In PR China, there's the communist state run "Patriotic Catholic Association", which is illegitimate and operates in defiance of the Pope, and there's the Catholic Church, which must exist 'underground' in a state of severe persecution, but is in full communion with the Pope and the rest of us Catholics.
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Thanks. It seems very odd for a communist country to be involved in the Church, even in this way.
Dear trisham,
Of course, that neat division between the PCA and the real Church has blurred in recent years, as it turns out that the communist government of China and the Vatican have been inching toward rapprochement by privately agreeing to common candidates for episcopal appointments, and by the Vatican secretly accepting the allegiance of previously-schismatic state bishops and priests.
I read recently that the current dust-up may have been provoked by the leadership of the PCA, itself, in defiance of the central government. It appears that there may be elements in the PCA who aren't really in favor of better relations with the Church? There was a thread alluding to this stuff in the last week or two.
sitetest