Pope recognizes illicitly ordained Chinese bishops (CNA)

  • Thread starter Thread starter BartholomewB
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
To be fair, that crumbling of French Catholicism happened much later in the 1960s when a much more fundamental detente with the world and the spirit of the times was promoted there (and elsewhere, with similar results).
 
Last edited:
And one must also add that the Concordat came after 15 years of the French Revelution and after decades of a corrupt French society. It is beyond too simplistic, it is an absurd comparison.
 
“An immense moral capital is being built up in China by those religious communities that refuse to bend to Communist repression. By contrast, religious communities identified with the regime will bear the stigma of that regime when it collapses, as Communist regimes inevitably do.”

www.nationalreview.com

Did Pope Francis Just Make China Protestant? | National Review

Through its agreement with Beijing, the Vatican has diminished its moral reputation with the Chinese.
www.nationalreview.com www.nationalreview.com
 
Wow. I have never had an unkind word to say about George Weigel until now. He wrote an article of few months back that gave me pause, as he seemed to have shifted into partisan brinkmanship. But his use of the word “Protestant” in this title for following the Holy Father is flat out absurd. It is a contradiction in the very word. By the very definition of the word, what the Holy Father does cannot be Protestant. The response to him can be.
 
The article is quite disappointing. It is one of the few times that I have ever disagreed with George Weigel.
 
I doubt that George Weigel is responsible for the title of the piece. Titles are usually handled by the magazine editor.

In any case, the point seems to be that the same deal had been available to the two previous popes and was not made. The concern is that giving the Chinese Communist government power over selection of bishops can lead to a puppet episcopacy. And that Communist regime is not eternal; it will ultimately fall. And when it does, to quote Cardinal Zen, if today “you line up behind the regime, tomorrow our Church will not be welcome in the reconstruction of a new China.”
 
But he will only be able to choose from those nominated by CPCA and approved by the government. He can veto. But if keeps vetoing bishops, then no bishop is selected.
 
In Latin America, Rome still had the final say.

For example, St. Anthony Mary Claret describes his own election as follows: the Queen chose him, but Rome had to confirm:
  1. Once I had accepted Her Majesty’s choice of my humble person, the customary formalities were immediately set in motion and the dispatch was sent to Rome… My election was proclaimed in consistory, the Papal Bull from Rome was delivered to Madrid and duly dispatched, and it was brought from Madrid to Vich by two exemplary priests, Fathers Fermin de la Cruz and Andrew Novoa. Meanwhile, I prepared myself by a retreat of several days, during which I drew up a plan of life that I would follow in my new assignment.325 Thus prepared and disposed, I was consecrated in Vich…
Click to expand...
Later, as a bishop himself, he describes how the Queen went about making her choices–the concern in the current situation with China is that the Chinese regime, being Communist, will not consider the appropriate criteria (nor pray for guidance, for that matter). I’m not sure how the Chinese regime chooses candidates. Is it like the following, where the Church was involved with nominations from the get-go?
  1. One matter that I have been deeply involved in at the queen’s insistence is in arranging a system for electing bishops. I should like to say something about the progress that has been made in this business so far. The Attorney General asks each and every bishop whether or not he knows of any priest in his diocese with proper qualifications to be a bishop, should the need for one arise. The bishop in question answers yes or no. If he knows of one, he gives whatever information he can about him, such as his age, educational background, virtue, experience, and other data. The Attorney General collects and files all these data, and when a see falls vacant, he sends the dossiers to Her Majesty, who reads them and asks God’s guidance in helping her choose the right one. After this, she draws up a list of three, makes inquiries about the three men, commends herself to God, and finally makes her choice, basing it solely on the greater glory of God and the good of the Church. I can stand surety for the fact that, if any priest ever so much as hinted that he wanted the position, it would be more than enough to bar him from being considered eligible for nomination. The queen once told me, “It will go badly for anyone who asks for or strives to obtain a bishopric.” There is perhaps no matter in Spain that is handled more equitably and justly than the nomination of bishops, but neither is there any matter that is looked into more carefully.
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
JimG said:
The concern is that giving the Chinese Communist government power over selection of bishops can lead to a puppet episcopacy.
Click to expand...
That is a serious concern, but so is not having the Eucharist available for the faithful.
 
Pope Francis must have been mistaken then. That was the example that he gave which is quoted in the article.
 
Francis received, what he believes is a “sign from God”, that he should go forward with the Chinese agreement. (I read about the sign in the CNA article you linked)

What was the “sign” that collaboration between the greatest emerging temporal power (China) and the greatest spiritual power (Catholic Church) should proceed? It was two signatures on the same letter….one of an underground Catholic bishop loyal to the papacy and one of a Patriotic Catholic bishop loyal to the Communist Chinese. Pope Francis explained the “ex-apostolic nuncio’s testimony” (Ab Vigano) caused letters of support to come in from various countries. And the letter from China bore the 2 significant signatures prompting his action.
 
Keep your friends close and your enemies even closer.

We’ll see how this plays out.

I still have hope in the defeat of communism by the Church. China may be the biggest domino to fall after the USSR.
 
Last edited:
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top