Cardinal Parolin to China: “Let’s Make a Deal!”

Cardinal Parolin as Vatican Secretary of State will be the one heading up the long term discussions with the Chinese authorities about the Catholic Church in China.

Most readers will have gathered that in 1957 the Chinese Communist government established the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association–a state approved Catholic Church. Instead of the Russian attempt to stamp out Christianity altogether the Chinese did a Henry VIII number: they tried to eliminate the Catholic Church by starting their own Catholic Church. The Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association might just as well be called the Church of China like the Anglican Church is called the Church of England.

It’s a state run, established mock Catholic Church. No doubt the Church of China adherents say in lofty tones, “We’re Catholic too. We’re just not Roman Catholic!”

Uh huh.

I’ve heard that before.

The Anglican analogy continues. Just like Henry VIII’s church persecuted the Catholics and drove them underground for 300 years, so the Chinese communist authorities have persecuted the Catholic Church and driven it underground. In 1988 the Vatican supported the underground church by saying Catholics were not to receive the sacraments at the pretend Chinese church anymore than English Catholics were permitted to receive the sacraments at the Anglican Church.

Now Cardinal Parolin and the powers that be in the Vatican seem close to making a deal.

So what is Cardinal Parolin offering the Chinese? Will it be door number one, door number two or the door where Carol Marol is standing?

The deal seems to be that the atheistic, communistic Chinese government will soon be the ones choosing the bishops of the Catholic underground church.

If there was to be a takeover one way or the other why couldn’t the deal be the other way around? The Vatican gets to appoint all the bishops in the Patriotic Church?

The next step will obviously be for the Chinese communists to take complete control of the Catholic Church in China.

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