Pope Francis Is Warned Against Betraying China's Underground Church
Cardinal Joseph Zen warns the Vatican against forging an agreement with the Chinese government that would grant it power over the Catholic Church in that country. The retired prelate of Hong Kong considers the deal a betrayal by the Holy See of the faithful in China.
Catholicism is an underground religion in China where the laity attends Mass clandestinely. The communist-approved Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association operates under the supervision of the central government and the activities of its clerics are strictly monitored.
Zen explains that priests and bishops in the underground church have been thrown in jail for submitting to the Holy See rather than the patriotic church. Once the deal is approved, the Vatican will officially recognize the government-controlled church.
Zen is concerned that Pope Francis is misinformed about the situation in China. "We are very much worried because it seems that the Vatican is going to make a very bad agreement with China. And I can understand that the pope is really naïve. He doesn't know the Chinese communists," he told LifeSiteNews.
The retired cleric also believes the pontiff is getting bad advice from some Vatican officials. "But unfortunately, the people around him are not good at all. They have very wrong ideas. And I'm afraid that they may sell out our underground Church. That would be very sad," he said.
In its desire for total control of the Church, Zen said Beijing is painting a negative picture of the underground faithful as "troublemakers." Zen fears the deal would "give too much decision power to the government."
He talks about the situation in the diocese of Baoqing where both the bishop and archbishop of the underground church were imprisoned for many years. One day, the auxiliary bishop was released and was instructed by Rome to function as a bishop upon the government's approval which caused confusion among the priests.
Read more at http://www.christianpost.com/news/pope-warned-against-betraying-chinas-underground-church-175723/#MG0qXhDghwYMYTVz.99
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