China expert fears accord would establish ‘national Church’
February 20, 2018
» Continue to this story on Crux
CWN Editor's Note: An expert on Catholic missionary work has voiced his fear that an agreement between the Vatican and China could produce a state-controlled Church. Father Bernardo Cervellera, the director of the AsiaNews service, told Crux that the rumored agreement— under which the government would choose bishops, with the Holy See exercising a partial veto— would be a step backward, toward times when government leaders controlled Church decisions. Father Cervellera remarks that the Vatican may be anxious to reach an accord, because of concerns that the government might otherwise appoint dozens of new illicit bishops, and crack down more severely on the “underground” Church.
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Posted by: Randal Mandock -
Feb. 21, 2018 6:11 PM ET USA
If the members of the Chinese underground Church are themselves willing to undergo martyrdom for the Catholic faith, why is the Holy See so timid about standing behind them? I realize that the rigidity of martyrdom is currently out of fashion in the Church, but why does the Vatican not desire to be countercultural, to resist the tide of concession to the profane, and to support the passionate witness of those who are so fervent to live the Catholic ideal? The "ideal" is actually attainable.
