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[Catholic Caucus] Chinese authorities arrest underground Catholic bishop ahead of EasterBishop Peter Shao Zhumin has been arrested a number of times by China's authorities due to being part of the underground church.Officials from the Chinese Communist Party have once again arrested a bishop of the underground church in the latest targeted arrest aimed at preventing him from celebrating the Holy Week liturgies.According to AsiaNews, Bishop Peter Shao Zhumin was arrested on April 10, along with his aide Father Jiang Xu Nian. The pair were taken by officials from the National Security Bureau, and AsiaNews reports that their current location is...

Jimmy Lai, Catholic imprisoned for crticizing the CCP, heads to trial; Trump promises to "get him out"Almost five years since Communist China charged Jimmy Lai for allegedly breaching its draconian National Security Law (NSL), the show trial of the Hong Kong media mogul, pro-democracy activist, and Catholic convert, is still ongoing. Most recently, President Trump promised to "get him out" of jail. "It'll be easy to get him out," said Trump, "but people don't talk about it."On March 11, Sebastien Lai, Jimmy’s son, urged for his dad’s liberation from the long arms of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), according to...

On February 10, 2025, Pope Francis, who resides in the Vatican, a city-state surrounded by a formidable 39-foot wall, penned a letter to U.S. bishops, decrying what he describes as harsh immigration policies of President Donald Trump.In his sanctimonious letter, Pope Francis calls on the bishops to defend the “infinite and transcendent dignity of every human person” amidst what he terms a “major crisis” with “mass deportations.”Outspoken Catholic leader Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano has responde to the letter and called out Red Francis main concern is not about immigrants, but about losing the steady flow of American tax dollars into...

[Catholic Caucus] Chinese bishop, victim of Vatican-China deal, celebrates ordination anniversary under house arrestCWN Editor's Note: Bishop Vincent Guo Xijin, the former bishop of Xiapu (Mendong), celebrated the 40th anniversary of his priestly ordination under house arrest. Pope Benedict XVI named Guo the (underground) coadjutor bishop of Xiapu in 2008; he acceded to the see in 2016. In the meantime, Xiapu had an “official” bishop, recognized by the Chinese government but not recognized by the Holy See: Bishop Vincent Silu Zhan, excommunicated because he was ordained a bishop without a papal mandate. In the wake of the Vatican-China agreement, Pope...

[Catholic Caucus] Bishop who survived communism weighs in on Pope FrancisArchbishop Jan Pavel Lenga is a former bishop in Kazakhstan known for his outspoken criticism of Pope Francis and the direction of the Catholic Church. Tonight we take a deep dive into his early life under communism and his rise through the Church hierarchy.Archbishop Jan Pawel Lenga is a former bishop in Kazakhstan known for his outspoken criticism of Pope Francis and the direction of the Catholic Church.Tonight we take a deep dive into his early life under communism, his secret ordination as a priest, and his rise through the...

[Catholic Caucus] Portuguese Cardinal Defends His Decision to Take Part in Communist Party RallyA Portuguese cardinal who was elevated to the College of Cardinals last year caused controversy earlier this month when he attended a communist rally held by the Portuguese Communist Party (PCP), the country’s oldest communist party and reputed to be one of the strongest in Western Europe. Cardinal Américo Aguiar, bishop of Setúbal diocese just outside Lisbon, defended his decision to take part in last weekend’s rally in Almada near Lisbon, saying he did so because the communists and socialists who attended it were close to the...

[Catholic Caucus] NCR interview: Nancy Pelosi criticizes Pope Francis over China pactFormer speaker discusses loss of the Catholic vote, generational change in the Democratic PartyFormer Speaker Nancy Pelosi criticized Pope Francis' recently renewed pact with China, telling the National Catholic Reporter in an interview that the Vatican has disregarded the Gospel by permitting the Communist government to meddle with the Roman Catholic Church in China.The agreement with China gives the Communist government input over the appointment of Catholic bishops in China, a deal that critics say endangers Catholics loyal to Rome who have worshiped in secret for seven decades. "I'm...

[Catholic Caucus] Shanghai’s Catholic Bishop Shen Bin Announces His Program: Study Xi Jinping, not the PopeAfter having been appointed by the CCP and grudgingly and belatedly approved by the Vatican, the new Prelate revealed his true colors.The saga of Bishop Shen Bin’s appointment to the all-important Catholic Diocese of Shanghai officially ended on July 15, 2023.On April 4, 2023, Bishop Shen Bin, until then Bishop of Haimen, was installed by the CCP as the new Bishop of Shanghai. The Vatican declared officially that “the Holy See learned from the media of the installation” only the morning it happened.The text of...

Remember the names of these Chinese bishopsWhat would John Paul II do?In the annals of historical boorishness, it would be hard to find something more egregious than the Holy See’s timing as it renewed its 2018 agreement with the People’s Republic of China, which allows the Chinese Communist party a significant role in the appointment of Catholic bishops. That renewal took place on October 22: the liturgical memorial of Pope St. John Paul II, whose defense of religious freedom helped bring down European communism, and whose burning desire to visit China was repulsed by a Communist regime that obviously feared...

Vatican’s top diplomat says Trump won’t change Pope’s line on ChinaROME – While congratulating Donald Trump and wishing him “much wisdom” in his second term, the Vatican’s top diplomat also bluntly declared Thursday that a controversial deal with China on the appointment of bishops will continue “regardless of reactions that may come from America” during a new Trump administration.Italian Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s Secretary of State, spoke to reporters on the sidelines of an event at Rome’s Jesuit-run Gregorian University on artificial intelligence and international humanitarian law.Asked about tensions that arose between the White House and the Vatican over...

