N-SSPX gives Watered-Down Version of Card. Zen's Pleadings
Feb 10, 2018 14:08:10 GMT
Post by Admin on Feb 10, 2018 14:08:10 GMT
The issues of the Chinese Catholics state of affairs in the last several weeks has consistently been a topic on even the mainstream news. The crux of the issue is that:
"Card. Joseph Zen, bishop emeritus of Hong Kong, posted today on his blog, regarding the events reported by AsiaNews where a Vatican prelate asked the bishops of Shantou and Mindong, underground and recognized by the Holy See, to step down to leave their place to two illegitimate and excommunicated bishops."
A description of this issue has been documented on The Catacombs, here.
Those articles, are mostly sourced from Asia News. In the article 'Vatican Sells Out Chinese Catacombers," it is noted that the Asia News is an official Vatican news agency. This is not idle media speculation. This is coming from inside the Vatican."
Contrast those detailed articles with the mush that the N-SSPX has written on their 'news' (Information and Analysis on the Life of the Church) page:
By fsspx.news
Cardinal Joseph Zen, bishop emeritus of Hong Kong, met with the Holy Father on January 12, 2018, to plead the cause of the bishops of the clandestine Church, who could have to bear the consequences of a possible reconciliation between the Holy See and China.
The Chinese prelate mentioned the cases of Bishop Peter Zhuang of Shantou and Bishop Guo Xijin of Mindong, who received an order from Rome to leave their sees in order to pacify relations with the Chinese government.
The Cardinal explained to Asia News that he asked the Pope “if he had had time to look into the matter as he had promised” and if his collaborators were keeping him informed; and Francis answered, “like I already said, I do not want to create another Mindszenty case!”
Cardinal Zen considered this answer reassuring: “a consolation.” Cardinal Joseph Mindszenty was the Metropolitan archbishop of Esztergom and primate of Hungary; he was persecuted under the communist regime. First condemned to life in prison after a Stalinian trial in 1949, then released during the 1956 insurrection, he took refuge at the US embassy when Soviet tanks came to reestablish the Socialist dictatorship. He remained there for fifteen years. Finally, in 1971, the Holy See negotiated his departure by means of a compromise during the Ostpolitik. The high-ranking prelate was even asked to renounce his charge as primate of the Church of Hungary, which Cardinal Mindszenty refused to do.
Cardinal Zen concluded from Francis’ comparison between his case and that of the Hungarian cardinal: “I would be more than happy to be the obstacle in the process of reaching a deal between the Vatican and China,” and “the important thing for us now is to pray for the Holy Father.”
The bishop emeritus of Hong Kong also gave his opinion on the motives for a hypothetical agreement between Rome and Beijing: according to the cardinal, the pope fears that the Church, divided in the face of the Chinese regime, will reach a breaking point.
Some say that all the efforts to reach an agreement (between China and the Holy See) is to avoid the ecclesial schism. How ridiculous! The schism is there, in the Independent Church (under the authority of Beijing)! The Popes avoided using the word ‘schism’ because they knew that many in the official Catholic community were there not by their own free will, but under heavy pressure.
This interview by the Chinese prelate drew a reaction from the Vatican. A statement published by the Holy See Press Office on January 30, 2018, explained: “The Pope is in constant contact with his collaborators, in particular in the Secretariat of State, on Chinese issues.”
Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican Secretary of State, told Gianni Valente for Vatican Insider on January 31, 2018, “We trust that the Chinese faithful, thanks to their sense of faith, will know how to recognize that our action is animated by trust in the Lord and does not answer to worldly logic.”
Indeed. The fact remains that it there seems to have been an urgent need to reestablish a more diplomatic and accommodating climate with the Chinese government, which looks like a biting betrayal to the bishop emeritus of Hong Kong.
"Card. Joseph Zen, bishop emeritus of Hong Kong, posted today on his blog, regarding the events reported by AsiaNews where a Vatican prelate asked the bishops of Shantou and Mindong, underground and recognized by the Holy See, to step down to leave their place to two illegitimate and excommunicated bishops."
A description of this issue has been documented on The Catacombs, here.
Those articles, are mostly sourced from Asia News. In the article 'Vatican Sells Out Chinese Catacombers," it is noted that the Asia News is an official Vatican news agency. This is not idle media speculation. This is coming from inside the Vatican."
