Soon the College of Cardinals will meet in Rome to select a new pope. The cardinals, many of whom were elevated to that position by the recently deceased Pope, are faced with a congregation (1.4 billion worldwide), who are increasingly skeptical of the moral character of much of the elite members of the Catholic clergy.
As a full disclaimer, let it be noted that I am a Catholic by baptism and that I attended Catholic schools for 12 years. I was taught by Jesuits for four of those years.
Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano has issued a lengthy post zeroing in specifically on the relationship of the Holy See with China. I will summarize much of this and provide excerpts where appropriate.
In essence, the Vatican, under Jorge Mario Bergoglio, that would be Pope Francis, recognized a “patriotic church” in China. However, contrary to normal process, the Chinese Communist Party has the authority to appoint its Bishops. Archbishop Vigano notes:
This led to an open persecution of Catholics – lay people, clergy, and bishops – to which the only possible response was public words of condemnation by the popes, the pressure of international diplomacy, and the application of sanctions by Western nations against China for human rights violations.
Let’s be reminded that communism cannot allow an independent church of any form, Catholic, Protestant, Muslim, etc. Only one voice is allowed and that voice is the voice of the state.
The result of this state-sponsored church was very predictable. Arrests of the faithful, re-education camps, physical and psychological torture, and all possible forms of discrimination against lay people, religious, priests, and Catholic bishops increased significantly after the signing of the secret Agreement.
Where was Bergoglio during all of this? Bergoglio was careful not to offend China.
“I don’t feel like calling China anti-democratic, because it is such a complex country . . . yes, it is true that there are things that to us do not seem democratic, that is true.
This was as far as Bergoglio would go. He did not defend Cardinal Joseph Zen who was on trial in China for speaking out about the persecutions of the faithful.
Why? The statement that money is the root of all evil comes to mind. Archbishop Vigano notes:
The question of what kind of compensation the Chinese government has provided to the Vatican has been the subject of statements by dissident Guo Wengui, according to whom the Holy See has received and continues to receive 1.6 billion dollars every year in exchange for its silence on Beijing’s religious policies. These foreign funds confirm a financial dependence of the Bergoglian church on governments and supranational entities, as also occurred with the funds of USAID and other non-governmental agencies linked to the “philanthropist” George Soros for Catholic organizations that have profited from illegal immigration.
The Catholic Church is permitted in China only so long as it adheres to the Chinese Communist ideology. Clergy who speak out against the state are arrested and imprisoned. Revoking membership in the Chinese version of the Catholic Church is the greatest of affronts to China. The idea of a “catholic” that is universal church, is incompatible with the idea of a Chinese national church. China sees religion as useful only in so far as it advances the cause of Chinese communism. Anything outside of that will be ruthlessly shut down.
Money is the overriding influence in the Church right now. One sees this in the hundreds of millions of dollars that the Church along with certain Protestant sects have amassed supporting the illegal invasion of this country. Can the Church get back to being a center of morality?
The election of a new pope will give us some insights into that possibility. If someone who is more aligned with doctrinal matters is elected, then the possibility of returning to its foundational roots is possible. However, be forewarned. Some 80% of the Cardinals appointed by Bergoglio were aligned with his materialistic views. Even if a moral leader comes to be pope, that person will face much opposition with the Holy See just as PDJT did and continues to fight here in America.
Let’s understand that the conversion of the Church into a Chinese model is the ultimate plan. Religion must be subservient to the totalitarian objectives of all governments. Cynical and corrupt clergy are interested supporting the plans of a globalist elite to control the world. A pope who would stand against such a model is the only hope for a Church which is dedicated to morality, to the absolutes of right and wrong, to live the kind of life as preached by Our Lodr, Jesus Christ.
Archbishop Vigano’s entire post can be found here.
Secret Vatican Agreement with China