節錄榮休教宗本篤十六世致中國教會文告 Excerpt from Letter to the Church in China by Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI

Few people are motivated to read Church documents. Thus, the teachings of the Catholic Church are well-kept open secrets. Now that both sides are quoting in different ways the 2007 Letter to the Church in China by the Emeritus Pope Benedict VXI, and that the signing of Bishop Appointment Agreement is imminent, on the Feast of St. Joseph, the Spouse of the BVM, I feel the urge to make an excerpt of relevant chunks of texts from the letter, fully aware of being guilty of taking words out of context. The 2007 Letter can be downloaded from the following URL's. Check them out yourselves.
http://w2.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/letters/2007/documents/hf_ben-xvi_let_20070527_china.pdf
很少人有興趣閱讀教會的文件，因此，天主教的訓導素來是保守得最好的公開秘密。近日雙方引述榮休教宗本篤十六世的2007年到中國教會的信件，而且傳聞的委任主教協議快要簽署，值此大聖若瑟瞻禮，我心衝動，甘冒斷章取義之大忌，節錄教宗信中有關的文字，讓大家自己判斷！教宗的信件可在以下超連結下載。
http://w2.vatican.va/content/dam/benedict-xvi/pdf/letters/documents/letter_bxvi_china_tradiz.pdf

Section 6: Tensions and Divisions within the Church: pardon and reconciliation

Paragraph 4: The history of the Church teaches us, then, that authentic communion is not expressed without arduous efforts at reconciliation²³. Indeed, the purification of memory, the pardoning of wrong-doers, the forgetting of injustices suffered and the loving restoration to serenity of troubled hearts, all to be accomplished in the name of Jesus crucified and risen, can require moving beyond personal positions or viewpoints, born of painful or difficult experiences. These are urgent steps that must be taken if the bonds of communion between the faithful and the Pastors of the Church in China are to grow and be made visible.

第六號：教會內部之緊張現象及分裂：寬恕與和好

第四段：此外，教會的歷史也教導我們，真正的共融必須經過艱苦地致力於修和才能達成。²³事實上，因被釘死而又復活了的耶穌之名而淨化記憶，寬恕作惡者，忘掉所受的委屈，及讓我們的心重新在愛中找到平安，這一切或許要求我們放棄由痛苦或艱難的經驗中形成的個人立場或見解。然而，為了使在中國的教會的教友和牧者之間共融的聯系能增長並展現，這些都是急切需要完成的。
Paragraph 5: ... "My ardent desire is that you will respond to the interior promptings of the Holy Spirit by forgiving one another whatever needs to be forgiven, by drawing closer to one another, by accepting one another and by breaking down all barriers in order to overcome every possible cause of division." (Pope John Paul II message to the Catholic community in China Alla Vigilia, December 8, 1999)
第五段：…「我熱切期望，你們聽從來自聖神內的啟發，彼此寬恕一切應該寬恕的，彼此接近，互相接納，拆除藩籬，超越能使你們分裂的一切。」（教宗若望保祿二世，致在中國天主教教友文告《聖言成了血肉 Alla vigilia》1999年12月8日）
Paragraph 6: We all realize that this journey cannot be accomplished overnight, but be assured that the whole Church will raise up an insistent prayer for you to this end.
第六段：我們大家都知道此路途不可能一日之間完成，然而你們可以放心，整個教會將不懈地為使你們達到這目的而祈禱。

Section 7: Ecclesial communities and State agencies: relationships to be lived in truth and charity.

Paragraph 3: Truth and charity are the two supporting pillars of the life of the Christian community. For this reason, I have observed that "the Church of love is also the Church of truth, understood primarily as fidelity to the Gospel entrusted by the Lord Jesus to his followers ... However, if the family of God's children is to live in unity and peace, it needs someone to keep it in the truth and guide it with wise and authoritative discernment: this is what the ministry of the Apostles is required to do. And here we come to an important point. The Church is wholly of the Spirit but has a structure, the apostolic succession, which is responsible for guaranteeing that the Church endures in the truth given by Christ, from whom the capacity to love also comes ... The Apostles and their successors are therefore the custodians and authoritative witnesses of the deposit of truth consigned to the Church, and are likewise the ministers of charity. These are two aspects that go together ... Truth and love are the two faces of the same gift that comes from God and, thanks to the apostolic ministry, is safeguarded in the Church and handed down to us, to our present time!"³⁰.

