Posted on 08/14/2011 1:08:41 PM PDT by NYer
China has pressed its case for the local appointment of bishops, with an article in the government-controlled People Daily arguing that the Vatican’s claim to authority is “the West’s historical baggage and frankly its problem.”
People Daily claims that the Vatican’s assertion of the right to name diocesan bishops is an aspect of the temporal power that arose around the papacy in Europe. “China’s history has taken place outside the historical lands of Christianity,” the paper says, “and its experience is totally different.”
The Pope is not only a spiritual leader, but also the head of an independent state, the Chinese paper observes. “Europeans may choose to see this as quaint, but China is questioning the principle of letting a foreign state dictate to another what happens on its own territory.”
People Daily dismisses the Vatican’s excommunication of bishops who were installed without a mandate from the Holy See. Excommunication, the article asserts, is “a medieval tool that has no place in 2011 in China or anywhere.”
Chinese officials have blamed the Vatican for leaving dioceses without leadership. The People Daily article follows that line of argument, saying that the Vatican should allow Chinese officials to appoint their own bishops. “Otherwise,” the article states, “the Church risks being seen as caring more about its own temporal power than the spiritual needs of its Chinese flocks.”
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Ping!
Can we start the trade war yet?
Got to love it, A communist government who wants nothing to do with religion for it frees men, thinks they can dictate its operation. What happen to the separation of church and state? oh yea that’s this side of the ocean according to the progressives and liberals who love Communist and Socialist nations and policies. Why are they not up in arms?
Once doctrine is surrendered to the state, it is only a matter of time before the state’s assumption is correct - the church becomes subservient to the state. Since the state can dictate who is married and who is not, what makes it such a leap to have the ability to dictate the leadership as well?
The church needs to reassert control over her most sacred of ceremonies, and reclaim it from the state, before such appointments become common in other nations as well. If the courts in the United States can say who is married, and who is no longer married, what stops it from deciding that the church has unacceptable requirements that prevent women or gays from serving as bishops, and appoints from the bench such bishops to restore the balance?
Henry VIII redux?
Lay investiture has been an historical battleground for the Church. China is about 700 years late to this game.
Ping.
The Pope ain’t going to give in on this. China’s not going to win here.
They can do the same as Henry VIII did and execute the priests, and ban the religion, but they have been doing this for some time now, and it’s not working. :)
That’s why they tried to set up their own church, exactly like Henry VIII, and appointed their own bishops subservient to the regime.
The Holy Roman Emperors wanted to appoint their own bishops as well. This is a problem that has been around for a 1000 years.
The Queen of UK is also the head of the Anglican Church. Nobody finds that a problem anymore.
To the communist Chinese government: wah. You will not prevail.
Quite a few people do care, especially the Catholics, who want our stuff and our country back again.
Not to doubt your sentiment, but as long as we are sending the communist Chinese government tens of billions of American dollars EVERY MONTH in bilateral trade deficits - they will not fail.
Wake up people.
That money is already spent. China’s got nothing.
Historically in Europe, lay investiture was irrevocably tied to both power and money. But no more. This is simply the Chicoms fear of losing ideological control of the masses. It is a power play born out of fear.
It is time we had a President who had the nerve and verve like Gen. Charles De Gaulle
http://www.thecatholicthing.org/columns/2010/charles-de-gaulle-christian-warrior-and-statesman.html
It is reported that when he once visited the then Soviet Union he demanded to attend a Catholic Mass and the Commies succumbed. It’s time we tell the Chinese commies that they cannot control the appointment of Catholic Bishops because the power comes from the authority given to St. Peter and the Apostles.
It wouldbe interesting to know what the Chinese Laity and the Priests have to say. It appears the Chinese Government has take over the Church, If they appoint the Bishops they will soon takeover the theology.
The authority of the Pope is based on the authority that Jesus gave to the apostle Peter.
Consider that while you re-read the Chinese statement that includes phrases like “temporal power”, “medieval”, “quaint”.
The Chinese “church” is built around someone giving man authority, not God.
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