The Chinese Regional Bishops' Conference (CRBC; ),
is the
episcopal conference
An episcopal conference, often also called a bishops’ conference or conference of bishops, is an official assembly of the bishops of the Catholic Church in a given territory. Episcopal conferences have long existed as informal entities. The fir ...
of
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
and is the highest organ of the
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
in
Greater China
In ethnogeography, "Greater China" is a loosely-defined term that refers to the region sharing cultural and economic ties with the Chinese people, often used by international enterprises or organisations in unofficial usage. The notion contains ...
. Catholics in the independent jurisdictions of
Hong Kong
Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
,
Macau
Macau or Macao is a special administrative regions of China, special administrative region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). With a population of about people and a land area of , it is the most List of countries and dependencies by p ...
and
Mongolia
Mongolia is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south and southeast. It covers an area of , with a population of 3.5 million, making it the world's List of countries and dependencies by po ...
are represented in the
Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences, not the Chinese Regional Bishops' Conference.
History
When
Archbishop Paul Yü of
Nanking attended the
Second Vatican Council
The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the or , was the 21st and most recent ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. The council met each autumn from 1962 to 1965 in St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City for session ...
in 1965,
Pope John XXIII
Pope John XXIII (born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli; 25 November 18813 June 1963) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 28 October 1958 until his death on 3 June 1963. He is the most recent pope to take ...
proposed the development of the Chinese Catholic Church on Taiwan due to the
situation of the Church on Mainland China. Part of this development would be to re-establish Catholic schools such as the
Catholic University in Peking on Taiwan as well as creating a Chinese episcopal conference. Therefore, the Chinese Catholic Bishops Conference (天主教中國主教團) was established in 1967
[''Annuario Pontificio'' (Libreria Editrice Vaticana ), page 1108] and would serve as the national bishops' conference for all
territories claimed by the Government of the Republic of China. In 1973, bishops from Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macao, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, and the Philippines gathered at Fu Jen Catholic University for the inaugural meeting of the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences.
In 1998, the conference adopted its current name to reflect the
geopolitical situation and remains the only Chinese episcopal conference sanctioned by the Vatican.
20 years later, the
Holy See's Secretariat of State requested that the conference change its English name to the Taiwan Region Catholic Bishops Conference as part of the
détente between the Holy See and the
Chinese Communist Party
The Communist Party of China (CPC), also translated into English as Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Founded in 1921, the CCP emerged victorious in the ...
.
Organizational structure
The conference is led by a president, vice president, and secretary-general. The Secretariat, the highest administrative unit, contains the following 10 commissions:
*Aborigine Apostolate
*Clergy
**Subcommittee on Ongoing Priest Formation
**Subcommittee on Seminaries Education
*Doctrine of the Faith and Catechetical Instruction
**Sub-Commission of Bible Apostolate
***Chinese Catholic Federation for the Bible Apostolate
**Subcommittee on Catechesis Research
**Subcommittee on Theology Research
**Catholic Charismatic Renewal Service Team
*Education and Culture
*Evangelization
**Subcommittee on Family
**Subcommittee on Laity
**Subcommittee on Youth
*Interreligious Dialogue and Ecumenical Cooperation
**Promoting Christian Unity
*Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People
*Pastoral - Health Care
*Sacred Liturgy
*Social Development (Justice & Peace)
Membership List
President: Most Reverend
John Lee Keh-Mien (
李克勉),
Bishop of HsinchuVice President: Most Reverend
Peter Liu (
劉振忠),
Bishop of Kaohsiung
*Most Reverend
Thomas Chung An-zu (
鍾安住),
Archbishop of Taipei
*Most Reverend
Philip Huang (黃兆明),
Bishop of Hualien
*Most Reverend
Norbert Pu Ying-hsiung (
浦英雄),
Bishop of Chiayi
*Most Reverend
Martin Su Yao-wen (
蘇耀文),
Bishop of Taichung
*Most Reverend
John Hung,
S.V.D. (
洪山川), Archbishop Emeritus of Taipei
*Most Reverend Luke Liu (劉獻堂), Bishop Emeritus of Hsinchu
*Most Reverend James Liu (劉丹桂), Bishop Emeritus of Hsinchu
*Most Reverend
Bosco Lin Chi-nan (林吉男), Bishop Emeritus of
Tainan
Tainan (), officially Tainan City, is a Special municipality (Taiwan), special municipality in southern Taiwan, facing the Taiwan Strait on its western coast. Tainan is the oldest city on the island and commonly called the "Taiwan Prefecture, ...
*Most Reverend John Lee Juo-wang (李若望), Bishop Emeritus of Tainan
*Most Reverend John Baptist Tseng (曾建次), Auxiliary Bishop Emeritus of Hualien
Note: The Archbishop of Taipei has also overseen the Apostolic Administration of Kin ma since 1968.
See also
*
Republic of China - Holy See relations
*
Roman Catholicism in China
*
Roman Catholicism in Taiwan
*
Christianity in China
Christianity has been present in China since the early medieval period, and became a significant presence in the country during the early modern era. The Church of the East appeared in China in the 7th century, during the Tang dynasty. Catholic C ...
References
External links
* (
Chinese)
{{Authority control
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
Catholic Church in China
Catholic Church in Taiwan
Christian organizations established in 1967