NEWS ABOUT THE CHURCH & THE VATICAN

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Scritto da: TERESA BENEDETTA 04/05/2006 12.51
Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls released a strongly worded statement from the Vatican today, 5/4/06, on the Chinese issue, Here is a translation of the Italian text:
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Strongly worded? I am not too sure about that, but I am personally glad that there is no "retaliation" on the part of the Holy See, otherwise the Church in China suffers even more.

[This adds to what Teresa just posted on the subject.]


Pope Benedict excommunicates 2 Chinese bishops
5/4/2006
Catholic Online

VATICAN CITY – Pope Benedict XVI on May 4 excommunicated two Chinese bishops who were ordained without his approval.

In a statement, Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls said the Roman Catholic Church's canon law states that in such a case excommunication is automatic, and that the ordinations hurt the chances for re-establishing closer relations with the China.

The two bishops had been ordained by China’s state-approved Catholic Church in what the Vatican called a “grave violation of religious freedom” that would hinder dialogue with Beijing.

Navarro-Valls said Pope Benedict XVI was deeply saddened at the news of the ordinations. “The holy father has learned of the news with profound displeasure, since an act so relevant for the life of the church, such as an episcopal ordination, has been carried out in both cases without respecting the requirements of communion with the pope,” he said in the statement released by the Vatican Information Service.

“It is a grave wound to the unity of the church.” The Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association ordained Father Liu Xinhong as bishop of Wuhu in the eastern province of Anhui on May 3. Three days earlier, April 30, Father Ma Yinglin was ordained by China’s official church on April 30.

The statement said Vatican officials had received information that “bishops and priests have been subjected to - on the part of external entities to the church – strong pressures and to threats, so that they would take part in the episcopal ordinations which, being without pontifical mandate, are illegitimate and, besides, contrary to their conscience. Various prelates have given a refusal to similar pressures, while others were not able to do anything but submit with great interior suffering.”

“We are therefore facing a grave violation of religious liberty,” Navarro-Valls said.

The ordinations come as China and the Holy See try to re-establish ties that ended after communists took control of China in 1949.

But the Vatican said that, while willing to continue discussions with the Chinese government, the ordinations hurt the chances for dialogue.

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Scritto da: benefan 04/05/2006 17.52
[This adds to what Teresa just posted on the subject.]
Pope Benedict excommunicates 2 Chinese bishops
5/4/2006
Catholic Online

VATICAN CITY – Pope Benedict XVI on May 4 excommunicated two Chinese

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This article is clearer and definitely shows the strong reaction from the Vatican, yet I can't help wondering whether it is really 'excommunication' taken on the bishops because from the official statement that I've seen from the vatican website, it didn't clearly say so, although it did mention the violation of canon law which should result in excommunication.

Whether this 'punishment' is been officially taken or not, is not clear to me, except from this article.

The official statement has said that both ordained and the ordaining were doing it under pressure, so should 'excommunication' be muted upon them? Besides, over the years, there are a number of ordained bishops who were not approved by the Holy See, so are they already been excommunicated as well? If not, how can the Holy See do so right now to the new illegal bishops??

I do hope that any actions on the part of the Holy See will not create even more divisions and more suffering to an already suffering Church in China...

[From Deutsche Welle, an interview with Leonardo Boff, ex-Dominican priest and Liberation Theology proponent censured by the CDF under Cardinal Ratzinger.]


"There's a Place for Satire, But Everything has a Limit"

While saying that It's too soon to talk about a "transitional pope," liberation theologian Leonardo Boff talked to DW-WORLD.DE about Benedict XVI, "Popetown" and the "clash of civilizations."

As the main representative of Liberation Theology, Boff tried to commit the Catholic Church to defend human rights and protecting the poorest. His book "Church and Power" drew the ire of the biggest Catholic institutions. In 1985, the Vatican banned Boff from speaking and teaching. Joseph Ratzinger was then the Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith at the time. Today, he is Pope Benedict XVI and has just completed the first year of his pontificate. Among other things, Boff spoke with DW-WORLD.DE about the new pope's record so far.


DW-WORLD.DE: In Germany, the broadcaster MTV is planning to transmit shortly a program called "Popetown" a satire on the Pope and the Vatican. What do you think of this kind of jokes about religion and religious symbols?

Leonardo Boff: We live in a world that's full of conflicts and we search for common elements that allow humanity to live in this common home, planet Earth. All the values and practices that promote this goal must be given encouragement. Everything that divides and ridicules these sources of values, and that's what religions are, goes against this universal search. There's a place in society for satire and humor, but everything has a limit. Especially when that satire touches the values or figures that embody the sacred, like Mohammed, the Pope, or any other religious leader.


Could it be that the fact of criticizing Christianity or other religions would have repercussions in events such as those we witnessed when the cartoons of Mohammed were published?

