This article provides some interesting and updated commentary
on the negotiations between the Vatican and Beijing over the status of Catholic
bishops. As the article points out China has a viable fear of mass religious
movements. One need only look at the Taiping Rebellion to understand why.
Of course in recent years in addition to Beijing's
persecution of the Underground Church and Three-Self Patriotic Churches (that
have overstepped their bounds) they have also aggressively sought the
destruction of the Falun Gong sect.
China not only fears mass religious movements, but
particularly those with foreign entanglements. The 19th and early 20th
centuries saw China brought to its knees and humiliated. There was a real
bitterness toward imperialist powers whether Western or even Asian as in the
case of the Japanese imperialism.
Beijing fears that a pope like John Paul II could stir up
trouble for the regime and capitalise on already existing tensions. Unlike most
in the West, Beijing is certainly aware of historic CIA-Vatican connections.
Though Francis is certainly not the Roman bishop many conservatives would have
desired, it does not mean that the old Deep State connections to the curia have
been eliminated.
In some ways the debate here is over Idealism vs.
Realpolitik. Should conflagration be risked in the name of absolute principle
or should pragmatic incrementalism along with patience be employed to win a
'long war'?
While there is certainly a worldly wisdom and logic to
incrementalism in the realm of culture and geopolitics, I'm not sure such
arguments apply when it comes to the Church. The call to martyrdom and the
perceived idealistic fanaticism that accompanies the mindset is largely incompatible
with incrementalism. And yet it is certainly the ethos of the New Testament and
it was the posture of the Early Church vis-à-vis Bestial Rome.
The call for incrementalism whether in the realm of
church-state relations or within the spectrum of the larger culture war is
usually based on some notion of Christianisation. In other words it seems to go
part and parcel with mindset of Dominionist Christendom. Whether this is
manifested in Protestant or Roman Catholic terms makes little practical
difference. If these categories are extra-Biblical and in fact anti-Biblical,
the incrementalist argument begins to collapse.
All that said, Roman Catholicism is from my view a form of
compromised apostate Christianity. I have no stake or interest in its struggles
apart from what can be gleaned from the wider array of Church related
questions, ethical tangles and how the organisation relates to and continues to
infiltrate circles that once esteemed Scripture above tradition. Rome's
struggles are not the struggles of the New Testament Church, but they always bear
watching.
See also:
The saddest and strangest part are those bishops the Pope had appointed but now have been sidelined for Rome's recognition of the state's candidates for office. They're not saying that the Pope is wrong and can't override them. Thus, if Rome sides with the government than Rome isn't Catholic anymore, at least that's the logic coming from Hong Kong prelate Zen. It's pathetic for those who've vested so much in the institution only to be betrayed at a pen stroke. It's an all too common story.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/a-catholic-bishop-and-his-rural-chinese-parish-worry-about-a-deal-between-beijing-and-the-vatican-/2018/03/11/d2161b24-2109-11e8-a589-763893265565_story.html?utm_term=.914f6874a47a
Not exactly the same Asia, but here's a veneer of rapprochement between Riyadh and the Vatican. It's a media stunt, a part of MbS's rebranding of the monarchy. The churches will probably only for guest workers, with Arabs still being punished with death for apostasy. But it's interesting to consider as a geo-political chess piece. Perhaps it's just about trying to protect Global South Roman Catholics, but maybe something else. What will be interesting if this sort of thing will trigger another Wahabbist split, with a growing feeling of betrayal and a sense that the crown is playing fast and loose with the faith. MBS could really destabilize the kingdom if he doesn't play his cards right.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.rt.com/news/425888-saudi-arabia-churches-cardinal/