» 02/07/2012 13:54 CHINA - GERMANY Guangzhou: Merkel's visit to Msgr. Gan, a way to support the "living Churches " by Paul Hong Although a Protestant, the German Chancellor has for the second time chosen a Catholic bishop to speak of Christianity in China. A very important visit, local sources confide to AsiaNews that "demonstrate the affection and attention of Berlin for our Church."
Guangzhou (AsiaNews) - Before returning to Berlin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel on a state visit to China, wanted to meet the Catholic Bishop of Guanzhou, Msgr. Joseph Gan Junqiu. The Chinese government, which fears new criticism from the international community for suppressing human rights throughout the country, has imposed a media blackout of the visit. However, some local sources confide to AsiaNews: "With this visit, Merkel has decided to support the living churches in China."
The Chancellor visited the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, also known as the "House of Stone", an imposing neo-Gothic building built in 1888. Bishop Gan brought his guest on a tour of the structure of the cathedral and spoke for about half an hour with her. At the heart of discussions interview the activities of the Catholic Church of Guangzhou, its commitment to the needy and the vitality of faith in China. Although religious freedom was not discussed in an open, Merkel asked the bishop what degree of control he was subject to in the exercise of pastoral care.
"This visit - explain AsiaNews sources - has had a major impact on local Catholics, who feel reassured by this gesture of friendship. Although a Protestant, Merkel chose a Catholic bishop, and this is a good thing: it happened during her visit to Shanghai in 2006, when the Chancellor met with Msgr. Aloysius Jin Luxian. These are important signals of support for the vitality of Christianity in China."
The Chinese regime controls religions in the country very closely. Protestants outnumber Catholics, but they are framed within the Three-Self Patriotic Movement: a body of control wanted by Mao Zedong which requires churches to be auto-cephalous and respond to the government before any other authority. The movement is considered very close to the executive, while the "domestic churches" (illegal) – which count tens of millions of faithful - do not have a unitary representation.
Something different for Catholicism. Although controlled by the Patriotic Association of Chinese Catholics, the bishops and local priests have been working for years to express a full communion with the universal Church and the Pope The regime is doing its best in an attempt to break this unity by imposing various illicit Episcopal ordinations, celebrated without the consent of the Holy See. The same Msgr. Gan was forced by the government to attend the ordination of the bishop of Shantou, but has sought and received papal pardon for this constraint.