The fundamental law regulating societies is the market. Everything -- from sex to the Most Holy Trinity -- centers on negotiation. This horse trading of everything in society can lead to satires and expressions that ridicule the authorities being converted into a negotiation. A society must be able to criticize itself and ask itself where its limits are. When these are breached, we find there is crime and a breakdown of social cohesion.


In that case, should there be censorship or self-censorship?

It's not a question of censorship or self-censorship, but simply of laws with which society can define for itself what is permitted and what is not. For example, today it's clear that you can't make any kind of Nazi propaganda or promote terrorism, discrimination against people of color or people with AIDS. All these are criminal actions which the law punishes and thereby protects society. It's important that the ability to criticize oneself be always present but there must always be censorship in societies.


Do you think there is an attempt at serious dialog between the East and the West or that the word dialog is only used to put out fires when there is a crisis?

The Western tradition is that of war against the Muslims. Christians launched crusades against the Muslims who always represented a threat for the Europeans. And there was always a fight for cultural or military dominance between the Muslim and Christian worlds. The basic remedy is not dialog. We must break with this tradition because not doing so could lead us into a wider conflict. A serious dialog with Muslims has to seek common ground and not heighten the differences between the two cultures.


Is this also the key to resolving the problem of the lack of integration of Muslim immigrants in Europe?

In the West, especially in Europe, living with that which is different is always very hard. It is a culture that accentuates identity with such force that it almost excludes difference. That was a tragedy for the world, because the colonial powers destroyed the indigenous cultures of Latin America. They enslaved black Africans, and submitted the Orient, and China, to their own economic interests. Western Europe never managed, in its hauteur, to recognize the other.

But now, it's different. There are millions of Turks, Arabs, immigrants from Morocco, from Africa, who find themselves in Spain, Germany, Belgium, Switzerland. The dialog has to be carried out on home ground. This is the test: to know to what extent Europe is capable of tolerating difference, multicultural or multi-faith societies, pluralist societies which are not really homogenous, white and Christian. The big challenge for Europe is to open itself and show that its culture is not dead, fossilized.


Is it possible to establish an "Alliance of Civilizations" in a world of globalization marked by convergence among nations, economic blocks and even cultures?

We have to confront the challenges presented by Samuel Huntington in his interpretation of Globalization -- the hypothesis of the clash of civilizations. This thesis can and must be very polemical, but it contains elements of truth. For example, one cannot deny that there is a confrontation between Arab-Islamic culture and the culture of Western Christians.

It is possible, and we have no alternative, to sit down together and establish a few basic rules, a basic ethic of living together.


The new German Pope has constantly stated throughout the first year of his pontificate his intention to establish a dialog with other religions. What advances do you think Benedict XVI will bring about?

Pope Benedict XVI did something very significant when he visited the Muslim mosque in Rome. [I don't think Benedict did this.] The gesture said: We need to have a dialog, because the standoff between Arab-Muslim culture and Western culture is very strong and reveals itself like an acute and dangerous situation in the confrontation between Palestinians and Israelis and like the war in Iraq. It is important that Christianity, which is the dominant religion in the world, takes the initiative and looks for an encounter with other religions as a basis for political accord. Religious peace must serve as a basis for political peace, for world peace. Possibly, this will be the way forward. I believe that is what Pope Benedict XVI wanted to make plain and we must support this initiative of macro-Ecumenism.

Geraldo Hoffman interviewed Leonardo Boff

I frankly think Catholic Online jumped the gun - and missed the mark - in reporting that the Pope has excommunicated the 2 Chinese bishops. They based their story on the statement released by Navarro-Valls to the media, and he never said that the Canon Law sanctions were going to be applied "automatically." In fact, the latter part of the statement acknowledges that both the "candidates" and those who were made to perform the ordination participated against their conscience, so why would the Vatican excommunicate them for being coerced? Has any other news agency jumped to such a conclusion?????

Besides, not one of the 'bishops' illegally ordained before these last two have been excommunicated. The China situation is not at all like Mons. Lefebvre's 'consecration' of four bishops in 1988.

Here is AsiaNews' story after the Vatican statement.
www.asianews.it/view.php?l=en&art=6079
The editorial director of AsiaNews, Fr. Bernardo Cervellera,
is a Rome-based priest and would know whereof he speaks.

4 May, 2006
CHINA – VATICAN
A sigh of relief among Chinese Catholics
after Vatican issues statement on illegitimate ordinations

Issue had to be clear. Bishops and priests from the ‘official’ Church refused to take part in the ordinations imposed by the Patriotic Association. Some clergymen are calling for the appointment of apostolic administrators in dioceses like Beijing’ now under illegitimate bishops.

Hong Kong (AsiaNews) – Whether they belong to the official Church or to its underground counterpart, priests in Beijing, Shanghai, Hebei, Shaanxi, Heilongjiang, etc. have heaved a sigh of relief after the Vatican issued a statement that condemns the illegitimate ordinations of bishops in China as “a grave violation of religious liberty” and “a grave wound to the unity of the Church”.

