Pope Francis, during the prayer of Regina coeli, recalled that on May 24th, «the Catholic faithful in China will celebrate the feast of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Help of Christians and heavenly Patron of their great country».
This feast, established in 2007 by Benedict XVI, celebrates that “The Mother of the Lord and of the Church is venerated with particular devotion in the Sheshan Shrine in Shanghai, and is invoked assiduously by Christian families, in the trials and hopes of daily life. How good and how necessary it is that the members of a family and of a Christian community are ever more united in love and in faith!” said Pope Francis. […] Therefore, I invite you to accompany with fervid prayer the Christian faithful in China, our dearest brothers and sisters, whom I hold in the depth of my heart. May the Holy Spirit, protagonist of the Church’s mission in the world, guide them and help them to be bearers of the happy message, witnesses of goodness and charity, and builders of justice and peace in their country”.
Since the Communists took power in China in 1949, the country has not maintained official diplomatic relations with the Holy See. Among the points of contention is the Chinese demand that the Vatican must cut its contacts with Taiwan and, above all, the question of the appointment of bishops. In September 2018, the Holy See concluded a provisional agreement with Beijing, and through which Pope Francis lifted the excommunication of several bishops consecrated without his consent but recognized by the Chinese authorities. On its part, Beijing has recognized only a few of the so-called bishops of the underground Church. Of the current 101 Chinese bishops, 36 are underground bishops.
According to various reports, in China, in recent weeks, police arrested several members of the clergy and among them the Apostolic Prefect of Xinxiang, Archbishop Joseph Zhang Weizhu, 63 years old, seven priests and ten seminarians. Xinxiang Prefecture is not recognized by the Chinese authorities, so the activities of priests and laity related to it are considered criminal activities.
Mons. Ludwig Schick, bishop of Bamberg, Germany, denounced that, on the part of the Chinese authorities, there is a determined effort to impede children and young people to approach religion: “In more and more places, the authorities systematically prohibit that the minors come into contact with religion. The prohibitions existing during a long time are now being applied at all levels in China». All religious symbols have been removed from Catholic orphanages, and more measures of the same kind have been taken in a leadership struggle
against religions, especially against Christian churches, but also against Muslims».
Translated from: OMPRESS-ROMA (24-05-21)