Contrast those detailed articles with the mush that the N-SSPX has written on their 'news' (Information and Analysis on the Life of the Church) page:
Cardinal Zen Pleads the Cause of the Clandestine Church in China
February 07, 2018By fsspx.news
Cardinal Joseph Zen, bishop emeritus of Hong Kong, met with the Holy Father on January 12, 2018, to plead the cause of the bishops of the clandestine Church, who could have to bear the consequences of a possible reconciliation between the Holy See and China.
The Chinese prelate mentioned the cases of Bishop Peter Zhuang of Shantou and Bishop Guo Xijin of Mindong, who received an order from Rome to leave their sees in order to pacify relations with the Chinese government.
The Cardinal explained to Asia News that he asked the Pope “if he had had time to look into the matter as he had promised” and if his collaborators were keeping him informed; and Francis answered, “like I already said, I do not want to create another Mindszenty case!”
Cardinal Zen considered this answer reassuring: “a consolation.” Cardinal Joseph Mindszenty was the Metropolitan archbishop of Esztergom and primate of Hungary; he was persecuted under the communist regime. First condemned to life in prison after a Stalinian trial in 1949, then released during the 1956 insurrection, he took refuge at the US embassy when Soviet tanks came to reestablish the Socialist dictatorship. He remained there for fifteen years. Finally, in 1971, the Holy See negotiated his departure by means of a compromise during the Ostpolitik. The high-ranking prelate was even asked to renounce his charge as primate of the Church of Hungary, which Cardinal Mindszenty refused to do.
Cardinal Zen concluded from Francis’ comparison between his case and that of the Hungarian cardinal: “I would be more than happy to be the obstacle in the process of reaching a deal between the Vatican and China,” and “the important thing for us now is to pray for the Holy Father.”
The bishop emeritus of Hong Kong also gave his opinion on the motives for a hypothetical agreement between Rome and Beijing: according to the cardinal, the pope fears that the Church, divided in the face of the Chinese regime, will reach a breaking point.
Some say that all the efforts to reach an agreement (between China and the Holy See) is to avoid the ecclesial schism. How ridiculous! The schism is there, in the Independent Church (under the authority of Beijing)! The Popes avoided using the word ‘schism’ because they knew that many in the official Catholic community were there not by their own free will, but under heavy pressure.
This interview by the Chinese prelate drew a reaction from the Vatican. A statement published by the Holy See Press Office on January 30, 2018, explained: “The Pope is in constant contact with his collaborators, in particular in the Secretariat of State, on Chinese issues.”
Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican Secretary of State, told Gianni Valente for Vatican Insider on January 31, 2018, “We trust that the Chinese faithful, thanks to their sense of faith, will know how to recognize that our action is animated by trust in the Lord and does not answer to worldly logic.”
Indeed. The fact remains that it there seems to have been an urgent need to reestablish a more diplomatic and accommodating climate with the Chinese government, which looks like a biting betrayal to the bishop emeritus of Hong Kong.
+++++
Just for ha-ha's - here is yesterday's article commenting on this issue. Kindly notice the greater in-depth analysis and commentary from a liberal mainstream media news outlet:
Cardinal says Vatican-China deal would put Catholics in communist cage
Just for ha-ha's - here is yesterday's article commenting on this issue. Kindly notice the greater in-depth analysis and commentary from a liberal mainstream media news outlet:
Cardinal says Vatican-China deal would put Catholics in communist cage
Fri Feb 9, 2018 / 9:44 AM EST
Former head of the Catholic Church in Hong Kong, Cardinal Joseph Zen, 86, attends a news conference in Hong Kong, China February 9, 2018.
Reuters/Bobby Yip
(Reuters) - A senior Catholic cardinal accused the Vatican on Friday of acting "unfaithfully" in its rapprochement with China, saying it would put the country's some 12 million faithful in a bird cage controlled by the Communist Party.
Addressing a news conference, Hong Kong's outspoken Cardinal Joseph Zen also said he was highly skeptical of a deal that reportedly would give Pope Francis the final say in the appointment of bishops, the key part of the agreement.
Nearly 70 years after China and the Vatican severed diplomatic relations, the two sides recently reached a framework accord on the thorny issue of who gets to appoint new Chinese bishops and a historic deal could be signed in a few months.
