Posted on 08/08/2016 7:17:09 PM PDT by marshmallow
Pope Francis is not the first pope to turn his pastoral gaze toward China, and in the long scope of the Middle Kingdom's history, the Vatican’s overtures to China are not so unusual.
The American historian and novelist Edward Eggleston once said, “Journalism is organized gossip.” There has been a lot of journalism lately about the Church in China, but it has been extremely difficult to separate the genuine news from “organized gossip.” In June, the bishop of Shanghai, Ma Daqin, who has spent four years under house arrest for refusing to join the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association (CCPA), released an “admission of his faults,” stating that he should not have distanced himself from the CCPA. Ma’s message stressed the importance of “loving the country and loving the Church,” and emphasized the importance of independence from “foreigner influences,” and the CCPA’s positive role in the evangelization of China. This message, which many Chinese Catholics believe to be false, or perhaps forced, has been interpreted by some as a betrayal toward loyal Chinese Catholics, while others view Ma’s confession as a pastoral strategy to help preserve the Church in his native country.
After Bishop Ma Daqin’s alleged message was published, rumors began to circulate that the Vatican and Chinese government had entered into dialogue, hoping to arrive at a rapprochement after decades of severed diplomatic ties between Beijing and Rome. Critics of such an accord between the Vatican and China’s government have noted that China’s treatment of Catholics must be normalized before an agreement can be made, pointing to such recent events as China’s refusal to allow clergy and faithful from China to attend World Youth Day in Krakow, Poland.
In an article published by the Italian Catholic news source AsiaNews.it, it was reported that, “A priest from the official Church in......
(Excerpt) Read more at catholicworldreport.com ...
Like he did in Cuba, once again, Francis is cutting deals with evil repressive Communist governments.
The Pope giving the Chinese government veto power over his appointments? Or just rubber stamping the Chinese government’s own picks?
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