1930年代羅馬教廷結束「禮儀之爭」之研究

Abstract

After the Holy See's decree of 1742 that prohibited the rites of homage to ancestors and Confucius (and any discussion on this issue), the problem of the Chinese rites was suspended. The suspension not only impeded the development of the Chinese Church, but also affected neighboring countries where similar rites existed. This article reexamines how the Holy See reversed its decision, putting the issue of the Chinese rites in the framework of the history of the Primitive Church and the new situation in international politics, in the l930s, the Holy See took only seven years to resolve the problems of the traditional rites practiced in Japan, Manchuria and China. This article begins with a description of the background of the secular tendency of the cult of Confucius and ancestors in late Qing society, which helps explain how the issue of the Chinese rites regained importance during Celso Costantini's mission in the l920s. Developments in Japan stimulated the Holy See to find a new solution, leading on to Manchuria, and, at the end of 1939, to the reversal of the abolition of the previous prohibitions on Chinese rites in the Chinese Church. The 1939 decree was critical for the development of the Catholic Church of the Chinese people.