0617

15 July 2017 Monthly Year 1

Against the “unhappy consciousness” in Christianity

A Time of Post-Truth or Post- .6 o Consciousness?

Doctrine at the Service of the Pastoral Mission of the

OLUME 1, N 1, OLUME Fan Shouyi: the first Chinese person V to tell of the West

2017 Fifty Years after the Six-Day War

Russia between Europe and Asia

Pope Francis’ Voyage to Egypt

A cultural spring for Iranian women artists

CONTENTS 0617

BEATUS POPULUS, CUIUS DOMINUS DEUS EIUS

Copyright, 2017, Union of Catholic Asian Editor-in-chief News SJ

All rights reserved. Except for any fair Editorial Board dealing permitted under the Hong Kong Antonio Spadaro SJ – Director Copyright Ordinance, no part of this Giancarlo Pani SJ – Vice-Director publication may be reproduced by any Domenico Ronchitelli SJ –Senior Editor means without prior permission. Inquires Giovanni Cucci SJ, Diego Fares SJ, should be made to the publisher. Francesco Occhetta SJ, Giovanni Sale SJ

Title: La Civiltà Cattolica, English Edition Emeritus editor: Virgilio Fantuzzi SJ, ISSN: 2207-2446 Giandomenico Mucci SJ, GianPaolo Salvini SJ ISBN: 978-1-925612-15-8 (paperback) Published by 978-1-925612-16-5 (ebook) 978-1-925612-17-2 (kindle) Union of Catholic Asian News P.O. Box 80488, Cheung Sha Wan, Kowloon, Hong Kong Phone: +852 2727 2018 Fax: +852 2772 7656 www.ucanews.com Publishers: Michael Kelly SJ and Robert Barber Production Manager: Rangsan Panpairee CONTENTS 0617

15 July 2017 Monthly Year 1

1 Against the “unhappy consciousness” in Christianity Dominique Bertrand, SJ

14 A Time of Post-Truth or Post-Consciousness? Francesco Occhetta, SJ

24 at the Service of the Pastoral Mission of the Church Thomas P. Rausch, SJ

38 Fan Shouyi: the first Chinese person to tell of the West Thierry Meynard, SJ

48 Fifty Years after the Six-Day War Giovanni Sale, SJ

61 Russia between Europe and Asia Vladimir Pachkov, SJ

70 Francis’ Voyage to Egypt Antonio Spadaro, SJ

85 A cultural spring for Iranian women artists Luigi Territo, SJ ABSTRACTS

ARTICLE 1 AGAINST THE “UNHAPPY CONSCIOUSNESS” In Christianity

Dominique Bertrand, SJ

We need to view in full light the Gallo-Roman theological tradition and so compensate for the influence of Augustine’s African tradition if we are to combat what Hegel termed the “unhappy consciousness,” whose effects have been a feature of Western thought and sensibility since the controversy over grace and freedom in the fifth century. In this regard, three names are prominent: Irenaeus of Lyons, who was concerned with the glory of the human person; Hilary of Poitiers, defender of the divine sonship of humanity; and Caesarius of Arles, who defined predestination to evil as an anathema. All this reveals the basis for an informed Christian humanism.

ARTICLE 14 A TIME OF POST-TRUTH OR POST-CONSCIENCE?

Francesco Occhetta, SJ

We have entered the era of post-truth, a time when “objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal .” When we read the news on the web, how many people check its authenticity? In fact, the language of post-truth is not a recent phenomenon. In the 1920s, when institutions were crumbling, the drift was toward authoritarianism. Post- truth is nourished by a post-conscience society, which is unable to distinguish the truth from falsehood, and by post-authority, which does not recognize authority as authoritative. There are some antidotes to render drinkable the water of the polluted well of information: news watchdogs, source control, network credibility, the will to deliver good news, and the social role of journalism. ABSTRACTS

ARTICLE 24 DOCTRINE At the Service of the Pastoral Mission of the Church

Thomas P. Rausch, SJ

Pope Francis has said he has no plans to change doctrine, but to make the Church more pastoral in the way it responds to difficult problems in the life of faith. He states, “Christian doctrine is not a closed system incapable of generating questions and doubts. It is alive. It knows how to stir us, to animate us.” Similarly, the 1973 Declaration “Mysterium Ecclesiae” pointed out that “the expression of Revelation” is historically conditioned and therefore limited. Church are unreformable in the sense that their meaning cannot be subverted, but they can be better interpreted. This article provides examples of how, throughout history, there has been an increasingly deeper understanding of doctrine.

ARTICLE 38 FAN SHOUYI: The first Chinese person to tell of the West

Thierry Meynard, SJ

Much has been written about Matteo Ricci and other Western missionaries in China. Much less is known about the role of Chinese Catholics in the encounter of these two worlds. We present here the story of Fan Shouyi, a Chinese Catholic who came to Europe at the beginning of the 18th century and decided to become a Jesuit. On his return to China, he played a complicated yet constructive role in the relationship between Pope Clement XI and the . Fan Shouyi died in 1753 and was buried in the Zhalan Catholic cemetery, near the tomb of Matteo Ricci. His grave is marked with a tombstone that portrays his double identity: a dragon, reflecting loyalty to his country, and a cross, symbolizing his Christian faith. ABSTRACTS

FOCUS 48 FIFTY YEARS AFTER THE SIX-DAY WAR

Giovanni Sale, SJ

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Six-Day War (1967) that was fought between the State of Israel and neighboring Arab countries (Egypt, Syria and Jordan). It remains in the mind of the Arab world as a defeat, not only militarily, but also politically and culturally. Until the establishment of the Islamic State (2014), the struggle against the Zionist enemy was one of the core components of radical Islamic movements. With IS this element has fallen into the background; but this does not mean that it has ceased to exist. Radical movements can reactivate it by propaganda at any time to unite the Arab peoples against the West.

FOCUS 61 RUSSIA BETWEEN EUROPE AND ASIA Looking East in search of itself?

Vladimir Pachkov, SJ

After looking for decades to the West, Russia has recently found itself in a new situation on the international chessboard, especially since the Ukrainian crisis started in 2014. A partnership with China, based not only on mutual benefit but also on common values, seems to indicate a turn to the East, toward a Greater Asia rather than a Greater Europe. Russia has already tried to deny its history and become what it was not by means of artificial reforms or revolutions with catastrophic consequences. For this reason, it is appropriate to pay attention to the attempt to end internal social conflict and finally find a Russian way to modernity. ABSTRACTS

LIFE OF THE CHURCH 70 EGYPT, LAND OF CIVILIZATION AND ALLIANCES Francis’ dramatic, therapeutic and prophetic journey

Antonio Spadaro, SJ

Pope Francis’ apostolic journey to Egypt lasted just 27 hours; a journey taken in response to the invitation from various leaders of the country’s political and religious life that sometimes coexist in tension. Expectations were well summed up by the visit’s official motto: “Pope of Peace in Egypt of Peace” and by the accompanying image of Francis depicted smiling and blessing, with pyramids and the River Nile in the background topped by the Muslim Crescent and the Christian Cross, and a dove, a symbol of peace. In a very busy schedule, full of delicate and meaningful encounters on multiple levels – political, interreligious and ecumenical – the feeling i