Pope: "Persecution is not a contradiction to the Gospel, it is part of it"

The president and his wife arrive tomorrow for several ceremonies behind two-tonne barriers and heavy security screens. Deng had promised "one country, two systems," but in recent years the people of Hong Kong have had to fight for democracy and against security laws. Many statements coming from Beijing highlight the mainland’s blind supremacy. Dissatisfied, many young people are tempted by "independence".

Francis met with a delegation from the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Rome for the traditional feast of Saints Peter and Paul. In the first millennium, united, Christians cultivated "a variety of theological, spiritual and canonical traditions compatible with the teaching of the apostles and the ecumenical councils.”

Francis celebrates Mass with the Cardinals present at Rome on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of his episcopal ordination. " Someone who does not love us says of us that we are the gerontocracy of the Church. It is a mockery. He doesn’t understand what he says.. "

The new season of the Russian-Vatican dialogue opened after the meeting of Francis and Kirill in Cuba. The mission of Moscow as the "third Rome" and as a bulwark against the enemies of the faith. Papal attempts to have relations with Russia even during the Soviet era. The theological school of M. Arranz. The Catholic Church agrees all pastoral initiatives with the Patriarchate. The problem of the uniates and the crisis of Ukraine. Ecumenical humanitarian aid to Aleppo.

Mieygombo Enkhbold, of the Mongolian People's Party, and Khaltmaa Battulga, of the Nationalist Democratic Party, are the frontrunners. The vote is a referendum on economic policy. The country is trying to curb China’s hegemony. In religious matters, nothing has changed. Buddhism is protected by the state whilst Christians endure restrictions.

Christians must have the "ability" to be stripped of, otherwise they are not "authentic Christians," as they are not those who are not "stripped and crucified with Jesus." Another feature is that of blessing: "The Christian is a man, a woman who" blesses ": that is," He speaks good of God and of others ".

The silence on the persecution of Chinese Catholics and their bishops in Wenzhou and Shanghai. The organisms that Benedict XVI did not accept (Patriotic Association and Chinese Bishops' Conference) because "incompatible with Catholic doctrine" now govern the Church. Dialogue between China and the Vatican must address the issue of underground bishops out in the open and not under the shroud of secrecy. An analysis from a northeast Chinese Catholic, as the Vatican celebrates a new round of China-Holy See talks.

The bishop of Wenzhou (Zhejiang), who belongs to the underground community, is said to be undergoing brainwashing to join the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association. Since China and the Holy See resumed talks three years ago, this is the first time that the Holy See Press Office speaks about a detained bishop. The faithful have felt too much pain over the Vatican’s extended silence. Germany’s ambassador in Beijing, Michael Clauss, has talked about the case. The Vatican’s press office calls on the faithful to pray for Bishop Shao Zhumin and “the path of the Catholic Church in China.”

At the Angelus, Pope Francis asks for prayers for "brothers and sisters" who "continue to testify to their faith with courage and fidelity." "The Lord ... sends us as sentinels among people who do not want to be awakened from worldly torpor." "Success does not count, but loyalty to Christ." God "does not abandon his sons at the time of the storm". The beatification in Vilnius of the Martyr of Atheism, Msgr. Teofilo Matulionis, "killed in hatred of faith in 1962, when he was almost 90 years old." Greeting to the Greco-Catholic Ukrainians and the Belarusians on the 150th anniversary of the canonization of Saint Josaphat.

Francis met participants to the 75th Convention of Serra International, stressing the importance of going out and rejoicing in “our relationship with the Lord” and the “journey along the ways that he opens up before us.” For him, “To be friends to priests, sustaining their vocation and accompanying them in their ministry: with this great gift you enrich the Church!”

We did not "choose Him," rather it was God who became "our prisoner". Moses says that the Lord has chosen the people of Israel because they were "the smallest of all peoples."


 

The rare stand taken by the German ambassador Michael Clauss for the release of Msgr. Peter Shao Zhumin and Freedom of Commerce on the New Silk Road, under the shadow of the Chinese monopoly. The silence surrounding the fragmentation of the international legal system. Instead of democracies, there are autocratic regimes, violent nationalisms, oriental satrapies. And Trump sells arms to Saudi Arabia.

Receiving the participants at the "Reunion of Aid Agencies for the Oriental Churches" Assembly, Francis recommends the formation of the clergy. "Let us not forget that in the East even today, Christians - no matter whether Catholics, Orthodox, or Protestants - spill their blood as a seal of their witness."