A New Pope Must Have a New, Pro-Freedom China Policy
(London) – The new Pope, Leo XIV, should direct an urgent review of the Vatican’s 2018 agreement with the Chinese government that allows Beijing to appoint bishops for government-approved houses of worship, Human Rights Watch said today. He should also press the government to end the persecution of underground churches, clergy, and worshipers.
By Matthew Santucci | Catholic News Agency | Sep 8, 2023 On the evening of Sept. 8, 1955, public security officers of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) launched a mass arrest of Catholic clergy in the city of Shanghai. Among them was the first native-born bishop of the city, Ignatius Kung Pin-Mei. By the end … Read more
As the Catholic Church prepares to elect a new pope, a critical question looms: will he answer the prayers of millions in China by ending the Vatican’s secret agreement with the Chinese Communist Party? This urgent “instant documentary”—produced by filmmaker Frank X. Panico in collaboration with the Committee on the Present Danger: China and Save the Persecuted Christians—exposes the devastating consequences of legitimizing a regime determined to control and suppress faith.
Foreign Christians will no longer be able to preach or evangelise in China, following newly enacted restrictions from 1 May in the name of ‘national security’.
BEIJING (BP)—The Chinese Communist Party enacted new restrictions on foreign missionaries there May 1, preventing them from preaching, evangelizing and establishing various religious organizations among other activities without official government approval.
As 133 cardinal electors gather in the Sistine Chapel tomorrow to begin the process of choosing a new Pope, there will be many considerations in their minds. They will be weighing up whether to build on or reject Francis’ legacy of progressive reform, whether to move in a more liberal or conservative direction, and whether to return the papacy to its Italian roots, opt for another European, or build on the precedent of the Latin American Francis and branch out to the wider world. Could this be the moment for an Asian or African pope?
As the Catholic Church prepares to elect a new pope, a critical question looms: will he answer the prayers of millions in China by ending the Vatican’s secret agreement with the Chinese Communist Party? This urgent “instant documentary”—produced by filmmaker Frank X. Panico in collaboration with the Committee on the Present Danger: China and Save the Persecuted Christians—exposes the devastating consequences of legitimizing a regime determined to control and suppress faith.
As the Catholic Church—and the world—mourns the death of Pope Francis, reflects on his legacy, and looks to the future with the election of a new pontiff, the Vatican would do well to review its approach to China.