At a recent symposium in Hong Kong, scholars discussed key historical events like the Council of Shanghai in 1924, the consecration of bishops in 1926, and the establishment of the Church hierarchy in 1946. Symposium participants agree that, a hundred years later, the Catholic Church in China is now a Church by and of the Chinese. However, the Chinese bishops of the past were polyglots, deeply aware of the reality of the universal Church and society, and capable of constructive dialogue with political forces and social groups – skills that, together with simplicity and fidelity, contributed decisively to the process of inculturation.
