Chinese Bishop Pushing Clergy into 'Patriotic Association'

UCANews ^ | 8/5/22

[marshmallow]

Bishop Francis An Shuxin has threatened to withhold the Eucharist from clergy who fail to register with state-sanctioned CCPA

An international Christian group has condemned a Catholic bishop in China for threatening to withhold the Sacrament of Eucharist for clergy if they do not register with the state-sanctioned Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association (CCPA).

Bishop Francis An Shuxin of the Diocese of Baoding in Hebei province in northern China issued a pastoral letter July 15 stating that all Catholic clergy are required to register with the CCPA immediately or face punitive measures.

The prelate said he would not share the Eucharist with the priests who are not registered and warned local Catholics that if they refuse to accept priests who are registered with the CCPA they would face the same fate.

n a statement on Aug. 3, US-based International Christian Concern (ICC), said Bishop An’s letter was “a manipulation” of two major agreements signed between the Vatican and China.

Firstly, the Sino-Vatican Agreement of 2018 over the appointment of bishops in China, the ICC says.

The secretive deal was signed initially for two years and was renewed in 2020. It allows the CCP to have a say in the appointment of Catholic bishops in China, while the Vatican seeks to unify millions of Chinese Catholics split between state-run and Vatican-aligned churches.

Secondly, the Vatican issued a statement in 2019 that encouraged Catholics to register with the church, but warned against any attempt at forcible registration. It urged the Chinese government to respect the “conscientious objectors” to the Vatican-China deal who refuse to join the state-run church.

[ebb tide]

Bishop An Shuxin joined the government-sanctioned Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association, which split the diocese further between the underground and open communities. With the consent of the government, Bishop An was installed as the head of the Diocese of Baoding in 2010, leading the “Open” community.

[vpintheak]

The Popes deal with the Chicomm’s is failing miserably.