Thursday, March 21, 2013

Jonathan Manthorpe: Pope Francis unlikely to mend China-Vatican relations


So, 'the Communist party holds that the Catholic Church inside China must be subservient to the state'. Looks like those 'zionists' don't want to risk exposure from the competition in China, since they've designated China as their new 'homeland".

See: Danny Steinberg http://www.erichufschmid.net/Danny-Steinberg.html • On how Jews are preparing to escape from America, now that America is disintegrating, and how they are manipulating the Chinese [Danny Steinberg explains zionist intent]:

'International Jewry has designated China as our next homeland.'

Jonathan Manthorpe: Pope Francis unlikely to mend China-Vatican relations

Beijing and the Catholic Church haven’t had diplomatic relations since 1951

By Jonathan Manthorpe, Vancouver Sun columnist - March 14, 2013
 
Jonathan Manthorpe: Pope Francis unlikely to mend China-Vatican relations

Worshippers pray near the Sheshan seminary on the outskirts of Shanghai, China. Shanghai’s would-be Catholic bishop has been a virtual prisoner in the city’s main seminary for nine months, his price for openly challenging China’s ruling Communist Party by withdrawing from the country’s official bodies that oversee the church. Photograph by: Eugene Hoshiko , AP

The Vatican and China’s ruling Communist party have been at each others throats for over 60 years and the election of Francis to the papacy is unlikely to fundamentally improve the relationship.
At issue since the Communists cut diplomatic relations with Rome in 1951 by expelling the papal nuncio are conflicting views of how the Catholic Church should operate in China.
The Communist party holds that the Catholic Church inside China must be subservient to the state. All appointments, such as the selection of bishops, must be approved, says Beijing, by its government-managed umbrella organizations, the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association (CPCA) and the Chinese Bishops’ Conference.
The Vatican does not recognize the legitimacy of either of these organizations and insists only Rome can appoint bishops or other Roman Catholic clerics in China.
There are other irritants, too.
The Vatican retains diplomatic relations with the independent island nation of Taiwan, which Beijing claims to own.
And the Vatican insists the Pope’s pastoral letters should be read in all Catholic churches in China, not censored by the Beijing authorities.
The result is that China’s estimated 12 million Catholics live in the almost constant turmoil of a battle of wills between Beijing and Rome.
This has also left the Catholic community divided between those who attend “legal” churches approved by the Communist party and those who are members of congregations that accept the ultimate authority of Rome.
During the papacy of John Paul II in the 1980s and 1990s, an accommodation was reached between Beijing and Rome whereby there was prior agreement on candidates for promotion to bishop.
But that accord has steadily shattered because Beijing will not permit independent-minded bishops or those who refuse to accept the ultimate authority of the Chinese state to remain in office.
In the past few years, the Vatican has excommunicated several of these bishops appointed by the Communist party organizations, but who Rome felt were unfit for office.
For its part, the Communist party has responded with its usual heavy handedness when challenged by Catholics loyal to Rome.
The case last July of the Rev. Thaddeus Ma Daqin is one that caused much outrage among Catholics and which makes any quick rapprochement between Beijing and Rome unlikely.
The story started well enough with the Vatican and Beijing agreeing to the promotion of Ma to the position of auxiliary bishop of Shanghai.
This put Ma in line to succeed 95-year-old Bishop Aloysius Jin Luxian, who is recognized by the Chinese government organizations, but not by Rome, which considers the “underground” church’s Giuseppe Fan Zhongliang to be the true Bishop of Shanghai.
But with agreement between Beijing and the Vatican over the appointment of Ma there was hope that he might heal the rifts in Shanghai between the “legal” church and the “underground” Catholics loyal to Rome.
But after his consecration, Ma stunned the congregation at Shanghai’s Cathedral of St. Ignatius by announcing that he would no longer work for the government’s CPCA.
“In the light of the teaching of our mother church, as I now serve as a bishop, I should focus on pastoral work and evangelization,” Ma said.
Beijing’s revenge for this disloyalty was swift.
Ma was detained immediately and placed in solitary confinement in a seminary at Sheshan on the outskirts of Shanghai.
In December, the Chinese Bishops’ Conference and the CPCA announced Ma had been dismissed from his post. But in the eyes of the underground Catholics in Shanghai, Ma remains their auxiliary bishop.
A favourite tactic of the Chinese authorities when they want to appoint a bishop not approved by Rome is to force bishops consecrated by the Vatican to attend the service. Beijing’s hope is this will give its choice for bishop some legitimacy in the eyes of the local Catholics and the world.
This is what happened when Beijing-approved Joseph Huang Bingzhang was consecrated as Bishop of Shantou in Guangdong province in 2011.
Local reports say a dissident bishop loyal to Rome was “seen sobbing as he was dragged from home” to attend the service.
Huang was excommunicated by the Vatican soon after, but he remains in Shantou and has even been appointed to parliament, the National People’s Congress.
Bishops loyal to Rome are also reported to have been forced to participate in the service to consecrate Joseph Yue Fusheng as Bishop of Harbin last July. Yue’s appointment was not approved by the Vatican and he has been excommunicated.
Since the 16th century, Popes have occasionally appointed secret cardinals, the princes of the church. The idea is to protect the identity of cardinals living and working under repressive regimes.
John Paul II appointed four secret cardinals and the identity of all but one of those has now been revealed.
There remains speculation that Rome’s remaining secret cardinal is in China.
jmanthorpe@vancouversun. com
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