China: Pope Francis Is Learning the Hard Way
The Vatican sold its September agreement with China as a deal that would promote “unity” dismissing concerns that it constituted “selling out” to a Communist government.
But then last month, Monsignor Shao Zhumin, the bishop of Wenzhou who remains unrecognised by Beijing, disappeared. For TheAtlantic.com this is a sign that Beijing won’t ease its pressure on the Church but will instead use the deal to push for even more control.
Sophie Richardson, the China director of Human Rights Watch which is financed by Western Oligarchs, said,
“The pope has effectively given [the Chinese president] Xi Jinping a stamp of approval when the latter’s hostility to religious freedom couldn’t be clearer.”
Picture: © Mazur/catholicnews.org.uk, CC BY-SA, #newsYnsblnhvgo
