But, although it's hard, it's much better for the Church to be "underground" than to be a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Chinese Communist Party.
So for now, it looks like the deal is off.
Our Lady of Beijing, pray for us.
But, although it's hard, it's much better for the Church to be "underground" than to be a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Chinese Communist Party.
So for now, it looks like the deal is off.
Our Lady of Beijing, pray for us.
Sounds like something Pope Francis, Cardinal Kasper and Cardinal Marx would all say.
The God of Surprises!
"Almighty God hath created the mind free, and manifested His supreme will that free it shall remain by making it altogether insusceptible of restraint. All attempts to influence it by temporal punishments or burthens, or by civil incapacitations, tend only to beget habits of hypocrisy and meanness, and are a departure from the plan of the Holy Author of our religion, who, being Lord both of body and mind, yet chose not to propagate it by coercions on either, as was in his Almighty power to do, but to exalt it by its influence on reason alone." - Thomas Jefferson, TITLE: Statute of Religious Freedom. EDITION: Washington ed. viii, 454. EDITION: Ford ed., ii, 237. PLACE: [none given] DATE: 1779“Religion must adapt to the society it is in,” said Mr. Chen, whose department, the State Administration for Religious Affairs, is being absorbed into a branch of the Communist Party as part of a sweeping government reorganization.
Totalitarian ideologies, including the "Progressive" ideology elsewhere, demand conformity and "adaptation to the society"--one of the signs of impending tyranny for citizens in the society.
What a striking contrast!
RE: China Insists on Control of Religion
it is no surprise that the underground church is thriving in China. China will “officially” tolerate Christian worship as long as they register with the “Three-Self Movement”. Which essentially means, any sermon the pastor preaches has to go through official scrutiny first before they are allowed to be spoken.
CONTROL is the operative word.