第七號：教會團體和國家機構: 在真理和愛德中生活的關係

第三段：真理和愛是支撐基督徒團體的生活的兩個支柱。為此，我曾經提醒過大家：「愛的教會也是真理的教會，這首先是指忠於主耶穌交給祂的門徒的福音。……然而，天主子女的家庭，若要生活在合一與和平中，需要有誰在真理中保護這一家庭，並本著睿智和權威性的辨別領導這一家庭：這正是宗徒蒙召要履行的職務。這裏，我們論到了重點。教會整個是聖神的，但是，教會有一架構，就是宗徒的繼承。宗徒繼承的職責是保障教會始終生活在基督賜予的真理內，並從這真理獲得愛的能力。……因此，宗徒及他們的繼承人，是基督交託給教會的真理寶庫的權威護衛者和見證人，同時，他們也是愛德的服務者：這二者不能分割。……真理和愛是來自天主的同一恩寵的兩面，借助宗徒的職務，一直被守護在教會內，直到今天，傳給了我們」。³⁰ 
Paragraph 4: ... "Love and courtesy of this kind should not, of course, make us indifferent to truth and goodness"³¹.
第四段：…「這愛德和友善，不論以何種形式，都不應使我們對真理及美善，變成模棱兩可」。³¹
Paragraph 5: Considering "Jesus' original plan"³², it is clear that the claim of some entities, desired by the State and extraneous to the structure of the Church, to place themselves above the Bishops and to guide the life of the ecclesial community, does not correspond to Catholic doctrine, according to which the Church is "apostolic", as the Second Vatican Council underlined. The Church is apostolic "in her origin because she has been built on 'the foundation of the Apostles' (Eph 2:20). She is apostolic in her teaching which is the same as that of the Apostles. She is apostolic by reason of her structure insofar as she is taught, sanctified, and guided until Christ returns by the Apostles through their successors who are the Bishops in communion with the Successor of Peter"³³. Therefore, in every individual particular Church, "it is in the name of the Lord that the diocesan Bishop [and only he] leads the flock entrusted to him, and he does so as the proper, ordinary and immediate Pastor"³⁴; at a national level, moreover, only a legitimate Episcopal Conference can formulate pastoral guidelines, valid for the entire Catholic community of the country concerned³⁵.
第五段：考慮到「耶穌[建立教會]的初衷」³² 充分顯示出，某些由國家建立，與教會的架構無關的機構，企圖凌駕于主教之上，以領導教會團體的生活，並不符合天主教的教義。根據這教義，教會是「從宗徒傳下來的」，梵蒂岡第二屆大公會議也重申了這一點。教會是從宗徒傳下來的，「因為她的起源，是建築在『宗徒的基礎上』（弗2:20）；因為她的訓導，是宗徒們親授的；因為她的架構，直到基督的再度來臨，教會都是由宗徒們通過他們的繼承人——即與伯多祿的繼承人共融的——主教們訓導、聖化和管理」。³³ 因此，在每一個地方教會，只有「教區主教以本有的、正權的及直接的牧人身份，以主的名義牧養託付給他的羊群」。³⁴就國家層面上，只有合法的主教團才能給其閾內全體天主教團體制定有交的牧靈指南。³⁵
Paragraph 6: Likewise, the declared purpose of the afore-mentioned entities to implement "the principles of independence and autonomy, self-management and democratic administration of the Church"³⁶ is incompatible with Catholic doctrine, which from the time of the ancient Creeds professes the Church to be "one, holy, catholic and apostolic".
第六段：上述機構所宣稱的宗旨，落實「獨立自主自辦教會和民主辦教原則」，³⁶ 與天主教的教義無法調和，這教義自古代的信經，就已宣認教會是「至一、至聖、至公、從宗徒傳下來的。」
