{{2}}}

Message[]

The Pope warns against separation from Rome, defends the Church against accusations of undermining Chinese culture and society, and welcomes cultural differences in preaching and teaching.

"The manner of preaching and teaching ought to differ according to place, and therefore ought to conform, when possible, to the nature and particular character of the Chinese people, and also to its ancient traditional customs. If this is properly done, certainly greater fruits will be gathered among you. But - and it is absurd merely to think of it - by what right can men arbitrarily and diversely in different nations, interpret the Gospel of Jesus Christ? [5]"
―{{{2}}}

This pastoral flexibility cannot imply however, that the Church agrees to political theology or a specific Chinese Christianity.

Notes[]

  1. AAS 44:153
  2. Ad Sinarum Gentem 1
  3. Ad Sinarum Gentem 4
  4. Ad sinarum Gentem 5
  5. Ad Sinarum Gentem 16,17

References[]

  • Bonnichon, A. (June, 1955). "La Persecuzione in Cina e l’Encicla “Ad Sinarum Gentem”". La Civiltà Cattolica. 

External links[]

  • Ad Sinarum Gentem, full text of Pius XII's encyclical, 7 October 1954, on the Vatican website.

la:Ad Sinarum gentem

Advertisement