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Has the Pope Rejected Catholic Theology?

Pope Francis has apparently abandoned the basic principles of the religion he leads, and has endangered the cause of religious freedom not only for the Catholic Church but for all other religions as well.

Radio Free Asia (RFA)  , The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) and other sources report that an agreement has been reached between the Vatican and China regarding Beijing’s appointment of bishops.

According to WSJ’s Francis X. Rocca (reporting from Rome) and Eva Dou (reporting from Beijing) China and the Vatican are set to sign a landmark agreement later this month ending a long struggle between Beijing’s Communist rulers and the pope over who chooses the leaders of Catholicism in the world’s most populous country, according to two people familiar with the matter. The controversial deal would include the first official recognition by Beijing that the pope is the head of the Catholic Church in China. In return, Pope Francis would formally recognize seven excommunicated Chinese bishops who were appointed by the Communist government without Vatican approval.”

Even a superficial analysis indicates that in return for enhancing his personal authority, Pope Francis has surrendered a key tenant of his church, that Roman Catholic prelates be appointed solely through the church.

Surrendering to Beijing’s demands to have the right to appoint bishops has in the past been severely criticized by some Church leaders, particularly in Asia. The Catholic Herald reports that “ Cardinal Joseph Zen, the most senior Chinese Catholic, has said a possible deal between China and the Vatican would ‘betray Jesus Christ’.

In a past interview with The Guardian, Cardinal Zen stated “Maybe the Pope is a little naive, he doesn’t have the background to know the Communists in China… he may not know the Communist persecutors who have killed hundreds of thousands. Chinese Catholics are free to go to mass and attend government-sanctioned churches, but barred from proselytizing. The state-controlled China Catholic Patriotic Association controls the church and appoints bishops, currently without any input from the Vatican. An “underground” Catholic church exists, with some estimates saying it is larger than the official one, and its members and clergy have faced persecution by authorities. Protestant Christians also face similar challenges…”

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That disturbing act is not an isolated one. The Pontiff has also broken with his predecessors in his apparent endorsement of “liberation theology,” which basically replaces the spiritual mission of Catholicism with a political one, and one allied with Marxism. The Catholic Herald reported in June that the Pope had praised the founder of liberation theology, Father Gustavo Gutierrez. Liberation theology became prominent in South America several decades ago. Pope Benedict XVI believed that the movement was overly political and emphasized Communism, a creed which has been overtly hostile to religion.

Commentator Wayne Allyn Root  has written that “This pope neither seems to understand, nor care that his views on issues…often put him in bed with atheists and socialists, who don’t believe in God, mock religion and think the Bible is a work of fiction. He crusades for social justice, yet chose to embrace the Castro brothers – evil murderers who have imprisoned, tortured and murdered generations of Cubans for expressing their opinions and questioning the authority of a tyrant…He chose not to visit or even be seen with Cubans imprisoned because of their political views.”

It is not inappropriate to inquire about Pope Francis’ core principles.  Christianity’s founder, Jesus Christ himself, intensely avoided involvement in the turbulent politics of his era despite extraordinary temptation to do so.  His birth nation and its people were deeply oppressed by their Roman overlords, and as Christ gained fame, some urged him to involve himself in that struggle.  But he chose a deeper course, and stayed true to his spiritual mission, an example Pope Francis has discarded.

Catholicism’s forays into earthly politics, power, and financial concerns led at times to its straying from its spiritual mission, and the splintering of Christianity itself. One cannot help but wonder why Pope Francis believes it is appropriate to ignore both the Christ he claims to represent, and the history of how straying from spiritual concerns has damaged the Christian faith over the centuries.

Photo: The Vatican (Pixabay)

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The Pope’s Mistake

Pope Francis is considering making an erroneous decision that may have grave consequences for religious freedom, not just for Catholics, but for all people who are suffering at the hands of repressive governments.

In the closing days of the Second World War, Josef Stalin was warned by Winston Churchill to be mindful of the views of the Pope.  The Soviet dictator famously replied, “How many divisions does the Roman Pope have?” Even aside from the fact that the Vatican city-state still exists while the Soviet Union does not, the influence of the head of the Catholic Church cannot be ignored. For that reason, policy errors by the Pontiff should receive substantive analysis.

In 1968, Eugene V. Rostow, U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, addressed a conference on “The Vatican and Peace” at Boston College. As noted by EWTN,  Rostow explained: “The Vatican is…a coordinating secretariat for a far-flung multinational bureaucracy. Any discussion of the Church’s international role needs to consider both its spiritual and temporal dimensions. In both the Vatican plays an important. role in international political life…At any rate, although the ‘sovereign’ jurisdiction of the Papal government is minuscule, its direct political influence everywhere is considerable. It has unrivaled sources of information … It deals directly with the most fundamental elements in the life of many communities…As the oldest continuing international organization in the world today, the Vatican has a well-deserved reputation for diplomatic expertise. It possesses a knowledge of foreign countries and their government which cannot be matched, in many respects, by any national state.”

According to CathNewsUSA,  “Negotiators for the Vatican and Beijing reached a compromise on who selects Catholic bishops in China, said people familiar with the matter, potentially marking a major step toward ending six decades of estrangement. If Pope Francis and Chinese leaders sign off on the proposed deal, the pope would accept eight bishops ordained by the Chinese government without the Vatican’s permission.”

The move would be an even more significant change to Catholicism’s power structure than that which occurred in the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century. For the first time in the two thousand year-old history of the Church, the Vatican would cede the power to appoint clergy leaders to an atheist entity. It would also be a betrayal to martyrs who gave all for the integrity of Christianity.

The move has been severely criticized by some Church leaders,  particularly in Asia. The Catholic Herald reports that “ Cardinal Joseph Zen, the most senior Chinese Catholic, has said a possible deal between China and the Vatican would ‘betray Jesus Christ’.
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In an interview with The Guardian, Cardinal Zen stated “Maybe the Pope is a little naive, he doesn’t have the background to know the Communists in China…The pope used to know the persecuted Communists [in Latin America], but he may not know the Communist persecutors who have killed hundreds of thousands. Chinese Catholics are free to go to mass and attend government-sanctioned churches, but barred from proselytizing. The state-controlled China Catholic Patriotic Association controls the church and appoints bishops, currently without any input from the Vatican.An “underground” Catholic church exists, with some estimates saying it is larger than the official one, and its members and clergy have faced persecution by authorities. Protestant Christians also face similar challenges…”

As the planet’s most influential religious leader, a surrender by Pope Francis on the issue of the independence of faith groups to appoint their own governing clergy would impact every denomination in every nation.

Many of Pope Francis’ statements have raised serious questions about whether his worldview is sufficiently informed. A U.S. News analysis noted that the Pontiff has not watched television since 1990.

Commentator Wayne Allyn Root  has written that “This pope neither seems to understand, nor care that his views on issues…often put him in bed with atheists and socialists, who don’t believe in God, mock religion and think the Bible is a work of fiction. He crusades for social justice, yet chose to embrace the Castro brothers – evil murderers who have imprisoned, tortured and murdered generations of Cubans for expressing their opinions and questioning the authority of a tyrant…He chose not to visit or even be seen with Cubans imprisoned because of their political views.”

Pope Francis’ lack of a more thorough and well-rounded understanding of the world is leading to exactly the opposite of the goals he, with all good intentions, advocates.