Paragraph 7: In the light of the principles here outlined, Pastors and lay faithful will recall that the preaching of the Gospel, catechesis and charitable activity, liturgical and cultic action, as well as all pastoral choices, are uniquely the competence of the Bishops together with their priests in the unbroken continuity of the faith handed down by the Apostles in the Sacred Scriptures and in Tradition, and therefore they cannot be subject to any external interference.
第七段：綜上所述，牧者和教友都要牢記：宣講福音、教理講授和愛德工作、禮儀和敬拜活動以及各種牧靈選擇，都只屬於主教和他們的司鐸。他們不斷延續宗徒們在聖經和聖傳中的信仰。為此，不能接受任何外來的干預。
Paragraph 8: Given this difficult situation, not a few members of the Catholic community are asking whether recognition from the civil authorities – necessary in order to function publicly – somehow compromises communion with the universal Church. I am fully aware that this problem causes painful disquiet in the hearts of Pastors and faithful. In this regard I maintain, in the first place, that the requisite and courageous safeguarding of the deposit of faith and of sacramental and hierarchical communion is not of itself opposed to dialogue with the authorities concerning those aspects of the life of the ecclesial community that fall within the civil sphere. There would not be any particular difficulties with acceptance of the recognition granted by civil authorities on condition that this does not entail the denial of unrenounceable principles of faith and of ecclesiastical communion. In not a few particular instances, however, indeed almost always, in the process of recognition the intervention of certain bodies obliges the people involved to adopt attitudes, make gestures and undertake commitments that are contrary to the dictates of their conscience as Catholics. I understand, therefore, how in such varied conditions and circumstances it is difficult to determine the correct choice to be made. For this reason the Holy See, after restating the principles, leaves the decision to the individual Bishop who, having consulted his presbyterate, is better able to know the local situation, to weigh the concrete possibilities of choice and to evaluate the possible consequences within the diocesan community. It could be that the final decision does not obtain the consensus of all the priests and faithful. I express the hope, however, that it will be accepted, albeit with suffering, and that the unity of the diocesan community with its own Pastor will be maintained.
第八段：鑒於這一艱難局勢，不少天主教團體的成員都在自問，政權當局的認可——這是公開進行活動所必要的——是否會在某種程度上威脅到與普世教會的共融。我深知，這個問題痛苦地煎熬著牧者和教友們的心。就這一問題，我首先強調的是義不容辭地、勇敢地保護信仰寶庫，和聖事上及聖統上的共融，這事就其本身而言，並不代表反對與當權者，就教會團體生活中涉及民事的部份進行對話。此外，在不違背不可放棄的信仰原則及教會共融的前提下，教會接受政權當局的認可並沒有什麼特別的困難。但是，在獲得認可過程中，有為數不少的具體案例，若不說是經常地發生，某些機構的干預迫使有關人士要作出有違他們的天主教良知的表態行為和承諾。為此，我明白在此類條件和情況下要作出正確選擇是困難的。所以，聖座在重申了原則後，讓個別主教來決定，因為主教在聽取了其司鐸們的意見後，能更好地瞭解當地的情況、衡量具體的選擇、評估給教區團體內部可能帶來的後果。最終的決定，也可能無法得到全體司鐸和教友的同意。總之，我希望大家都能接受，即便是很痛苦的，也要接受，從而維護教區團體與其牧者的合一。

