On December 22nd, 1979, Fu Tienshan was consecrated as the bishop of Beijing and 25 participating bishops coming from seven different provinces, held a meeting to discuss church affairs. They thought a national organization was necessary for the Catholic Church in China to develop under the Three-Self"s Principle, as well as to instruct the laity to understand doctrine and the cat- echisms. This organization could help solve various church mat- ters and guide the clergy and laity to be faithful to both the Church and loyal to the nation, as well as, more importantly, glorifying God and saving souls. This proposal was well received by all the dioceses and a planning committee was formed with eight mem- bers, including Yang Gaojian, Li Depei, Zong Huaide, Wang Xueming, Tu Shihua and Fu Tieshan. When the Chinese Catho- lic Patriotic Association held its Third Representatives Congress on May 30th 1980, they also staged the First Chinese Catholic Representatives Congress. They agreed to establish the Bishops‘Conference of the Catholic Church in China (BCCCC) and the Church Affairs committee of Catholic Church in China. A constitution,‘ Zhong Guo Tian Zhu Jiao Jiao Wu Zhangcheng’ (Constitution of Chinese Catholic Church Admin- istrative Affairs) was approved. Its second article stated: "This committee is a national organization. Its principle is that the Bible which is the foundation of this committee. Inspired by theBible, this committee inherits the traditional spirit of the found- ing of the Holy Church by Jesus and the tradition of the Apostles to preach the Gospel, to advance the ministry of evangelization: to glorify God and to save souls; to guide the laity to obey God"s commandments; to insist on the principle of the Three-Self"s and a more democratic way to discuss important church matters in order to strengthen the Catholic Church in China.‘ Article seven stated: "The members of BCCCC are the bishops of all the dio- ceses. Its tasks are: to study and interpret the Church"s doctrine and dogma, to share pastoral experiences and to have friendly communication with overseas people’? The director of the Church Affairs‘ committee should also hold the presidency of the BCCCC, and its Vice-Director should be Vice President. In Sep- tember 1992, when the BCCCC held its fifth national meeting, the church leaders suggested to reorganize the organization in order to better utilize its capacity. At the meeting, they decided to do away with the Church Affairs committee of the Catholic Church in China and to add separate committees under the BCCCC covering Church Affairs, Seminary Education, Theo- logical Studies, Foreign Affairs, Liturgy, Real Estate and Social Services. In 1998, at the Sixth National Catholic Representa- tives Congress, they revised the constitution. Under the revisions,article two stated: "The BCCCC is the top organization dealing with Church Affairs. The Bible is its foundation, and, under the principle of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, this organization is to protect the treasure of faith and to strengthen church discipline. Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the BCCCC should preach the Gospel and expand the Church in China considering the complicated the situation of which the Three-Self"s remain the guiding principle. Article three laid out the BCCCC"s tasks: ‘1. Study and interpret Church doctrine and dogma; 2. Review and approve candidates for posts of diocesan bishop and, redefine and reorganize the dioceses; 3. Set up pas- toral positions, write pastoral regulations for evangelical work;4. Unite all clergy and laity to obey the national constitution and civil laws in order to maintain peace and unity so that the Father in Heaven can be glorified by our deeds and words; 5. Train clergy and those who devote themselves to God; 6. Represent Catholic Church in China publicly.‘The first president of BCCCC was Zhang Jiashu, the Bishop of Shanghai. After zhang"s death in 1988, Zong Huaide, the Bishop of Jinan in Shandong, became the acting president and, in 1992, was elected president. After zong"s death in 1997, Liu Yuan Ren, the bishop of Nanjing was elected to the presidency.
The establishment of BCCCC indicated that the Catholic Church in China had entered a new era providing a good foun- dation for regularizing Church affairs and building up a local Catholic Church with special Chinese Characteristics.
