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| Classic Doublespeak |
VATICAN
COOPERATES WITH COMMUNIST CHINA MURDER AND USE OF TORTURE
“While
registering, Catholic clergy must align themselves with Chinese Catholic
Patriotic Association, a creature of the Communist government which the Vatican
has always maintained is incompatible with Catholic doctrine. Zen claimed the
Vatican was putting pressure on Chinese priests to possibly violate their
consciences—and even apostatize—by issuing the document.”
—Crux
Staff, “Cardinal Zen says Pope Francis being ‘manipulated’ on China,” Crux, March 2, 2020
“The
Vatican should immediately drop its deal with China following renewed
revelations of forced organ harvesting, rape and torture by the communist
regime, according to a letter signed by clergy, human rights campaigners and
other leading Catholics.
“The letter
in this week’s Catholic Herald cites a report by the China Tribunal chaired by
Sir Geoffrey Nice QC, a former prosecutor at the International Criminal Court.
The Tribunal found that the Chinese government is conducting a state-run
programme of forced organ harvesting from prisoners of conscience and detailed
acts of torture.”
—“Vatican
should end its deal with China, say Catholics,” Catholic Herald, March 13, 2020
Based
on data, the conclusion is obvious—the Chinese government is using the refusal
of the underground clergy to sign the registration agreement as a means to
identify, target, torture, and murder—pause—possibly thousands of people. And the
Vatican is a willing accomplice in this barbarity. Whatever defense the Vatican
bureaucracy has thrown up has failed—there are possibly thousands of people being abominably
treated with the Vatican's cooperation. On just this basis, with the extreme suffering
of human beings in mind, I say, yes, the pope is WRONG. He is the pope, but in
these matters, he is not infallible.
To put
it plainly, Catholics in Communist China are being tortured and killed because
of the pope. Obviously that is not his intention but that is the effect. If I
were in the place of those victimized by the registration agreement—assuming I
survive—I would feel betrayed by my Church and of course by the pope as well.
The
response of the Vatican is to defend the agreement. That makes things worse for
the victims. It’s the wrong response.
Public domain image
ReplyDeleteImage link: https://www.flickr.com/photos/democracychronicles/15003236942
Gonzalinho
Greg Burke, the director of the Holy See Press Office, stated that “the objective of the accord is not political but pastoral, allowing the faithful to have bishops that are in communion with Rome but at the same time recognized by the Chinese authorities.”
ReplyDeletehttps://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2018/12/07/extremely-high-stakes-china-vatican-deal
—Paul P. Mariani, S.J., “The Extremely High Stakes of the China-Vatican Deal,” America: The Jesuit Review, December 7, 2018
Gonzalinho
Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle uses calm tones and carefully measured words to explain the reasons for the Holy See’s decision to extend the Provisional Agreement with China on the appointment of Bishops.“
ReplyDeleteThe reason for everything is to safeguard the valid apostolic succession and the sacramental nature of the Catholic Church in China,” says the Filipino Cardinal, adding, “And this can reassure, comfort and enliven baptized Catholics in China.”
The Cardinal also recalls the sensus fidei of so many Chinese Catholics, describing it as “a precious testimony, which often sprouted not in well-cultivated and protected gardens, but on harsh and uneven grounds.” At the same time, he acknowledges “certain wounds need time and God's consolation in order to be healed.”
He notes, too, that Bishops “cannot be seen as ‘officials or functionaries’” and insists “Bishops are not ‘functionaries of the Pope’ or ‘of the Vatican,’ because they are the successors of the Apostles.”
https://www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2022-10/tagle-why-holy-see-is-renewing-the-provisional-agreement.html
—Gianni Valente, “Cardinal Tagle: A decision to safeguard apostolic succession for Chinese Catholics,” Vatican News, October 22, 2022
Bishops, by the present law of the Roman Catholic Church, take an oath of obedience to the pope. This obedience, however, is strictly limited by the canons, and is only held to bind in things consistent with the divine and natural law.
https://www.biblicalcyclopedia.com/O/obedience-(ecclesiastical).html
—“Obedience (Ecclesiastical),” McClintock and Strong Biblical Cyclopedia
An agreement to keep apostolic succession intact and beyond dispute and to preclude and heal de facto schism.
The historical problems that arose from the Anglican schism come to mind.
Gonzalinho
At least two competing moral-theological imperatives—one edges out the other.
DeleteGonzalinho