Posted on 05/04/2006 6:36:31 AM PDT by Pyro7480
Vatican Excommunicates 4 Chinese Bishops
By ALESSANDRA RIZZO, Associated Press Writer
VATICAN CITY - The Vatican on Thursday excommunicated two bishops ordained by China's state-controlled church without the pope's consent, escalating tensions as the two sides explore preliminary moves toward improving ties.
The Vatican also excommunicated the two bishops who ordained them, saying church law mandates excommunication for bishops involved in ordinations without Vatican approval.
Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls cited Article 1382 of the Roman Catholic Church's canon law. That article states that "both the bishop who, without a pontifical mandate, consecrates a person a bishop, and the one who receives the consecration from him, incur a 'latae sententiae excommunication,'" which means they are automatically excommunicated.
Earlier, Navarro-Valls said Pope Benedict XVI was deeply saddened by news of the ordinations, which have occurred in recent weeks.
"It is a great wound to the unity of the church," Navarro-Valls said in a statement.
Chinese Foreign Ministry officials were not available to comment on the excommunications. But earlier, a duty officer referred to an April 30 statement issued after the Vatican criticized the first ordination.
"The criticism toward the Chinese side by the Vatican is groundless," that statement said. "We hope the Vatican can respect the will of Chinese church and the vast numbers of priests as well as its church members so as to create good atmosphere for the improvement of Sino-Vatican ties."
Catholic ping!
Waiting on the press release from the SSPX...........
Revelation 12: 15-17
I would have thought excommunication is a bit strong for such, but if that's church law...
Thank God. We've got enough commie puppets in the Church already. We don't need a steady flow of government-approved bishops from Red China.
Unlike Google, the Vatican does not throw away its principles solely to do business with the Chinese.
Viva il Papa
Retribution was swift...good to see that.
I had not seen this article. Thanks for posting it.
All of the CPA bishops were formally excommunicated by Pope Pius XII in 1957, so this really makes no sense to me.
In other words, the bishops who performed the consecrations basically excommunicated themselves.
Having said that, the actual press release from VIS said the following:
"I can inform you of the position of the Holy See regarding the episcopal ordination of the priests Joseph Ma Yinglin e Joseph Liu Xinhong, which took place, respectively, last Sunday, April 30, in Kunming (province of Yunnan) and Wednesday, May 3, in Wuhu (province of Anhui).The Holy Father has learned of the news with profound displeasure, since an act so relevant for the life of the Church, such as an episcopal ordination, has been carried out in both cases without respecting the requirements of communion with the Pope.
It is a grave wound to the unity of the Church, for which severe canonical sanctions, as it is known, are foreseen (cfr. canon 1382 from the Code of Canon Law).
According to the information received, bishops and priests have been subjected to - on the part of external entities to the Church - strong pressures and to threats, so that they would take part in the episcopal ordinations which, being without pontifical mandate, are illegitimate and, besides, contrary to their conscience. Various prelates have given a refusal to similar pressures, while others were not able to do anything but submit with great interior suffering. Episodes of this kind produce lacerations not only in the Catholic community but also in the internal conscience itself.
We are therefore facing a grave violation of religious liberty, notwithstanding that it is sought to present the two episcopal ordinations as a proper act to provide the pastors for vacant dioceses.
The Holy See follows with attention the troubled path of the Catholic Church in China and even aware of some particularities of such a path, believed and hoped that similar, deplorable episodes by now would belong to the past.
I'm no canon lawyer, but it appears to me that Can. 1382 only applies to the bishops who performed the consecration. Those who were consecrated, if I read it correctly, would fall under Can. 1381:
Can. 1381 §1. Whoever usurps an ecclesiastical office is to be punished with a just penalty.§2. Illegitimate retention of a function after its privation or cessation is equivalent to usurpation.
Since it doesn't say latae sententiae, I'm not sure that the two who were consecrated wouldn't have to undergo some type of judicial process. But, as I said, I'm no Canon lawyer. It seems to me, though, that the AP reporter is more likely to have gotten it wrong.
China has two Catholic hierarchies, the government-authorized church, set up by Mao to control the church, and an underground church of bishops and other priests loyal to Rome.The government church contended that it acted to fill shortages and not to slight the Vatican or the Pope.
But the Vatican's statement claimed that bishops and priests were under "strong pressure and threats" from "organisms outside the church... unless they would take part in the Episcopal ordination." It said further that the Vatican "follows with particular attention the tormented march of the Catholic Church in China," noting that it had hoped that "similar deplorable episodes would at this point be consigned to the past."
Dear Freepers in Christ,
I for one am extremely happy and overjoyed as well that at last The Vatican has acted strongly and taken action as needed.
This needed to be done the day after the Episcopal Ordinations by the Patriotic Association in China.
God Bless Pope Benedict, The XVI.
OUR LADY OF THE HOLY ROSARY, BLESS AND PROTECT HIM IN HIS PASTORAL MINISTRY
Dear Freepers in Christ,
Good Post and Good Thread by Freeper Pyro7480.
IN THE RISEN LORD JESUS CHRIST,
POPE BENEDICT, THE XVI ROCKS
That is an interesting take on Revelation. Hadn't thought of that angle before.
BTTT
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