This comes after the Patriotic Association ordained two bishops, one in Kunming and another in Anhui, respectively on April 30 and May 3, without a pontifical mandate.

In the statement released today by Dr Joaquin Navarro-Valls, director of the Holy See Press Office, “external entities to the Church” are accused of putting strong pressures on bishops and priests so that they would take part in acts that are tantamount to destroying the communion with the Holy See.

“This statement was necessary,” a priest in Shaanxi province told AsiaNews. “These ordinations are illegal and a great obstacle to relations between China and the Vatican. But they are above all a factor of division with the Catholic Church. The Church finds itself back to a time, many years ago, when patriotism and loyalty to the Communist Party prevailed over ties to the Pope.”

“If the Pope did not speak up, the official Church was in danger of being swallowed up lock, stock and barrel by the Patriotic Association (PA), changing the very nature of the Catholic Church,” he said. “The true Church always obeys the Pope.”

And “if it is true that the PA has another 20 illegal ordinations planned, we can say goodbye to at least 30 years of the Catholic Church in China.”

For a Beijing priest involved in pastoral work, the Patriotic Association and its deputy chairman Anthony Liu Bainian are all to blame for these ordinations. “The PA is doing everything to railroad any positive development in China-Vatican relations,” he said.

“They know that once diplomatic ties are established in the future, the Church won’t depend on a non-Church entity. China will thus be free from an imperial view of state-Church relations,” he explained. Then there will be no place for the PA and these ordinations are a rear-guard move to save their jobs.”

In Hebei province, another priest confirmed, as the Vatican note pointed out, that there were pressures and threats against would-be bishops, and bishops and priests who took part in the recent ordinations. “The bishop of Kunming now says he is worried about the consequences”.

AsiaNews has also learnt that many official bishops, despite the threats, steadfastly refused to take part in ordinations not approved by the Pope.

An underground priest in northern China told AsiaNews that underground Catholics “were expectantly waiting for the Vatican note. These illegal ordinations are a great scandal in the communion of the Church. The bond with the Pope and the duty of obedience to Peter are what we want to experience. It is what makes us give up what is safe and secure; it is what makes us willing to put our lives at risk.”

“It is important that the Holy See criticised the ordinations carried out without the Pope’s permission,” he explained, because “the relationship to the ministry of Peter is fundamental. In order to help us all live the relationship with the Holy See, the latter must appoint two apostolic administrators, two clergymen with legitimate authority for the dioceses of Kunming and Anhui.”

”We have the same problem in Beijing where the official bishop, Michael Fu Tieshan, is not reconciled with the Vatican and so there is no other [legitimate] authority. Even in Beijing we need an apostolic administrator.”

[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 05/05/2006 5.27]

Also from AsiaNews today www.asianews.it/view.php?l=en&art=6077:

4 May, 2006
CHINA – VATICAN
Relations between China and the Holy See
within five years, says Mgr Li Duan

The bishop of Xian says he is hopeful that diplomatic ties between Beijing and the Vatican will be re-established. What counts is the reunification of the Church in China and the Pope knows it — for this reason he invited official and underground bishops to the Synod on the Eucharist, he says.


Xian (AsiaNews/SCMP) – Prominent mainland Catholic leader Bishop Anthony Li Duan of Xian remains optimistic that Sino-Vatican relations can be established in three to five years.

Bishop Li, who is battling terminal liver cancer, said the links were a wish among all Catholics in China.

"There are difficulties, but it is possible to establish ties. It will not be long. It may not [take place] in one or two years, but not more than three to five years," he said. "We are hopeful of rebuilding ties in 2008, as expected by [Hong Kong's] Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun.

"I wish that we all pray to God to make establishing Sino-Vatican diplomatic ties a reality. I wish I could see it in my lifetime.

"I know [Pope Benedict] is very caring to the mainland church. My greatest wish is to have him come to China."

Bishop Li's comments came amid the appointment of Bishop Ma Yinglin in Kunming on Saturday and Bishop Liu Xinhong in Wuhu yesterday, without the approval of the Vatican. Asked whether the appointment of Bishop Ma would affect relations between the mainland and the Vatican - diplomatic ties were severed in 1951 - Bishop Li said he remained optimistic.

"It is unclear whether it will affect [building ties] or how large its impact is. But I'm still optimistic because both sides are willing to establish ties. But the first step is to make compromises," said Bishop Li, who turns 80 next month. "[Bishop Ma] is a nice person." Bishop Li did not detail the obstacles to ties but admitted the appointment of bishops remained a problem.

"We wish both the government and the Vatican could agree on the candidates. It would make things a lot easier. Without government approval, it will not be easy to work," he said.

Asked whether establishing ties would mean double allegiance for Catholics, Bishop Li said the government and the Vatican had their own "spheres" - the same as in other countries building diplomatic ties - and it would not be a problem.

"Now it is not easy for us to contact the Vatican. After rebuilding diplomatic ties, we will have a more normalised relationship," he said.

