(Los Angeles Times, free registration required)
"VATICAN CITY — China will appoint a Catholic bishop approved by the Vatican today, just days after Pope Benedict XVI condemned the unilateral ordination of two bishops by Beijing, a Catholic news agency reported...."It strikes me as odd that an offically atheistic government would feel the need to appoint or approve bishops.
Still, this may be a way to move forward from the recent controversy over the consecration of bishops in China.
Technorati tags: religion, christianity, china
2 comments:
The French monarchy liked to appoint bishops in the 15th century, and they were -- well, ok, not atheists, but the nuance of Christian faith was not Item One on their agenda.
Good point.
Actually, the 15th century French monarchs and the leadership of China have a thing or two in common -- they had (or have) a need to control. And they do not represent the only times in history when the State interfered with the Church (or were indistinguishable from each other).
John-Paul II made several appointments of Cardinals in similar situations, but did not identify them. There is a technical term for that which escapes me. I'm not sure if Benedict XVI has made any such appointments, but I suspect as long as there are totalitarian regimes it is only a matter of time.
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