In my previous post I explained the historical reasons -- relating to Vatican II and the 1962 Vatican-Moscow agreement -- behind the Church's fight against godless Communism. And at the end of the piece, I referred you to three previous posts on the topic of the Communist Chinese government's persecution of the underground Catholic Church in China.
Thousands of Roman Catholic bishops, priests and laypeople have been arrested, imprisoned, tortured, even executed, because of their persistent refusal to join the "official" (state-run) Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association.
Atila Sinke Guimarães called the persescution of the Church and the faithful in China one of "the shameful and disastrous consequences of the present day Vatican Ostpolitik, which one can see is alive and active." His article was written in October, 2005, and the situation has worsened steadily since then, especially this year.
It was only a year ago that the likes of Cardinal Bertone -- successor to Cardinals Sodano and Casaroli -- were predicting a great breakthrough, the exchange of ambassadors and cordial diplomatic relations between the Holy See and Beijing. Today, relations between the world's largest country and the world's largest church are as bad as they've been at any time since the Communists seized power in 1949.
In mid-July, the schismatic and heretical CPCA (which is not recognized by the Vatican) consecrated a new "bishop" for the diocese of Shantou, in a ceremony which four bishops of the underground Church, still loyal to Rome, were forced to attend after being abducted by the police. According to AsiaNews, one bishop was "seen sobbing as he was dragged from his home".
The news gets worse. This forced "recognition" of the CPCA was not a one-time thing. In fact, this was the third time in eight months that the Communist-controlled CPCA has installed a new "bishop" without the consent of Rome. Better to say, in defiance of Rome!
The Holy See has responded by declaring that the new "bishop" and the one appointed by the CPCA in similar circumstances in June were ipso facto excommunicated.
To most traditional Catholics, particularly Joseph Cardinal Zen, archbishop emeritus of Hong Kong, the imboglio confirms the lunacy of attempting to appease and co-operate with a Communist régime. To abandon the fight against Communism is to say that the thousands of Chinese Catholics who gave up their freedom and often their lives for the sake of fidelity to the Roman Church were wrong, and that their sacrifices were for naught.
Here's how Atila Sinke Guimarães puts it:
First, regarding the faithful “underground” Catholic Church, the Vatican seems to be punishing it. In effect, for 55 years those Prelates and Catholics endured every kind of physical and moral suffering because they refused to adhere to the “Patriotic Catholic Association,” directed by the Communist Party. This “underground” Church represented heroism and faithfulness to Rome; the “patriot” church represented cowardice and treason.
When Benedict XVI invited both the persecutor and persecuted bishops to attend the [2005] Synod, he implied that the two were equal in the eyes of Rome. This fact sends a strong message to the “underground Church” to change its attitude: it should give up its opposition to the Communist government, which it should accept and support. It also suggests that Catholics end their fight against the “Patriotic Catholic Association.”
This is what Benedict XVI is signifying to the heroic eight million Chinese Catholics of the catacombs. They should deny their glorious past of martyrdom and fidelity to the Pope because a Pope orders them to do so.
Bookmark: For the latest facts on the Communist Chinese persecution of Catholics and other Christians, bookmark AsiaNews. Today's leading article is: "Tianshui: police arrest dozens of underground priests and lay faithful".
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