Bishop Li, a native of Lintong county in Shaanxi, graduated from a seminary in the Xian diocese in 1950 and became a priest the next year. He is known for his loyalty to the Vatican. He has avoided provoking the government while staunchly defending the interests of the church against outside pressure, moves which have gained him wide support from both the official and the underground church.

Despite detention in labour camps in Shaanxi from 1954 to 1957, 1960 to 1963, and 1966 to December 1979, he has never given up his faith and has served as the bishop of Xian since 1987, leading the diocese's 20,000 Catholics. In January 2000 he did not attend Beijing's consecration of five bishops who did not have Holy See approval.

Bishop Li again denied being the mainland cardinal appointed by the late pope John Paul but whose name was never revealed.

Last year the Vatican invited four mainland underground and official bishops, including Bishop Li, to the October synod in Rome but Beijing blocked their travel.

"We knew the time was not ripe and we probably couldn't go. But the invitation meant that the Vatican wanted the underground and the official church to unify," Bishop Li said. "In fact, the key to unification is for both of us to recognise the Pope. It did not matter that we couldn't go - in fact, I couldn't physically - but the invitation hastened the unification."

Now fighting cancer, which was diagnosed in January 2004, the bishop has left most of the church operations to Xian coadjutor Bishop Dang Mingyan , 38. "Of course this pain is not easy to bear. But it also helps us to be more patient. What God says is right: the flesh is weak but the spirit is strong," Bishop Li said.

He has been confined indoors by chronic pain since being discharged from the Shaanxi Provincial Cancer Hospital in January and is cared for by his niece, a nun, during the day and by a priest at night.

Although physically weak, his mind is sharp. He is very concerned about the church and keeps himself up to date with the latest news from Rome, including reading the official Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano with his self-taught Italian whenever he can.

He welcomed Cardinal Zen's elevation, saying he hoped the cardinal would help improve Sino-Vatican ties. "To have a Chinese elevated as a cardinal is a good thing," he said.

A respected prelate, Bishop Li dismissed his role as a defender of religious freedom. "I'm just doing what I can do in accordance with my conscience," he said.

Bishop Li, who has lost about 18kg in the past two years and now weighs only 55kg, said he was prepared for death. He has chosen the wood for his coffin and the burial ground in a rural church about 50km from Xian.

"After it was diagnosed, I knew I would be going 'home' and greeting God very soon. Now it's the third year [after the diagnosis]. This illness is terminal. It is not curable unless there is a miracle. Whether curable or not, I still welcome [God's wishes]."

[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 04/05/2006 21.58]

Teresa, I've just watched the 9 o'clock evening (SA time)CNN News. Big letters also on the screen that they have been excommunicated. A short interview with a Western guy (can't remember who!) who tried to explain that the whole thing in China was against Catholic wishes, also those of the bishops there. The news ended with a quote that China thinks the relations with the Vatican have improved...[?]
Another news alert on Google calls it the first major set back or challenge in Benedict's one year reign. Perhaps CNN has it wrong about the excommunication - I don't really know their track record for faithful reporting.

At this very moment the BBC World TV is running the same headline according to which they are excommunicated...

Well, I have never set any store by CNN, and BBC I wrote off two decades ago. So until the Vatican itself makes an announcement to the contrary, I will continue to believe that excommunication in this case does not make sense. The villain here is the Patriotic Association, not the poor persecuted priests!

P.S. Now the AP has jumped into the fray, as follows:

By ALESSANDRA RIZZO, Associated Press Writer
Thu May 4, 10:42 AM ET

VATICAN CITY - The Vatican on Thursday excommunicated two bishops ordained by China's state-controlled church without the pope's consent, escalating tensions as the two sides explored preliminary moves toward improving ties.

The Vatican also excommunicated the two bishops who ordained them, citing church law.

Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls cited Article 1382 of the Roman Catholic Church's canon law. That article states that "both the bishop who, without a pontifical mandate, consecrates a person a bishop, and the one who receives the consecration from him, incur a 'latae sententiae excommunication,'" which means they are automatically excommunicated.....

It still looks to me like they are still drawing their conclusion from Navarro-Vall's citation of the Canon Law provision. It's about 10:30 in the evening at the Vatican now, so I don't think we will have a clarification on this for a few hours more.

[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 04/05/2006 22.21]

Here is how ZENIT reported the Vatican statement today:

Pope Displeased by Illicit Ordinations in China
A Grave Violation of Religious Liberty, Says Spokesman

VATICAN CITY, MAY 4, 2006 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI received with "profound displeasure" the news of illicit ordinations of bishops in China.

The events led the Holy See to "give voice" to the suffering of the entire Catholic community of the country, said a statement issued today by Vatican spokesman Joaquín Navarro Valls.

"An act so relevant for the life of the Church, such as an episcopal ordination, has been carried out" -- twice in the span of three days -- "without respecting the requirements of communion with the Pope," stated Navarro Valls.