EXCLUSIVE: British lord condemns renewal of Vatican deal with Communist ChinaLord Alton told LifeSiteNews that 'the Vatican’s silence on human rights and religious freedom in China is profoundly disappointing and dangerously counterproductive.'VATICAN CITY (LifeSiteNews) — As the Holy See renews it secretive and “sellout” deal with Communist China regarding the appointment of bishops, China experts and leading human rights campaigners have warned that it will only “embolden” Beijing to “further intensify its repression” of Catholics in China.“The Vatican continues to engage in the pretense that it has an ‘agreement’ with the Chinese Communist Party,” said Steven Mosher, president of the...

[Catholic Caucus] BREAKING: Vatican renews its secretive deal with China for appointing bishopshe highly secretive and controversial Sino-Vatican deal lauded by Pope Francis and Cardinal Pietro Parolin has been renewed for four years. It was launched in 2018 and has been criticized by numerous religious and political figures internationally.Flags of Vatican and China painted on cracked wallThe Holy See has renewed its secretive deal with China, according to a spokesman for the Chinese government today.During a regular press conference October 22, Beijing spokesman Lin Jian revealed that the Chinese government has renewed its 2018 deal with the Holy See, this...

The Betrayal of the Catholic Church in ChinaThere is some historical evidence that suggests St. Thomas the Apostle went not only to India, but all the way to China. At the latest, we know there were Christians in China from AD 600 forward. Since then, they have been few in percentages but great in suffering for Jesus Christ. The persecution of Catholics in China peaked in the 20th century under the Boxer Rebellion and Mao’s Red China.But in 1957, the Communists tried a new move in establishing the “Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association.” This was an attempt to mimic the hierarchy...

[Catholic Caucus] APOSTOLIC JOURNEY - Agreement between China and the Holy See on the appointment of Bishops, the Pope: "Good result, I am happy"Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) - "The result" of the agreement between China and the Holy See on the appointment of bishops "is good, I am happy." This is what Pope Francis said during the usual press conference on the plane on his return flight from Singapore, the last stop of his long Apostolic Journey to Asia and Oceania.Responding to the question on the agreement posed by the journalist Stefania Falasca for the Chinese online newspaper Tianou Zhiku,...

Pope Francis said Chinese Catholics will ‘suffer’ under his deal. They areThe Holy See's secret deal with China is due for renewal in a few weeks. Chinese Catholics are still suffering due to it – just as Pope Francis suggested they would six years ago.As official Congressional reports document China’s continued persecution of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis’ suggestion that Chinese Catholics “will suffer” due to his Sino-Vatican deal appears to remain true.With the Vatican’s secretive deal with China likely to be renewed in the coming weeks, Chinese Catholics have already spent six years living under the terms of the...

Catholic Priests from Fujian Mobilized for “Patriotic Education” in XinjiangA delegation led by Bishop Vincent Zhan Silu, a CCP loyalist, went to the region to “see and believe” that all is well there and to preach “patriotism” to local religionists.The law on “patriotic education,” aimed at promoting the most massive domestic propaganda effort in the 21st century, is in force in China since January 1. On January 4, the five authorized religions issued guidelines on how government-controlled religions and clergy are expected to cooperate in this gigantic enterprise.One region where, understandably, “patriotic education” is not highly successful is Xinjiang (which...

Cardinal once jailed by communists criticizes Vatican’s ‘silence’ about China’s persecution of Catholics‘The Church’s silence in the face of human rights abuses by Communist China harms Catholic life in China,’ said Czech Cardinal Dominik Duka, who was sentenced to 15 months in prison by communists for ‘religious activities’ when he was a young priest.PRAGUE (LifeSiteNews) — A Czech cardinal who was once imprisoned by communists publicly criticized the Vatican under Pope Francis for ignoring Communist China’s human rights abuses and persecution of Catholics.“Just as silence and complicity with the communist regime damaged my country and made it easier for the...

ROME — Pope Francis warned Sunday democracy is in “crisis” around the world, likely with an eye to a rise in right-wing parties across Italy, Austria, Argentina, Netherlands, and Germany. It is evident that in today’s world, democracy “is not in good health,” the pontiff told a group of 900 participants in the 50th annual Social Week, celebrated in the northern Italian city of Trieste. The pope went on to compare the modern “crisis of democracy” to a wounded heart that has suffered a heart attack, manifested by “various forms of social exclusion” that “limit participation.”

[Catholic Caucus] Cardinal Parolin says infamous Vatican-China deal will be renewed at end of 2024Cardinal Pietro Parolin has announced that the Vatican will renew its heavily criticized secret deal with Communist China at the end of this year.During a presentation of the book Cardinal Celso Costantini and China – Constructor of a “bridge” between the East and West on Thursday at Rome’s Pontifical Urban University, Parolin told journalists, “With China, we are dialoguing as we have been for some time.”READ: Cardinal Zen torches the Vatican and his critics over China deal“We are trying to find the best procedures also for...

Vatican Apologizes for Catholic Missionaries in China, Calls on Communist “Bishops” to Rule the Chinese Church He apologized to the Indigenous Canadians, he apologized to the Mayans, now he’s apologizing to the Chinese Communists. In another big overture to China on May 21, Pope Francis and his Vatican assured the Chinese government that the Catholic Church poses no threat to Beijing’s Communist sovereignty and apologized for Catholic missionaries of the past for their zealous work to convert the Chinese to the Catholic Faith, even referring to their pastoral work as “errors.” The Vatican hosted “Bishop” Joseph Shen Bin, head of...