ROME, Oct. 3, 00 (CWNews.com/Fides) - China's Communist government has launched an anti-Catholic campaign following their protests over the Pope's canonization of 120 Chinese martyrs on Sunday.
According to sources in China, the government has used various tactics including brain-washing for official bishops and priests, threats against unofficial clergy, and a flood of articles in major newspapers. The anti-canonization campaign was launched by Beijing against the proclamation as the first 87 native Chinese saints and 33 missionaries, held up by Pope John Paul II during the October 1 ceremony as "examples of courage and coherence" for the universal Church, and an "honor for the noble Chinese nation."
The Communist Chinese government requires Christians to worship only in state-controlled associations including the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association, which eschews any connections to the Vatican or the Pope. Many Catholics worship in illegal, underground churches following only bishops appointed by the Pope.
The Hong Kong-based UCA News says various official bishops and priests-- who asked not to be named-- said they had been pressured by the government to avoid speaking publicly about the canonization during Masses on Sunday. One priest said officials even attended his Mass apparently to monitor what he said. A bishop in eastern China also said that nothing about the canonization could be mentioned at Masses there because of the government ban. The bishop said government officials from Beijing came to hold meetings with local Church leaders on the issue.
Another bishop in northwestern China said officials asked that his diocese's clergy attend a meeting later in the week, probably to condemn the canonization. Also in northern China, meetings for bishops and priests with Religious Affairs Bureau officials have been scheduled.
Among secret exceptions to the black-out were an official priest in northeastern China who did mention the canonization and the feast of St Therese of Lisieux during his homily, and in another diocese in the northeast where the clergy celebrated Mass in honor of China's saints, but secretly late at night. Many dioceses in China have churches and chapels dedicated to the martyrs canonized Sunday.
Hong Kong's South China Morning Post said that the Church in Hong Kong was also pressured to play down the canonization. "On September 18, a representative of the Hong Kong diocese was summoned to meet officials from the central Government's Liaison Office and told to keep the local celebrations low key," the newspaper said.
The Hong Kong daily opined that "Beijing's reaction to the canonizations reflects its fear that it is losing its grip on the mainland's religious groups. Chinese authorities object to the Pope naming bishops without the approval of the government and the ... Chinese Catholics Patriotic Association (CCPA) ... but there are signs that some [bishops and priests] in the state-backed CCPA are becoming less willing to do the government's bidding.... The government is aware that it is losing control and has decided to use the canonizations as an opportunity to paint the Vatican as the enemy of the nation."
In its anti-canonization campaign the government employed the support of state media, press and television. Newspapers and web sites were flooded with articles, comments, and historical analyses on the activity of the Church in China and foreign missionaries. In just one day--Saturday, September 30-- Fides' web office registered no less than 82 articles on this subject on the sina.com web site.
CWN - Catholic World News