The director of the Vatican press office began his statement saying: "I can inform you of the position of the Holy See regarding the episcopal ordination of the priests Joseph Ma Yinglin and Joseph Liu Xinhong, which took place, respectively, last Sunday, April 30, in Kunming […] and Wednesday, May 3, in Wuhu."

"It is a grave wound to the unity of the Church, for which several canonical sanctions, as it is known, are foreseen," lamented the Vatican spokesman.

Canon 1382 of the Code of Canon Law establishes that "A bishop who consecrates someone a bishop without a pontifical mandate and the person who receives the consecration from him incur a 'latae sententiae' excommunication reserved to the Apostolic See."

Canon 1314 stipulates that a "latae sententiae" excommunication "is incurred ipso facto when the delict is committed."

The Vatican spokesman said that "bishops and priests have been subjected to -- on the part of entities external to the Church -- strong pressures and threats, so that they would take part in the episcopal ordinations which, being without pontifical mandate, are illegitimate and, besides, contrary to their conscience."

"Various prelates have given a refusal to similar pressures, while others were not able to do anything but submit with great interior suffering," Navarro Valls stated.

The spokesman continued: "We are facing … a grave violation of religious liberty, notwithstanding that it sought to present the two episcopal ordinations as a proper act to provide the pastors for vacant dioceses."

The Holy See considers it its "duty to give voice to the suffering of the entire Catholic Church, in particular to that of the Catholic community in China and especially to that of those bishops and priests who were seen obligated, against conscience, to take part or to participate in the episcopal ordination, which, neither the candidates nor the consecrating bishops want to carry out without having received the pontifical mandate."

According to AsiaNews, an agency of the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions, the Chinese "Patriotic Association" (PA) has been behind the illicit episcopal ordinations.

In China, the government permits religious practice only with recognized personnel and in places registered with the Religious Affairs Office and under the control of the PA.

This explains the difference affirmed between the "official" Church and the faithful who oppose such control and who wish to obey the Pope directly. The latter constitute the non-official, or underground, Church.

In the context of the announcement of last Sunday's illicit ordination, AsiaNews' director, Father Bernardo Cervellera, explained that "on the topic of diplomatic relations, both the [Chinese] government as well as the Vatican wish to act without the PA."

"Over the past two years the Beijing government and the Vatican had come to a de facto agreement which left to Rome the indication of a candidate to the episcopate," the priest said.

"The auxiliary bishops of Shanghai, Xian [and] Wanxian, and the ordinary of Suzhoy were ordained in this way," he recalled.

The priest's analysis implied that such an agreement "left the PA out," which for "decades" has controlled ordinations, "diminishing its power over the official Church," something with which the PA is not in agreement.

Father Cervellera explained that "on the part of the Vatican, of the official and underground Church," the idea is increasingly growing of "accepting the registration of communities and bishops in the government's Religious Affairs Office, but without adhering to the PA, which is working for a national Church independent from Rome."

Today, Navarro Valls commented that "The Holy See follows with attention the troubled path of the Catholic Church in China and, even aware of some particularities of such a path, believed and hoped that similar, deplorable episodes by now would belong to the past."

He continued: "The Holy See would like to underline the need for respect for the liberty of the Church and for the autonomy of its institutions from whatever external interference."

In his statement, Navarro Valls pointed out the Holy See's "willingness for honest and constructive dialogue with the competent Chinese authorities for the purpose of finding a solution that would satisfy the needs of both parties."

However, he added, initiatives such as these illegitimate episcopal ordinations not only "do not favor such dialogue" but "create new obstacles against it."

RETALIATION

I think the Chinese ordained the two bishops as a slap against Papa for elevating to cardinal that bishop they didn't like because he is so outspoken in favor of freedom and against the repression of the church in China. The Chinese government was also aggravated that Papa invited all the Chinese bishops to the synod in Rome last October. I suppose they believe that they will confuse and divide the flock and dilute the faith by loading the church leadership in China with "their" men. We should protest by not 'buying Chinese" except that almost everything sold in this country today is made in China.

No further news so far from the Vatican about the Chinese bishops. L'Osservatore Romano for May 5, 2006, does not even carry a story about the bishops on its front page, which is devoted completely to international political news today. The only new angle reported that makes some sense is this one from the Voice of America in Beijing, on
www.voanews.com/english/2006-05-05-voa5.cfm
----------------------------------------------------------------
Vatican Expects Excommunication
of Chinese Bishops Ordained
Without Pope's Approval
By Luis Ramirez
Beijing
05 May 2006


The Vatican says it expects to excommunicate two men who were ordained as Catholic Bishops in China this week without the approval of Pope Benedict XVI. The ordinations are a setback to what had appeared to be positive negotiations between Beijing and the Holy See.

A Vatican statement denounced China's ordinations this week as a "grave wound to the unity of the Church." It says that, under Canon Law, severe sanctions "are foreseen," and notes excommunication is automatic for ordinations without papal approval. [Navarro-Valls never said this, although the specific provision of Canon Law that he cited may say so.]

