Posted on 07/05/2012 2:30:14 PM PDT by NYer
The State Administration for Religious Affairs on Wednesday urged the Vatican to rescind its threats to excommunicate two Chinese bishops, who are to be consecrated without papal approval, and return to the "correct path of dialogue."
The threats of excommunication are "extremely unreasonable and rude," a spokesperson said in a statement.
Yue Fusheng and Ma Daqin will be consecrated on Friday and Saturday in Heilongjiang Province and Shanghai, respectively.
The Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association was forced to begin to consecrate elected bishops in the 1950s after the Vatican threatened to impose excommunication.
The association has so far consecrated more than 190 elected bishops, which has helped to guarantee and promote the healthy development of Chinese Catholic churches, according to the spokesperson.
Continuing the practice of the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association consecrating elected bishops is necessary to spread the word of Catholicism in China, as there have been no bishops in several of the country's dioceses for some time, the spokesperson said.
The practice is also the strong aspiration of the majority of priests and believers and a manifestation of religious freedom, according to the spokesperson.
"Any repudiation or interference with this religious practice is a restriction of freedom and an intolerant act. It is detrimental to the healthy development of Catholic churches in both China and the world," the spokesperson said.
The Chinese government is willing to discuss any issue, including the consecration of bishops, with the Vatican, but the government will continue to support the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association in independently selecting and consecrating its bishops before the two sides reach a consensus, the spokesperson said.
Catholic ping!
You forgot the obligatory (BARF) on this malodorous bit of ChiCom propaganda.
Not for Comrade Lin Piao!
Not for Obozo!
Not for Her Imperial Hillariness!
Not for Mittler!
Not EVER!!!
Ping!
Hong Kong and Macau are both part of the PRC now.
Understood.But they're both called "Special Administrative Regions" and are,to a noticeable degree,self governing.This is due to the treaties that Britain and Portugal negotiated with the PRC before the handover.The people and institutions of these "regions",surprisingly,have *much* more freedom than do those of mainland China.After my earlier post I did some research that suggests that the Catholic Church in Hong Kong is not,in fact,interfered with by the HK or the PRC governments.I'd wager that same id true of the Church in Macau.
I have a lawyer friend practicing in Hong Kong. She sees the central government’s policy there as based on slow assimilation. Gradually, over years, pro-Beijing elements are gaining more and more control.
I don’t know if the Catholic Church there has been approached by the “Patriotic” association, but I’d be surprised if there wasn’t at least some overtures made. I’ll ask her today.
I know that the church that the LCMS partners with in China has a unique arrangement in that they have to train native Chinese in China to be pastors (which is the mission strategy anyway). From the people I have talked to there, the state doesn't pay a lot of attention to WHAT the pastors learn, just that they are free from outside control.
The arrangement wouldn't be possible for the Catholic Church, with the Pope making appointments of bishops. That and the church the LCMS deals with is based more in the south, by Hong Kong, and has the freedom associated with that area.
Maybe instead of excommunicating them, the Vatican could create an ‘Episcopalian Ordinaire’, where they would be recognized as Episcopalian Anglican, not Catholic.
This would work on a bunch of different levels.
In the case of the Anglicans, the priests have gone through Catholic seminary training and been properly ordained.
Actually the Vatican does not “excommunicate” bishops not properly ordained in the Church. They were never communicants to begin with. It would be the same as “excommunicating” a Jain.
How about the Chinese rescind threats to imprison bishops consecrated without government approval?
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