The 86-year-old former bishop of Hong Kong, recently rebuked by the Vatican after he said it had "sold out" China's faithful, said sources told him that under the framework agreement the pope would have the final veto power over bishops who are effectively chosen by the Chinese government.
[emphasis added]
"They (The Chinese government) say the last word belongs to the Holy Father. Sounds wonderful? But it's fake," Zen said.
"They are not going to make good choices for the Church ... surely they choose the one they prefer, which means the one who always obeys the government. So how (could) the Holy Father approve such a choice?”
"Okay, he can veto. How many times? It takes courage to veto the second time, the third time, five times," Zen said.
Catholics in China are split between the state-controlled Catholic Patriotic Association, where bishops are appointed by the government, and the "underground" Church that remains loyal to the pope while being systematically persecuted by Chinese authorities for years.
Zen, who has fiercely criticized the Vatican for attempting to force two "underground" bishops to give way to government-backed "illegitimate" bishops in order to foster the deal, was rebuked by the Vatican last Wednesday for "fostering confusion and controversy".
Zen said that under the status quo, which he described as "the lesser evil," the Vatican secretly approves candidates who are acceptable to both sides before the state-controlled Church makes them bishop.
But under the new agreement, where candidates would be selected via a "so-called democratic election" inside the Chinese Catholic community and endorsed by a state-controlled bishops' conference before being submitted to the pope, the choice lies entirely in the hands of the government, Zen said.
"A church enslaved by the government is no real Catholic Church," he said.
Zen said he was not criticizing the pope, whom he believed might not be briefed on "reality" because bureaucrats in the Holy See are eager to strike a deal.
Former head of the Catholic Church in Hong Kong, Cardinal Joseph Zen, 86, attends a news conference in Hong Kong, China February 9, 2018.
Reuters/Bobby Yip
(Reuters) - A senior Catholic cardinal accused the Vatican on Friday of acting "unfaithfully" in its rapprochement with China, saying it would put the country's some 12 million faithful in a bird cage controlled by the Communist Party.
Addressing a news conference, Hong Kong's outspoken Cardinal Joseph Zen also said he was highly skeptical of a deal that reportedly would give Pope Francis the final say in the appointment of bishops, the key part of the agreement.
Nearly 70 years after China and the Vatican severed diplomatic relations, the two sides recently reached a framework accord on the thorny issue of who gets to appoint new Chinese bishops and a historic deal could be signed in a few months.
The 86-year-old former bishop of Hong Kong, recently rebuked by the Vatican after he said it had "sold out" China's faithful, said sources told him that under the framework agreement the pope would have the final veto power over bishops who are effectively chosen by the Chinese government.
[emphasis added]
"They (The Chinese government) say the last word belongs to the Holy Father. Sounds wonderful? But it's fake," Zen said.
"They are not going to make good choices for the Church ... surely they choose the one they prefer, which means the one who always obeys the government. So how (could) the Holy Father approve such a choice?”
"Okay, he can veto. How many times? It takes courage to veto the second time, the third time, five times," Zen said.
Catholics in China are split between the state-controlled Catholic Patriotic Association, where bishops are appointed by the government, and the "underground" Church that remains loyal to the pope while being systematically persecuted by Chinese authorities for years.
Zen, who has fiercely criticized the Vatican for attempting to force two "underground" bishops to give way to government-backed "illegitimate" bishops in order to foster the deal, was rebuked by the Vatican last Wednesday for "fostering confusion and controversy".
Zen said that under the status quo, which he described as "the lesser evil," the Vatican secretly approves candidates who are acceptable to both sides before the state-controlled Church makes them bishop.
But under the new agreement, where candidates would be selected via a "so-called democratic election" inside the Chinese Catholic community and endorsed by a state-controlled bishops' conference before being submitted to the pope, the choice lies entirely in the hands of the government, Zen said.
"A church enslaved by the government is no real Catholic Church," he said.
Zen said he was not criticizing the pope, whom he believed might not be briefed on "reality" because bureaucrats in the Holy See are eager to strike a deal.
"What they (Vatican negotiators) are doing is unfaithful," Zen said. "I am not judging their conscience but ... it's a surrender and they have no right to surrender."