Section 8: The Chinese Episcopate

Paragraph 9: Currently, all the Bishops of the Catholic Church in China are sons of the Chinese People. Notwithstanding many grave difficulties, the Catholic Church in China, by a particular grace of the Holy Spirit, has never been deprived of the ministry of legitimate Pastors who have preserved the apostolic succession intact. We must thank the Lord for this constant presence, not without suffering, of Bishops who have received episcopal ordination in conformity with Catholic tradition, that is to say, in communion with the Bishop of Rome, Successor of Peter, and at the hands of validly and legitimately ordained Bishops in observance of the rite of the Catholic Church.

第八號：中國主教

第九段：今日在中國的天主教會的所有的主教都是中華民族的兒子。雖然教會在中國遭遇了許多重大的困難，然而仰賴天主聖神的特殊恩佑，總未缺乏過合法牧者的服務，無損地保持了宗徒的繼承。我們應爲這些堅貞而備受磨難的主教的存在感謝天主。他們按天主教的傳統接受了主教祝聖禮，就是說，在與伯多祿的繼承人、羅馬的主教的共融中、遵循了天主教的禮規、藉主教們的手既合法又有效地獲得祝聖。 
Paragraph 10: Some of them, not wishing to be subjected to undue control exercised over the life of the Church, and eager to maintain total fidelity to the Successor of Peter and to Catholic doctrine, have felt themselves constrained to opt for clandestine consecration. The clandestine condition is not a normal feature of the Church's life, and history shows that Pastors and faithful have recourse to it only amid suffering, in the desire to maintain the integrity of their faith and to resist interference from State agencies in matters pertaining intimately to the Church's life. For this reason the Holy See hopes that these legitimate Pastors may be recognized as such by governmental authorities for civil effects too – insofar as these are necessary – and that all the faithful may be able to express their faith freely in the social context in which they live.
第十段：有些主教因不願屈從對教會生活的不當控制，且爲了完全忠於天主教的教義和伯多祿的繼承人，被迫秘密地接受了祝聖。秘密狀態並非屬於教會生活的常規。歷史告訴我們，只有當迫切渴望維護自身信仰的完整性、不接受國家機構干涉教會切身生活時，牧者和信友們才這樣做。爲此，聖座期望政府也能給予這些合法的主教所必要的法理方面的承認，使所有信友都能在自已的社會環境中自由地實踐信仰生活。
Paragraph 12: Finally, there are certain Bishops – a very small number of them – who have been ordained without the Pontifical mandate and who have not asked for or have not yet obtained, the necessary legitimation. According to the doctrine of the Catholic Church, they are to be considered illegitimate, but validly ordained, as long as it is certain that they have received ordination from validly ordained Bishops and that the Catholic rite of episcopal ordination has been respected. Therefore, although not in communion with the Pope, they exercise their ministry validly in the administration of the sacraments, even if they do so illegitimately ...
第十二段：最後，也有——爲數不多——的主教，既未經教宗授命、且直至今日尚未提出申請、或己申請而尚未獲得合法身份而受了祝聖。按天主教的教義，如果能確定他們是由有效身份的主教，按天主教祝聖主教的禮規進行祝聖，其祝聖是屬非法，然卻是有效的。因此，儘管他們缺乏與教宗共融，不合法地行使其職務，其舉行之聖事是有效的…
Paragraph 13: ... Moreover, every Episcopal Conference maintains opportune and useful contacts with the civil authorities of the place, partly in order to favour cooperation between the Church and the State, but it is obvious that an Episcopal Conference cannot be subjected to any civil authority in questions of faith and of living according to the faith (fides et mores, sacramental life), which are exclusively the competence of the Church.
第十三段：…此外，爲了教會與國家之間的合作，每一主教團要和地方政權維持適當及有益的往來。當然，在信仰和恪守信仰生活（fides et mores信仰和道德、聖事生活）等純屬教會職能範圍的事務上，主教團不能屈從任何政權。
Paragraph 14: In the light of the principles expounded above, the present College of Catholic Bishops of China ⁴² cannot be recognized as an Episcopal Conference by the Apostolic See: the "clandestine" Bishops, those not recognized by the Government but in communion with the Pope, are not part of it; it includes Bishops who are still illegitimate, and it is governed by statutes that contain elements incompatible with Catholic doctrine.
第十四段：根據上面所述原則，目前在中國的「主教團」，⁴² 宗座不能承認其爲主教團：因爲那些與教宗共融然尚未獲政府認可而被稱爲「地下」的主教們，都不在其中。相反，卻有那些直至今日尚未合法的主教，且其規章內也含有與教會教義不相容的因素。

Section 9: Appointment of Bishops

Paragraph 2: The Pope, when he issues the apostolic mandate for the ordination of a Bishop, exercises his supreme spiritual authority: this authority and this intervention remain within the strictly religious sphere. It is not, therefore, a question of a political authority, unduly asserting itself in the internal affairs of a State and offending against its sovereignty.

第九號：主教的任命

第二段：當教宗頒發宗座任命狀祝聖一位主教時，是行使他的最高神權：這權力及其行使是純宗教性的，並不是不適當地干預國家內部事務、或侵犯國家的主權。
Paragraph 3: The appointment of Bishops for a particular religious community is understood, also in international documents, as a constitutive element of the full exercise of the right to religious freedom ⁴³. The Holy See would desire to be completely free to appoint Bishops ⁴⁴; therefore, considering the recent particular developments of the Church in China, I trust that an accord can be reached with the Government so as to resolve certain questions regarding the choice of candidates for the episcopate, the publication of the appointment of Bishops, and the recognition – concerning civil effects where necessary – of the new Bishops on the part of the civil authorities.
第三段：國際公約也闡明為某一宗教團體任命牧者，是充份行使宗教自由權的一個構成因素。⁴³聖座切望在任命主教事務上能完全自由。⁴⁴鑒於在中國的教會最近一段時間的特殊經歷，我希望同政府就主教人選和任命主教的公開，以及地方政權承認新主教必要的民事效應等問題，達成協議。
Paragraph 4: Finally, as to the choice of candidates for the episcopate, while knowing your difficulties in this regard, I would like to remind you that they should be worthy priests, respected and loved by the faithful, models of life in the faith, and that they should possess a certain experience in the pastoral ministry, so that they are equipped to address the burdensome responsibility of a Pastor of the Church ⁴⁵. Whenever it proves impossible within a diocese to find suitable candidates to occupy the episcopal see, the cooperation of Bishops in neighbouring dioceses can help to identify suitable candidates.
第四段：最後，在主教人選問題上，雖然我瞭解你們所遭遇的困難，我要求你們牢記：他們應是堪當，深受教友尊重和愛戴的司鐸，該是信仰生活的典範，擁有一定的牧靈經驗，由此，他們才能更勝任教會牧者的繁重責任。⁴⁵如果教區內無法找到主教品位的合適人選，可以與鄰近教區主教合作找出適當人選。

