A New Pope Must Have a New, Pro-Freedom China Policy
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
These are shorter clips from a 22-minute “Repeal the Deal” documentary.
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.
WASHINGTON, D.C.—In less than two days, the leadership of the Roman Catholic Church will lock itself in the Sistine Chapel to elect a new pope. One of his first acts will be to mark on May 24th the annual day of prayer for China.
Why did the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) choose this week, during the papal interregnum, to announce the “election” of new Catholic bishops without papal approval, in apparent* violation of their secret agreement with the Vatican?
Reforming the Vatican’s policy on China should be a priority of the next papacy. The current approach is defined by the Vatican’s controversial 2018 agreement with China to share power with Beijing in the appointment of Catholic bishops. It severely compromises the Catholic Church in China and erodes papal religious and moral authority.