The Roman Catholic Church is expected to complete a formal investigation before a final announcement.

Hong Kong Cardinal Joseph Zen earlier this week told VOA the ordinations were clearly illegitimate and coerced. He said those who took part in the ceremonies did so under threat from the Communist authorities.

"These ordained bishops were under pressure, (with) so many people of public security guarding them," he said. "It's a clear impression that they were not acting freely."

Catholics in China are only allowed to worship at government-approved churches.

The ordinations appear to be a severe setback to recent positive talks on normalizing relations between the Holy See and China. The main dispute is who can name bishops in the country.

In Italy, Corriere della Sera today emphasized the positive elements in Navarro-Valls's stament from yesterday in a lead article by Luigi Accatoli. I will post a full translation later, but here are the interesting parts:

..But all the “chords” of protest having been struck, the declaration reaffirms the continuing willingness and availability of the Holy See for "an honest and constructive dialog with the ompetent Chinese authorities to find solutions which will satisfy the legitimate wishes of both parties.” Therefore, it is not a rupture….

“It is a very strong protest but not a rupture,” is the way Navaro-Valls’s statement is being presented at the Vatican.
The “rupture of negotiations”, that is, the suspension of contacts which aim at normalizing diplomatic relations with China, was called for by Cardinal Joseph Zen of Hongkong Tuesday, when the second”illegitimate” ordination was announced. But the combative cardinal’s line appears not to be shared by Vatican diplomats.

“We would never take the initiative to break off the talks,” said sources at the Secretariat of State. They think that the ordinations were deliberately done by more aggressive elements in China as a provocative act to elicit a Vatican reaction that would nullify the practical progress that has been made in the past two years of “negotiations.”

They added, “Even if there will be other non-authorized ordinations, the line should remain that of protest but not of rupture.”

[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 05/05/2006 20.03]

[Some interesting statistics about the church up to Benedict's installation.]

The numbers game: Stats give picture of Pope John Paul's pontificate

By John Thavis
Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Under Pope John Paul II's 26-year papacy, the Catholic Church grew by 45 percent, struggled to replace priests and religious, and experienced a significant "graying" of its hierarchy, according to statistics released recently by the Vatican.

In a sense, the statistics complete a by-the-numbers portrait of Pope John Paul's pontificate. They cover the period from 1978, the year of his election, through the end of 2004, three months before he died.

The worldwide Catholic population increased by 342 million during that time, from 757 million to just under 1.1 billion.

That sounds huge, but it was actually slightly less than the rate of general population increase. As a result, Catholics as a percentage of the world population decreased from about 18 percent in 1978 to about 17.2 percent at the end of 2004.

The continent-by-continent numbers are more significant than the global totals, confirming the church's demographic shift to the developing world.

The church in Africa grew by 172 percent under Pope John Paul, increasing from about 12 percent to 17 percent of the African population. By the end of 2004, Africans represented about 14 percent of Catholics worldwide, compared to 7 percent in 1978.

The number of Catholics in North and South America, where about half the church's members live, increased about 50 percent, virtually the same as the general population growth.

Europe showed signs of stagnation. The Catholic population there increased by 13 million in the first 10 years of Pope John Paul's papacy, but over the last 16 years declined by more than 650,000. The overall European growth rate under Pope John Paul was 4.6 percent, the lowest by far of any continent.

The number of Catholics in Asia increased nearly 80 percent over the same period. The fact that Catholics still represent only 2.9 percent of the total Asian population explains why many Vatican officials see the continent as the great frontier of evangelization.

Oceania's tiny Catholic population managed to increase more than 50 percent under Pope John Paul, slightly more than the general population increase.

When it came to priests, the Vatican statistics highlighted the "good news, bad news" picture that typified Pope John Paul's papacy. The good news was that the number of seminarians increased 77 percent from 1978 to 2004, with the greatest jumps in Africa, 304 percent, and Asia, 153 percent.

The bad news was that the number of priests worldwide has decreased about 3.5 percent since 1978 -- and with the Catholic population up 45 percent, that means the average pastoral workload is much heavier. The Vatican called the global figures "rather disappointing."

If church officials are looking for a silver lining in those numbers, they may find it in the fact that over the last 16 years the number of diocesan priests has increased by 11,634, reversing a trend. The number of religious-order priests continues to decline, however.

Europe showed the greatest drop in the number of total priests, losing 20 percent under Pope John Paul. North America dropped 13 percent, South America gained 29 percent, Africa was up 84 percent and Asia up 74 percent. In the United States, the total number of diocesan and religious priests dropped nearly 20 percent in the period 1978-2004.

The Vatican also examined the numbers of priesthood candidates in relation to the Catholic population and found "greater dynamism" in Africa and Asia, which have more than 150 seminarians for every 1 million Catholics. Europe had 84 seminarians and North and South America about 67 for every 1 million Catholics.

