Bishop Fulton J. Sheen and the Image of China and Chinese Catholicism in Worldmission Magazine, 1950–1966

In addition to being a popular American Catholic television personality, from 1950 to 1966 Bishop Fulton J. Sheen (1895–1979) served as the National Director for The Society for the Propagation of the Faith and editor of Worldmission magazine. Both positions provided him the venue to speak out against Communism. Since post-World War II Chinese Communism differed from European Communism, the study of how Worldmission discussed Chinese Catholicism merits attention. Under Sheen’s direction the diverse content of Worldmission offered American readership an informative, reflective and at the same time poignantly sorrowful and intellectually challenging assessment pertaining to the status of the Chinese Catholic Church. Understanding this image of China presented to the American public in Worldmission within this indigenous and world missionary faith context invites continued scholarly inquiry on how this content contributed to the evolving understanding of Communism and the post-missionary era under Mao Zedong, the founder of the People’s Republic of China.