A Brief History of Sino-Vatican Relations and Confucian Rites
Writng for the NY Times, Prof. Liam M. Brockey begins When Celestial Kingdoms Collide* thusly:

ONCE again, one of the world's largest countries is at loggerheads with one of the world's smallest. Yet before thinking of David and Goliath, remember that in one way, both are equally large — China and the Vatican each claim the nominal allegiance of about a fifth of humanity. The recent standoff between these two powers over the appointment of bishops in China, and their broader struggle to normalize relations, is thus a matter of global significance.

The rest of the article recounts the conflict of ancestral rites which began in the XVIIth Century. A century earlier, Matteo Ricci, S.J. determined that the rites were merely ceremonial, not religious. No less a source than The Analects of Confucius state that the spirits of the ancestors are not present during the rites. Nevertheless, the rites were decried as "ancestor worship" and not allowed until Vatican II. Interestingly, the situation was the opposite for Protestants. While initially allowed, the ancestral rites are now forbidden by most Protestant sects, causing much conflict in many Korean families.

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