Cardinal Zen Accuses Pope Francis of ‘Betraying Christ’ by Allowing Communist China to Select Bishops


Pope Francis must enjoy the attention he gets, otherwise it would be hard to explain some of his outrageous statements.  While no offense is intended to dedicated Roman Catholics, this Pope gives the impression of being something of a loose-cannon.  His off-the-cuff remarks such as his statement that Muslims and Europeans need to breed in order to reduce declining birth rates, are just preposterous.

One wonders if he will eventually step over the line and create a controversy from which his papacy might not recover.  Could turning over the selection of Catholic Bishops to the secular rulers of China be that line?

The Pope is accused of ‘betraying Jesus Christ’ over possible deal with China that will allow the Communist government to select bishops.

That’s an unprecedented undermining of the authority of the Vatican.  Allowing atheist leaders in China to select the Catholic Church’s bishops?  One is left speechless.  But China’s senior Catholic isn’t.

China’s most senior Catholic has blasted the Pope for a potential rapprochement between the Vatican and Beijing comparing it to striking a deal with Adolf Hitler or Joseph Stalin.

Cardinal Joseph Zen, the former bishop of Hong Kong, said any agreement the church makes with China would be ‘betraying Jesus Christ’ amid a thaw in more than six decades of bitter relations.

And Cardinal Zen, 84, said that at any agreement where Beijing would have a hand in approving clergy would be ‘a surrender’.

The very best one could hope for from China’s leaders is that they leave the church alone.  Yet that is very unlikely as Chinese leadership insists on controlling religious expression.  Obviously the Pope knows this, but perhaps he doesn’t care.

Chinese Catholics are free to go to mass and attend government-sanctioned churches, but are barred from attempting to convert people into the religion.

And should a deal be struck and the government still able to appoint Bishop’s of their choice the Cardinal said the gospel preached will be still be influenced by the Communist Party.

‘It’s only the impression of freedom, it’s not real freedom, the people sooner or later will see the bishops are puppets of the government and not really the shepherds of the flock.’

‘The official bishops are not really preaching the gospel. They are preaching obedience to Communist authority,’ said Zen who has been outspoken about the lack of political freedom and religious liberty in China.

It’s not just the Catholics who have problems with Chinese authorities.

Protestant Christians also faced similar hurdles with a recent campaign by authorities in eastern China removing more than 1,200 crosses from buildings and demolishing churches.

What was that warning about “making a deal with the devil?”

Source:  The Daily Mail



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