To remain optimistic but not naive , is part of evangelization in China today. It implies that sometimes we have to take the blows of disappointing events as Epiphany 2000, when our hope for dialogue meets with refusal. Call that our missionary spirituality if you wish. Moreover, as Catholics we must, in our pastoral and missionary planning, follow the Pope's pilgrimage of dialogue in hope and optimism towards the future. This can contribute elements to Chinese experts as they study ways to develop a new law on religion in China.
Joint research is a way of dialogue.
But in the meantime we regretfully admit that, just while we thought that the breakthrough was near, little is left of our optimism of the past. We now must show that, as Catholics, we remain willing to dialogue in an attitude of mutual respect.