Pope Francis’s China Problem
In the news, Tutu urges Pope to rethink decision not to meet Dalai Lama ...
South Africa's Archbishop Desmond Tutu Monday appealed to the Pope to reconsider his decision not to meet the Dalai Lama during his visit to Rome. "I am deeply saddened and distressed that the Holy Father, Pope Francis, should give in to these pressures and decline to meet the Dalai Lama," Tutu said in a statement. The Dalai Lama arrived in the Italian capital Friday for a summit of Nobel peace laureates ...
Why won't the Pope meet with the Dalai Lama? It's about who controsl what is set to become the largest Catholic community in the world. As another article mentions ...
The context of the failure of Pope Francis to meet with the Dalai Lama is the growth of the Roman Catholic Church in China and the Vatican's desire to restore more harmonious relations with the authorities there. At issue are two irreconcilable claims to authority. The Chinese government insists on controlling the Church through the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association (CPCA). An underground Roman Catholic Church refuses to compromise with the state and is loyal only to the Pope. The Vatican does not accept the validity of episcopal consecrations by the CPCA, though some progress has been made in mutual recognition.
A more in-depth article on this - Pope Francis’s China Problem - in the New York Review of Books
I'm proud of President Obama meeting with the Dalai Lama despite China's protests, and I'm disappointed with the Pope's choice not to meet him. John Allen opines that Francis is worried about the effect his acts or words might have on the treatment of Catholics imprisoned in China, but I don't know if that's the whole story ... can't help thinking it's about control, who gets to pick bishops, where the money ends up going ... and it bothers me that Francis, who so often castigates countries/governments for their unethical political, financial, military, and social practices, would grant a pass to China, a place where human rights are trampled, the environment is ravaged, religious freedom is a joke, and animals are treated cruelly.
South Africa's Archbishop Desmond Tutu Monday appealed to the Pope to reconsider his decision not to meet the Dalai Lama during his visit to Rome. "I am deeply saddened and distressed that the Holy Father, Pope Francis, should give in to these pressures and decline to meet the Dalai Lama," Tutu said in a statement. The Dalai Lama arrived in the Italian capital Friday for a summit of Nobel peace laureates ...
Why won't the Pope meet with the Dalai Lama? It's about who controsl what is set to become the largest Catholic community in the world. As another article mentions ...
The context of the failure of Pope Francis to meet with the Dalai Lama is the growth of the Roman Catholic Church in China and the Vatican's desire to restore more harmonious relations with the authorities there. At issue are two irreconcilable claims to authority. The Chinese government insists on controlling the Church through the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association (CPCA). An underground Roman Catholic Church refuses to compromise with the state and is loyal only to the Pope. The Vatican does not accept the validity of episcopal consecrations by the CPCA, though some progress has been made in mutual recognition.
A more in-depth article on this - Pope Francis’s China Problem - in the New York Review of Books
I'm proud of President Obama meeting with the Dalai Lama despite China's protests, and I'm disappointed with the Pope's choice not to meet him. John Allen opines that Francis is worried about the effect his acts or words might have on the treatment of Catholics imprisoned in China, but I don't know if that's the whole story ... can't help thinking it's about control, who gets to pick bishops, where the money ends up going ... and it bothers me that Francis, who so often castigates countries/governments for their unethical political, financial, military, and social practices, would grant a pass to China, a place where human rights are trampled, the environment is ravaged, religious freedom is a joke, and animals are treated cruelly.
posted by crystal | 1:35 PM
2 Comments:
Thanks for the links, i hadn't heard about this. Much obliged.
Hi Daniel :)
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