VATICAN - Holy Father Benedict XVI's Letter to the Church in China in Compendium format, to facilitate understanding and respond to most common question on the life of the Church in China

Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) – On the second anniversary of the “Letter to the Bishops, priests, consecrated persons and lay faithful of the Catholic Church in the People's Republic of China” of the Holy Father Benedict XVI, published on May 27, 2007, Solemnity of Pentecost, the Holy See is offering the Church in China a new pastoral instrument that once again presents the contents of the Pope's Letter, in the form of a Compendium, with questions and answers.
As a statement from the Holy See Press Office points out, the Compendium uses the catechetical literary genre of questions and answers, thus making the basic elements of Pope Benedict XVI's Letter more widely accessible to all people, with many extracts and references to the text.
Organized in 22 questions and two appendices, in its Introduction the Compendium recalls the structure and basic contents of the “Letter to the Bishops, priests, consecrated persons and lay faithful of the Catholic Church in the People's Republic of China” of 2007, highlighting that the Letter is “not only intelligent and reasonable,” but it also expresses his “true feelings of a pastor and a father.”
The first questions of the Compendium – published in English and Chinese, in simplified and traditional characters – address to whom the letter was written, the purpose, and the structure of the Pope's Letter to the Church in China, following the articulation of the Letter itself, there are questions on the present situation of the Church and the visions of dialogue between the Holy See and the Chinese government. There is a large portion of the Compendium that is dedicated to questions on the Catholics in China who suffer for the cause of the faith, highlighting the Pope's deep appreciation for their testimony, expressed in several parts of the 2007 Letter.
The guidelines indicated by the Pope for the life of the Church in China, and in particular the effort to overcome divisions and tensions in the past, including in the nomination of Bishops, are arguments that have been a focus of several of the questions, whose responses are extensive in their explanation.
The last series of questions addresses the administration of dioceses and parishes, the formation of young priests, priestly and religious vocations, laity and the family, and missionary vocations.
The first Appendix of the Compendium is on the revoked faculties, establishing that whenever particular situations so require, the Diocesan Bishop or whoever is temporarily governing the diocese “may ask for new and updated faculties from the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples.” The Congregation shall examine the requests and, if necessary, submit them for the Holy Father’s consideration. The second Appendix is on the celebration of the Holy Mass. In case of necessity, in accord with what is affirmed in the Code of Canon Law, the priest “may celebrate the Eucharist in the houses of the faithful.” As for the number of Holy Masses that each priest can celebrate each day, what is written in the Code of Canon Law is affirmed, with the possibility of making requests for exceptional cases. Lastly, the indications from the Congregation for the Clergy in “Mos iugiter,” and the rules from the Conciliar Decree “Presbyterorum Ordinis” remain valid, containing what concerns the application of the Holy Mass for determinate intentions. (SL) (Agenzia Fides 26/5/2009)