The China-Vatican Agreement and the Accord Between Napoleon and Pius VII

AsiaNews ^ | 1/3/19 | Li Ruohan

[marshmallow]

Beijing (AsiaNews) - The agreement between China and the Holy See is very similar to the one signed between Napoleon and Pius VII. The startlingly apt comparison is fitting in many aspects: the restructuring of the dioceses; power over the Church; recognition (only formal) of the Pope; total control of religious activities; elimination of bishops and "non-sworn" priests (or underground). The author, Li Ruohan (a pseudonym) is a scholar from northern China. The original title of the essay is "What is illegal has become legal".

On December 12th I saw the images of the Holy See special envoy, Archbishop Claudio M. Celli, at the Diaoyuetai, the state hotel for illustrious guests. He was accompanied by two Chinese bishops with whom he appeared to be on friendly terms. A pleasant image was presented to the world. It was reputed to have been the start of the demanding process to reach an agreement between the Holy See and China. A reason to rejoice and for congratulations.

Archbishop Celli contributed greatly to this. Only he was unable to remain a few more days, to go to Nanjing and attend the ceremony to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the "independent" election and ordination of the first Chinese bishops. He could have shared his experience with the bishops and heard the speeches of the authorities. What a pity!

According to press releases, the Pope granted seven bishops jurisdiction over the administration of dioceses by officially nominating them as ordinary bishops; of the two clandestine bishops, one was asked to withdraw, the other to become auxiliary. This is one of the results of the agreement, which has not yet been made public.

Like Napoleon

Seeing such results one cannot help but think of the Concordat between the State and the Church of France signed by Napoleon......

[BipolarBob]

I see another parallel but with different outcome. It begins in Matt.4. But there was no agreement between the two so they each left going separate paths.

[Marchmain]

Not really. Napoleon ruled, and did not bother the Church if it did not obstruct his goals. To him religion was a societal benefit, to work with, as long as it did not interfere with governance. To China the Church is an outright hindrance. The rulers are avid atheists such as Napoleon could never imagine. China with it’s anti-philosophical totalitarianism deliberately persecutes and thwarts Christianity. Faith undermines Communism and must be forced under State control. Quite contrary to the underlying ideas of Napoleon and the French.