Interesting article from Commonweal. Check out the sidebar, as well.

It is an exciting time for the Presentation community. Since the government’s ban on religious orders was lifted twenty years ago, the Presentation sisters have been allowed to recruit actively. Though they haven’t had much success in China’s large cities, they have many aspiring postulants from the countryside. The sisters also have more power to chart their own course. No longer beholden to colonial French bishops, they are defining themselves in ways that their predecessors never dreamed of. And though the sisters avoid discussing church politics, they may be uniquely suited to deal with the most serious problem facing the Chinese church: the gap between the “official” or “registered” church and the unregistered “underground” church.

It is a schism that dates to the 1950s, when Communist leaders began requiring Catholics to register with the Catholic Patriotic Association [CPA], a government agency charged with oversight of all church activities in China, including the appointment of bishops. Today, the Vatican recognizes both churches and publicly advocates reconciliation, but the division remains bitter (see sidebar). Nevertheless, over the last twenty years the differences between the two churches have become less and less clear. For example, though China’s registered bishops are officially appointed by the CPA, the Vatican has quietly recognized the legitimacy of approximately two-thirds of them. Equally significant, priests and sisters associated with the registered church are no longer required to be members of the CPA. Many of the Presentation sisters grew up in the underground church and only later chose to belong to a registered community of sisters. Thus, if and when the Vatican and Beijing restore diplomatic relations, the sisters will be in an excellent position to heal the rifts that have developed in China’s Catholic community.