What happened?
A Chinese bishop is reportedly “on the run” from police who are trying to force him to join a government-run organisation. Bishop Guo Xijin, an auxiliary bishop of the southeastern Diocese of Mindong, has faced months of pressure to join the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association. He believes it would be wrong to join the CCPA.Why was it under-reported?
It is hard to be sure of the details of any story from China – though the report from Asia News, and the coverage by the website Bitter Winter, appear reliable. Yet they struggle to make clear the central issue. Benedict XVI said membership of the CCPA is “incompatible with Catholic doctrine”. More recently, the Vatican has been ambiguous.When China makes the news, it is for human rights abuses against Muslims in Xinjiang, and crackdowns in Hong Kong. The media are unlikely to take a similar interest in a bishop’s crisis of conscience. What will happen next?
Why was it under-reported?
The police are expected to come looking for Bishop Guo again. He is an especially important target because, to many members of the clergy, his actions have been a very public example of resistance to Xi Jinping’s government.
The Vatican has not been clear in its guidance, suggesting that Catholics may take different approaches according to their consciences. But officials are telling some Catholics that joining the CPCA means they must be loyal to the government’s version of Christianity, not to “the God of foreigners” – ie of the Vatican.
