Thanks to Amy Wellborn for posting on this very interesting prospect: the Holy Father will send a letter to the Catholics in China. This will be the most wonderful news for the Chinese Church. Our Lady of China. Pray for us.Yesterday and today, at the Apostolic Palace, there was a meeting of various Bishops and others concerned with the situation of the Church in China. The Vatican press office communique included the following (my translation):
In the light of the troubled history of the Church in China and of the principal events of recent years, the more serious and urgent ecclesial problems were examined, problems which await adequate solutions in relation to fundamental principles of the divine constitution of the church and of religious freedom. Note was taken of the shining witness, offered by Bishops, priests and faithful who, without giving in to compromises, have maintained their fidelity to the See of Peter, sometimes at the price of grave suffering. It was further established, with great joy, that today almost the totality of the Bishops and of the priests are in communion with the Supreme Pontiff.There is also an informative article on Asia News.
Looking around for information about the Church in China, I came across the website of the pro-Government People's Daily and the article Chinese Catholics Denounce Vatican's Planned Canonization of "Saints". I hope I am not being too unkind here but I really did have the impression that I was reading something produced by the BBC.
5 comments:
I've just read the "Peoples Daily" When did Thomas Cromwell become interior minister of China? I haven't seen a repressive regime get so upset since the Pope made the Bishop of Rochester a Cardinal....
Erm. yep. Wish it had been written by the BBC but sadly we`ve been banned from the entire country - thst`s why you never see any news fromn there in our bulletins. negotiations are contiuing to try and get us access. we just can`t understand it. We have so much in common: fear of sincere faith, a desire to control the people, massive audience. It`s a mystery.
Yours, fellow Catholic, mark thompson.
"I hope I am not being too unkind here but I really did have the impression that I was reading something produced by the BBC."
Is this anything like Alice Thomas Ellis (RIP) saying that she thought of the Devil as somebody living in Islington reading The Tablet?
Blimey! Marky - are you the Director General of the BBC?
If so - thanks for dropping by and taking the trouble to post your comment. OK, touché, comparing the BBC with the Chinese Government is a bit OTT. But frankly, there have been some pretty ghastly programmes on the Church in recent years. For heaven's sake, even the Bishops complained about the last one.
If you are someone else and spoofing - good one!
The situation of the Church in China is a very grave wound to the unity of the Catholic Church. To the underground Chinese Catholics, as well as Catholics in Taiwan, the Vatican's uncertain position, even when its own norms are violated, strike them as a deep betrayal.
Look at it this way. If you're an underground Catholic Bishop in China, then you risk everything, including life and limb, for your fidelity to the Pope. Whereas the official 'Bishop' is sitting in your residence and saying Mass in your Cathedral, you're forced to hop from house to house, always fearing the police who are but a step behind. You are jailed for years and tortured, but still you keep the Faith. But others who have betrayed the Faith and accepted ordination from government 'Bishops' are then recognized by the Vatican. How would you feel?
Official church priests also often receive training at overseas dioceses and preside at Masses there, despite a Vatican ban on any form of communio in sacrs with these clerics. Underground priests live on the little that their already poor flocks have to spare.
The late Ignatius Cardinal Kung, the Mindszenty of China and Bishop Joseph Meng are prime examples of faithful bishops, who underwent great persecution for their loyalty to Rome. The only modern equivalents would be the Greek Catholics under the former Soviet Union.
Is the Vatican encouraging these faithful to betray the Faith?
The Vatican is also willing, 'this very night' as high officials have publicly said, to move the Vatican embassy to Beijing from Taiwan where there is religious freedom.
What message does this politicking send to the Chinese faithful?
Intransigence is rewarded by concession after concession and fidelity with betrayal. The faithful are made bargaining chips in the political power play.
Its high time the Church stood up to the Communists and let the Holy Spirit do its work to bring down this atheistic government as it did the Soviet Union.
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