The statistics confirmed two other widely known trends under Pope John Paul: the sharp decline in the number of women religious -- down about 23 percent, from 991,000 to 767,000 -- and the sharp increase in permanent deacons, up about 480 percent, from 5,500 to 32,000.

Not so widely known has been the aging of the episcopate, which was detailed for the first time by the Vatican.

Pope John Paul II appointed a great number of new bishops in his 26 years, and by the end of 2004 had increased the total number of bishops to nearly 4,800, about 29 percent more than in 1978. Africa led the way, with an increase of 46 percent in the number of bishops.

One might expect that, especially with a greater number of Third World bishops, the average age would have decreased. In fact, during the period 1978-2004 the average age of bishops increased more than 5 years, from 62 to 67.4 years, the Vatican said.

The oldest episcopate is in Europe, where the average age of bishops is now above 69. In North and South America, bishops average 67.8 years of age, in Oceania 67 and in Africa 63.6.

The Vatican said another indicator of the same phenomenon was the number of bishops age 65 or older, which rose from 39 percent worldwide in 1978 to 59 percent in 2004. In Europe, 64 percent of today's bishops are over 65.

But even in Africa, where some of the youngest church communities live, 46 percent of the bishops are now over 65, compared to only 22 percent in 1978. That trend may reverse itself as Africa's record numbers of Pope John Paul-era priests move into the age bracket from which new bishops are typically chosen.

[Further clarification of previous clarifications.]


Canon lawyer: Chinese not excommunicated until pope says so publicly

By Cindy Wooden
Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The threat of excommunication hangs over two Chinese bishops ordained without papal approval, but only if they acted knowingly and freely, said a canon lawyer.

And even if they incurred excommunication automatically by acting of their own free will, the penalty is limited until Pope Benedict XVI publicly declares their excommunication to the bishops and their faithful, said Jesuit Father James Conn, a professor of canon law at Rome's Pontifical Gregorian University.

Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls said May 4 that the ordination of Bishop Joseph Liu Xinhong of Anhui May 3 and the ordination of Bishop Joseph Ma Yinglin of Kunming April 30 could lead to "severe canonical sanctions."

He referred specifically to Canon 1382 of the Code of Canon Law: "A bishop who consecrates someone a bishop without a pontifical mandate and the person who receives the consecration from him incur a 'latae sententiae' excommunication reserved to the Apostolic See."

But Navarro-Valls also said the Vatican knew it was possible that the bishops who were ordained and those ordaining them "were placed under strong pressure and threats" to participate.

Canon 1323 specifies that a person "coerced by grave fear, even if only relatively grave," is not subject to penalty.

Father Conn said Navarro-Valls "simply noted that the act (of ordination without approval) objectively has this automatic penalty attached, but there always are conditions."

If the bishops involved "were not laboring under an external burden, it would be clear," he said.

Excommunication "may have been incurred, but we do not know that because we do not know their consciences or the external factors involved," Father Conn said.

If they were automatically excommunicated, they immediately are forbidden to celebrate the sacraments, receive the sacraments or perform the functions of a bishop unless the good of souls requires them to do so, he said.

Father Conn said the penalty is formal and more extensive once it is publicly declared by the pope, the only person in the church with the authority to impose penal sanctions on a bishop.

Public notification is not simply a formality, he said, but it is "for the good of the people of God," who have a right to know when a minister is celebrating the sacraments illicitly.

"There cannot be just a vague declaration because the good of souls is at stake," Father Conn said.

One wonders why Catholic Online, BBC, CNN, AP and all the rest who jumped the gun on the excommunication story didn't just simply ask a canon law expert first before they ran with their story!

Yea, right, Teresa. It seems one has to doubt everything in the media these days. And CNN even showed an interview with Navarro-Valls in the same news slot. Couldn't they ask him???? I don't understand it.

CHINA AND THE VATICAN

This morning as I was posting items on the forum and drinking a cup of coffee, I noticed that the Pope Benedict coffee mug I was drinking from was made in China. Just thought that was sort of funny. I think I will go see where my "Mama Loves Papa Ratzi" tshirt was made.

Teresa and I seem to be on the same wavelength with our posts so to keep people from thinking they are seeing double, I am deleting the Chinese bishop story that was here but is also below in Teresa's post. I knew we were going to do this one day.

[Modificato da benefan 06/05/2006 22.01]

From AsiaNews on www.asianews.it/view.php?l=en&art=6096 :

6 May, 2006
Bishop approved by pope
to be ordained tomorrow in Shenyang

Fr Paul Pei Junmin will be ordained, described by the Vatican “an excellent candidate”. The Patriotic Association is ever more isolated, while the government has kept silent about the Vatican statement condemning the illicit ordinations.

Rome (AsiaNews) – Tomorrow at 9am, in the Cathedral of Shenyang (Liaoning, north-east China), there will be another episcopal ordination: Fr Paul Pei Junmin will be consecrated as coadjutor bishop of Shenyang by the ordinary bishop, Mgr Jin Peixian.

