China defends new bishops against Vatican criticism
-08/05/04
The Chinese governmentís
China defends new bishops against Vatican criticism
-08/05/04
The Chinese governmentís religious affairs body and the Catholic Patriotic Association, a government recognised body, have rigorously defended the decision to ordain two Roman Catholic bishops without the approval of the Vatican.
Beijingís State Administration of Religious Affairs (SARA) has rejected strongly-worded criticisms from Vatican. The official Xinhua news agency said that the Vatican had received repeated notification of the ordination plans.
ìFor the Vatican to make violent criticism after the successful ordinations seriously contradicts its stated wish to improve relations with China,î SARA declared.
The body was previously called the Religious Affairs Bureau before being upgraded within the Chinese government structure.
The recent ordinations have been denounced by the Holy See as a ìgrave wound to the unity of the Churchî.
Meanwhile, Cardinal Zen of Hong Kong, a special administrative region within China, warned that the move has made it unlikely that Sino-Vatican relations will normalise before 2008.
He said that the Catholic Patriotic Associationís ìdamaging actionsî would delay the furtherance of diplomatic relations during a visit to the neighbouring Chinese territory of Macau.
“The dialogue cannot continue because people will think we are prepared to surrender,” Zen declared in a local newspaper interview.
He went on: “When you brutally implement such a fait accompli, how can you call this dialogue?”
Some commentators have expressed surprise and concern at the way the conflict has developed, apparently unravelling years of patient work to try to ënormaliseí relations over time.
They believe that rapprochement rather than conflict is the way forward for religious freedom and recognition in China’s rapidly modernising environment.
However the Pope issued strong condemnation of the ordination of bishops Ma Yinglin and Liu Xinhong last week.
He accused China of violating religious freedom after receiving reports that Beijing had coerced key Catholic leaders into accepting the consecrations.
The Church appears to be saying that the bishops concerned have excommunicated themselves.
An assistant bishop was also ordained on Sunday 7 May 2006 in the north-eastern province of Liaoning. However Fr Paul Pei Junmin has received the backing of the Vatican.
The Chinese government does not permit Catholics in China to have official relations with the Vatican, because it is a city-state and this constituted interference by a foreign power in their eyes.
However an increasing number of Catholic Patriotic Association clergy have spoken of the Pope as their ìspiritual leaderî in recent years.
There are approximately 12,000 Catholics in China, and around 50 million Protestants ñ though the official China Christian Council puts its estimate rather lower, at 14 million.
Like Buddhism, Christianity is a fast-growing faith. And though it cracks down on dissent and unregistered (ìundergroundî) churches hard, the Chinese government sees the regulated growth of religion as a route to social stability ñ and to faith as a moral aid to society.
But it will not tolerate any interference in the country and the administrationís right to self-determination, and the global political role of the Papacy has been a long-term concern.
[Also on Ekklesia: Vatican attacks state-approved Chinese bishops; Political Cardinal gives warning to China; China criticized for attack on nuns and arrest of priests; Hong Kong churches push China on democracy; Rice urges China to expand religious freedoms; Chinese Christians released after raid on Bible school; Support Chinese Christians, British and Irish churches urged; Chinese churches face challenges of growth]
China defends new bishops against Vatican criticism
-08/05/04
The Chinese governmentís religious affairs body and the Catholic Patriotic Association, a government recognised body, have rigorously defended the decision to ordain two Roman Catholic bishops without the approval of the Vatican.
Beijingís State Administration of Religious Affairs (SARA) has rejected strongly-worded criticisms from Vatican. The official Xinhua news agency said that the Vatican had received repeated notification of the ordination plans.
ìFor the Vatican to make violent criticism after the successful ordinations seriously contradicts its stated wish to improve relations with China,î SARA declared.
The body was previously called the Religious Affairs Bureau before being upgraded within the Chinese government structure.
The recent ordinations have been denounced by the Holy See as a ìgrave wound to the unity of the Churchî.
Meanwhile, Cardinal Zen of Hong Kong, a special administrative region within China, warned that the move has made it unlikely that Sino-Vatican relations will normalise before 2008.
He said that the Catholic Patriotic Associationís ìdamaging actionsî would delay the furtherance of diplomatic relations during a visit to the neighbouring Chinese territory of Macau.
“The dialogue cannot continue because people will think we are prepared to surrender,” Zen declared in a local newspaper interview.
He went on: “When you brutally implement such a fait accompli, how can you call this dialogue?”
Some commentators have expressed surprise and concern at the way the conflict has developed, apparently unravelling years of patient work to try to ënormaliseí relations over time.
They believe that rapprochement rather than conflict is the way forward for religious freedom and recognition in China’s rapidly modernising environment.
However the Pope issued strong condemnation of the ordination of bishops Ma Yinglin and Liu Xinhong last week.
He accused China of violating religious freedom after receiving reports that Beijing had coerced key Catholic leaders into accepting the consecrations.
The Church appears to be saying that the bishops concerned have excommunicated themselves.
An assistant bishop was also ordained on Sunday 7 May 2006 in the north-eastern province of Liaoning. However Fr Paul Pei Junmin has received the backing of the Vatican.
The Chinese government does not permit Catholics in China to have official relations with the Vatican, because it is a city-state and this constituted interference by a foreign power in their eyes.
However an increasing number of Catholic Patriotic Association clergy have spoken of the Pope as their ìspiritual leaderî in recent years.
There are approximately 12,000 Catholics in China, and around 50 million Protestants ñ though the official China Christian Council puts its estimate rather lower, at 14 million.
Like Buddhism, Christianity is a fast-growing faith. And though it cracks down on dissent and unregistered (ìundergroundî) churches hard, the Chinese government sees the regulated growth of religion as a route to social stability ñ and to faith as a moral aid to society.
But it will not tolerate any interference in the country and the administrationís right to self-determination, and the global political role of the Papacy has been a long-term concern.
[Also on Ekklesia: Vatican attacks state-approved Chinese bishops; Political Cardinal gives warning to China; China criticized for attack on nuns and arrest of priests; Hong Kong churches push China on democracy; Rice urges China to expand religious freedoms; Chinese Christians released after raid on Bible school; Support Chinese Christians, British and Irish churches urged; Chinese churches face challenges of growth]