Bishops become pawns in Pope’s power struggle with China
Bishops become pawns in Pope’s power struggle with China
By Mure Dickie in Beijing
Published: May 6 2006 03:00 | Last updated: May 6 2006 03:00. Copyright by The Financial Times
In a 1958 encyclical, Pope Pius XII assured Chinese Roman Catholics they could rely on intervention from a powerful source: "Mary, the Virgin Mother of God, Queen of China."
Describing Mary as the nation's sovereign may have reassured a Chinese flock thrown into turmoil by the Communist revolution. But for the country's leaders, it was a reminder of Catholic claims to authority that could only be anathema to fiercely nationalist and atheist revolutionaries.
Half a century later, questions of power and loyalty still bedevil ties between the Vatican and Beijing. Just this week, hopes for a rapprochement have been dashed by the government-controlled Chinese church's appointment of two new bishops without papal approval.
"This is a grave wound to the unity of the Church," a Vatican spokesman said, adding that Pope Benedict XVI had learned of the appointment of the two bishops with "great displeasure".
The dispute over the bishop appointments was a setback for Chinese believers caught between the state-run Catholic Patriotic Association (CPA) and an underground church that answers only to Rome.
But the Vatican outrage - underlined by a pointed reminder of the excommunication automatically incurred by those who willingly take part in unapproved episcopal ordination - was unsurprising.
Control over bishops is fundamental to papal authority - and Pius XII's 1958 encyclical took sharp aim at the CPA's insistence that it should elect its own leaders.
Indeed, hopes for reconciliation had been founded in part on an unofficial compromise adopted in recent years under which the CPA gave the Vatican time to approve its choice of new bishops.
Of course, disputes between ecclesiastical and political authority are neither new nor unique to China.
But China has been particularly sensitive to Christian challenges to its political order. In the 17th century, Catholic missionary efforts faltered after the Vatican refused to bow to the insistence of the Kangxi emperor that converts be permitted to venerate their ancestors and take part in Confucian rites.
Chinese suspicions over Catholic loyalties were later fuelled both by xenophobia and the very real role Christian missionaries played in paving the way for European empires in Asia.
After the revolution, local Catholics' association with a foreign church hostile to Communism exposed them to often brutal treatment from officials and party zealots.
The collapse in China's own faith in Marxism has created the opportunity for a new relationship with Rome, however.
Beijing is keen to improve its international image, and now officially endorses "freedom of religion". Rapprochement with the Pope would also bring to an end the Vatican's official ties with rival Taiwan, deepening Taipei's diplomatic isolation.
The Vatican, too, has mellowed somewhat. Over the past decade, Rome has called for reconciliation between the official and underground churches - a compromise that angers Catholics who believe the CPA is clearly schismatic.
Even after this week's ordinations, the Vatican was keen to stress its desire for "an honest and constructive dialogue" with Beijing.
The dispute suggests a real rapprochement is some way off, however.
Beijing's demand that the Vatican "not interfere in our internal affairs in the name of religion" reflects nervousness at the challenge Catholic doctrine poses to policies such as its promotion of contraception and abortion.
Such concerns are not allayed by Rome's response that Catholics are taught to "Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's".
After all, back in 1958, Pius XII made clear the authority of Caesar - or the Communist party - had limits. "Those who control the state, cannot exact obedience when they would be usurping God's rights or forcing Christians either to act at variance with their religious duties or to sever themselves from the unity of the Church and its lawful hierarchy," the Pope wrote then.
After all, the Queen of China might be watching.
By Mure Dickie in Beijing
Published: May 6 2006 03:00 | Last updated: May 6 2006 03:00. Copyright by The Financial Times
In a 1958 encyclical, Pope Pius XII assured Chinese Roman Catholics they could rely on intervention from a powerful source: "Mary, the Virgin Mother of God, Queen of China."
Describing Mary as the nation's sovereign may have reassured a Chinese flock thrown into turmoil by the Communist revolution. But for the country's leaders, it was a reminder of Catholic claims to authority that could only be anathema to fiercely nationalist and atheist revolutionaries.
Half a century later, questions of power and loyalty still bedevil ties between the Vatican and Beijing. Just this week, hopes for a rapprochement have been dashed by the government-controlled Chinese church's appointment of two new bishops without papal approval.
"This is a grave wound to the unity of the Church," a Vatican spokesman said, adding that Pope Benedict XVI had learned of the appointment of the two bishops with "great displeasure".
The dispute over the bishop appointments was a setback for Chinese believers caught between the state-run Catholic Patriotic Association (CPA) and an underground church that answers only to Rome.
But the Vatican outrage - underlined by a pointed reminder of the excommunication automatically incurred by those who willingly take part in unapproved episcopal ordination - was unsurprising.
Control over bishops is fundamental to papal authority - and Pius XII's 1958 encyclical took sharp aim at the CPA's insistence that it should elect its own leaders.
Indeed, hopes for reconciliation had been founded in part on an unofficial compromise adopted in recent years under which the CPA gave the Vatican time to approve its choice of new bishops.
Of course, disputes between ecclesiastical and political authority are neither new nor unique to China.
But China has been particularly sensitive to Christian challenges to its political order. In the 17th century, Catholic missionary efforts faltered after the Vatican refused to bow to the insistence of the Kangxi emperor that converts be permitted to venerate their ancestors and take part in Confucian rites.
Chinese suspicions over Catholic loyalties were later fuelled both by xenophobia and the very real role Christian missionaries played in paving the way for European empires in Asia.
After the revolution, local Catholics' association with a foreign church hostile to Communism exposed them to often brutal treatment from officials and party zealots.
The collapse in China's own faith in Marxism has created the opportunity for a new relationship with Rome, however.
Beijing is keen to improve its international image, and now officially endorses "freedom of religion". Rapprochement with the Pope would also bring to an end the Vatican's official ties with rival Taiwan, deepening Taipei's diplomatic isolation.
The Vatican, too, has mellowed somewhat. Over the past decade, Rome has called for reconciliation between the official and underground churches - a compromise that angers Catholics who believe the CPA is clearly schismatic.
Even after this week's ordinations, the Vatican was keen to stress its desire for "an honest and constructive dialogue" with Beijing.
The dispute suggests a real rapprochement is some way off, however.
Beijing's demand that the Vatican "not interfere in our internal affairs in the name of religion" reflects nervousness at the challenge Catholic doctrine poses to policies such as its promotion of contraception and abortion.
Such concerns are not allayed by Rome's response that Catholics are taught to "Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's".
After all, back in 1958, Pius XII made clear the authority of Caesar - or the Communist party - had limits. "Those who control the state, cannot exact obedience when they would be usurping God's rights or forcing Christians either to act at variance with their religious duties or to sever themselves from the unity of the Church and its lawful hierarchy," the Pope wrote then.
After all, the Queen of China might be watching.
posted by Carlos T Mock at 9:29 AM
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