The very important fact is that this new ordination takes place with the approval of the Holy See. “Fr Pei Junmin received the approval of the Holy Father,” a Vatican source told AsiaNews. “And he is an excellent candidate from all points of view.”

Fr Pei Junmin met Benedict XVI on 3 August 2005. Together with another 22 Chinese priests on a trip to Europe, he managed to attend an audience with the pontiff, who greeted him with “particular affection”.

Interviewed by AsiaNews on that occasion, Fr Paul had said: “The meeting with the pope was a surprise! None of us would ever have imagined it; we did not even know we would come to Rome. But it was a marvelous thing: the Church of Rome is the mother Church of all churches, including the Chinese one. We wanted to show that the Church in China is united to the Holy See.”

The ordination of Fr Pei comes a few days after the illicit ordinations in Kunming and Wuhu that took place without the pope’s permission. They have been branded by a Vatican statement as “a grave violation of religious freedom” and a “serious wound to the unity of the Church”, incurring “severe canonical sanctions”.

A Chinese priest told AsiaNews: “The episcopal appointment of Fr Pei confirms the strong unity between the official Chinese church and the Holy See and reveals more than ever the violence of the Patriotic Association (PA) in seeking to divide the Church and to create obstacles for China-Vatican dialogue.”

The Vatican statement issued on 4 May cited “strong pressures and threats” to which the ordaining bishops and ordination candidates in Kunming and Wuhu were submitted to.

Among those threatened was the bishop of Shenyang, Mgr Peixian, who tomorrow will preside over the valid ordination in the capital of Liaoning. According to local sources of AsiaNews, Mgr Peixian remained firm and steadfast, refusing to participate in ordinations that were not approved by the Holy See.

Meanwhile, since the Vatican statement condemning the illicit ordinations was issued, AsiaNews has been receiving continuous messages from Chinese priests and bishops, stating their approval for the Vatican stand.

Anthony Liu Bainian, the PA deputy chairman, remains the only person defending the decision to go ahead with the ordinations of Kunming and Wuhu. There has been no official reaction from the government so far....
----------------------------------------------------------------

P.S. Benefan and I must have been posting the identical item at the same time because when I began my post, the last item on this thread was her comment on her made-in-China Benedict mug. However, I will not erase this post because I did highlight some sentences, but I have now taken out the last two paragraphs.

Also, I simply took it as a legitimate news item from AsiaNews, and since it makes it clear that this is a Vatican-approved ordination, I did not think it was confusing.

[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 06/05/2006 22.13]

From the Catholic News Agency on www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=6658:

Catholic Church in Colorado
scores victory
as statutes of limitation bill crumbles

Denver, May. 05, 2006 (CNA) - The Catholic Church in Colorado scored a hard-fought victory yesterday as the state House of Representatives rejected a bill which many call “blatantly anti-Catholic” in its effort to create an open season on lawsuits against the Church over sexual abuse cases in which the perpetrator may have died decades ago.

House Bill 1090 has received a barrage of criticism, being called anti-Catholic and being accused of placing unjust burdens on the Church which do not exist on secular institutions like public schools.

The bill, sponsored by senate president Joan Fitz-Gerald, passed the state senate last week, but could not maintain its steam with sufficient votes in the House.

The Church in Colorado is maintaining its watchfulness however, as the Senate must now give a response to the actions of the House.

Fitz-Gerald had added a provision to temporarily lift the statutes of limitation, allowing alleged victims to bring forth charges dating back to 1971.

A major sticking point, say many Catholics, is that the bill is aimed only at religious and private institutions -- like the Church -- while leaving public entities all but immune.

At one point, Fitz-Gerald went so far as to try to amend the bill to include state institutions but ran into heavy opposition with insurance companies saying they would not cover municipal governments for lawsuits made on old claims.

In his regular column this week, Denver’s Archbishop Charles Chaput wrote that “The continuing effort of some lawmakers in the Colorado General Assembly to burden the Catholic community with retroactive civil liability for past sexual abuse cases is a textbook example of anger posing as ‘justice.’”

HB 1090 was largely shaped using the template of a California law which has financially crippled the Church there. Thursday’s move effectively slows the tide of this model’s use against dioceses nationwide.

“The people who pay for these damaging lawsuits”, Archbishop Chaput wrote, “are …average, innocent Catholic families who had nothing to do with the evil actions of some bad or mentally ill abusers 25, 35 or 45 years ago.”

“No one disputes the need for tough laws against the sexual abuse of minors. And everyone — both inside and beyond the Church — agrees that helping past victims of childhood sexual abuse to heal is a serious and urgent need,” he said. “But suing the innocent today for sins and crimes in the past is not justice.”

According to the Denver Post, Timothy Dore, head of the Colorado Catholic Conference called the defeat a clear “victory for our position.”