Section 10: Sacraments, governance of dioceses, parishes

Paragraph 4: In not a few situations, then, you have faced the problem of concelebration of the Eucharist. In this regard, I remind you that this presupposes, as conditions, profession of the same faith and hierarchical communion with the Pope and with the universal Church. Therefore it is licit to concelebrate with Bishops and with priests who are in communion with the Pope, even if they are recognized by the civil authorities and maintain a relationship with entities desired by the State and extraneous to the structure of the Church, provided – as was said earlier (cf. section 7 above, paragraph 8) – that this recognition and this relationship do not entail the denial of unrenounceable principles of the faith and of ecclesiastical communion.

第十號：聖事，教區、堂區的管理

第四段：在不少場合上，你們遇到共祭的問題。有關此事，我要提醒你們它的先決條件：就是該宣認同一信仰，並與教宗及普世教會保持聖統制的共融。因此，與教宗共融的主教及司鐸共祭是合法的，即使他們是政府認可或是與國家建立的、與教會的架構無關的機構保持關係，如上面已說過（參見第7號第8段）——只要這種認可和關係沒有違背不可背棄的信仰和教會共融的原則。
Paragraph 6: Concerning Bishops whose consecrations took place without the pontifical mandate yet respecting the Catholic rite of episcopal ordination, the resulting problems must always be resolved in the light of the principles of Catholic doctrine. Their ordination – as I have already said (cf. section 8 above, paragraph 12) – is illegitimate but valid, just as priestly ordinations conferred by them are valid, and sacraments administered by such Bishops and priests are likewise valid. Therefore the faithful, taking this into account, where the eucharistic celebration and the other sacraments are concerned, must, within the limits of the possible, seek Bishops and priests who are in communion with the Pope: nevertheless, where this cannot be achieved without grave inconvenience, they may, for the sake of their spiritual good, turn also to those who are not in communion with the Pope.
第六段：根據教會的教義，那些沒有教宗任命、但按照天主教主教祝聖禮被祝聖的主教所産生 的問題是應該解決的。如上面已說過（參見第8號第12段），他們所接受之祝聖雖不合法、但卻有效。同理，他們所祝聖的司鐸，以及這些主教和司鐸所舉行的聖事都是有效的。但信友們該注意：在可能範圍內當然先該參加與教宗共融的主教和司鐸主持的感恩聖祭和其他聖事。但如果有嚴重不便而無法做到上述要求時，爲了靈性需要，他們也可轉向尚未與教宗共融者。
Paragraph 7: I consider it opportune, finally, to point out to you what canonical legislation provides in order to help diocesan Bishops to carry out their respective pastoral duty. Every diocesan Bishop is invited to make use of indispensable instruments of communion and cooperation within the diocesan Catholic community: the diocesan curia, the presbyteral council, the college of consultors, the diocesan pastoral council and the diocesan finance council. These agencies express communion, they favour the sharing of common responsibilities and are of great assistance to the Pastors, who can thus avail themselves of the fraternal cooperation of priests, consecrated persons and lay faithful.
第七段：最後，我認爲應該提請你們關注天主教法典中有關幫助教區主教履行其牧職的指示。每位教區主教都應充分利用教區團體內必不可少的共融與合作的工具：主教公署、司鐸咨議及參議會、牧靈委員會、財務委員會等。上述工具體現了共融，有助於分担共同的責任，是牧人的莫大幫助，使他們可以借此利用司鐸、修會人士及教友之間的友愛合作。
Paragraph 8: The same is true of the various councils that canon law provides for parishes: the parish pastoral council and the parish finance council.
第八段：同樣，天主教法典中對於堂區也有相同的規定：該有堂區牧靈及財務委員會。
Paragraph 9: Both for dioceses and for parishes, particular attention must be devoted to the Church's temporal goods, moveable and immoveable, which must be legally registered in the civil sphere in the name of the diocese or parish and never in the name of individual persons (that is, the Bishop, parish priest or a group of the faithful). Meanwhile, the traditional pastoral and missionary guideline that can be neatly summarized in the principle: "nihil sine Episcopo"; retains all its validity.
第九段：無論教區或堂區都該特別注意教會的財産：動産和不動産都應以教區或堂區的名義向 政府機構依法登記，總不可用私人（主教、本堂神父或一組教友）的名義登記。同時，傳統 上指牧靈和傳教所說的「不可沒有主教 Nihil Sine Episcopo」的原則始終是有效的。