TO
THE VENERABLE BROTHERS AND BELOVED SONS ARCHBISHOPS, BISHOPS AND OTHER ORDINARY
PLACES.
TO
THE CHINESE CLERGY AND PEOPLE IN PEACE AND COMMUNION WITH THE APOSTOLIC SEE
POPE
PIO XII
Venerable Brothers and
beloved children, Health and Apostolic Blessing.
When, thirty-two years ago,
next to the tomb of the Prince of the Apostles, in the majestic Vatican
Basilica, Our immediate predecessor, of happy memory, Pius XI, consecrating
conferred the fullness of the priesthood "on the first fruits and the new
offspring of the Chinese Episcopate "(1), thus expanding the sentiments
that were penetrating his paternal heart at that solemn moment: "You have
come, Venerable Brothers, to "see Peter"; moreover, you have received
the staff from him, which you will use to undertake apostolic journeys and
gather the sheep. And Peter has embraced you with love, who instill no little
hope of bringing the evangelical truth to your compatriots" (2).
The echo of these words is
reproduced again in Our soul today, Venerable Brothers and beloved children, in
this hour of affliction for the Catholic Church in your homeland. Certainly the
hope of Our great Predecessor was not vain or without fruit: new armies of Holy
Shepherds and heralds of the Gospel joined that first handful of Bishops that
Peter, living in his Successor, had sent to govern that select portion of the
flock of Christ; a vigorous flourishing of new works and companies of the
apostolate, even in the midst of multiple difficulties, flourished among you.
And We, when later we had the great happiness of erecting the ecclesiastical
hierarchy in China, made Ours and increased that hope and saw even wider
horizons open up for the expansion of the divine Kingdom of Jesus Christ.
A few years later,
unfortunately, storm clouds darkened the sky; For your Christian communities,
some of which had already flourished for a long time, sad and painful times
began. We saw the missionaries, among whom were many Archbishops and Bishops
animated by great apostolic zeal, and also Our Internunciation, forced to leave
the soil of China; and thrown into prison, or afflicted by privations and
sufferings of all kinds, the holy Bishops, priests, men and women religious and
many faithful.
Then We saw ourselves forced
to raise Our anguished voice to reprove the unjust persecution, and with the
Encyclical Letter "Cupimus imprimís" of January 18, 1952 (3), We were
careful to remember for love of truth, aware of Our duty, that the Catholic
Church cannot be considered foreign, let alone hostile, to anyone; even more,
that she, in her maternal solicitude, embraces all nations with the same
charity, that she does not ambition earthly things, but, to the extent of her
strength, leads all citizens to the achievement of the darling. We also warn
that missionaries do not seek the interests of a particular nation, but, coming
from all parts of the world, and united as they are by a single divine love,
desire and seek only the spread of the Kingdom of God; it is quite clear,
therefore,
After almost two years, on
October 7, 1954, with another Encyclical Letter "Ad Sinarum gentem"
(4) sent to you to refute the accusations directed against the same Chinese
Catholics, we openly proclaimed that the Christian is not, nor can he be,
inferior to none in true fidelity and love to his earthly homeland. And because
the false doctrine called the "Three Independences" had spread among
you, We, by virtue of Our divine and universal Magisterium, warned that this
doctrine, as its supporters understood it, already in its theoretical
significance, already in its applications practices derived from it, could not
be approved by any Catholic, since they tear souls from the necessary unity of
the Church.
Now we must warn that, in
your nation, in recent years, the conditions of the Church have been worsening.
It is true —and this is a source of great consolation for Us in the midst of so
many and such great sorrows— that in the face of the prolonged persecutions
that afflict you, your intrepid faith has not diminished, nor your most ardent
love for the Divine Redeemer and for the Church of he; intrepid faith and
ardent love that you have shown in a thousand ways, for all of which you will
one day receive God's eternal prize, although only a small part of them has
come to the knowledge of men.
But at the same time it is
Our duty to clearly denounce —and We do so with trembling and deep sorrow— that
conditions among you, thanks to insidious plans, are worsening to the point
that it seems that the false doctrine, which We have reproved, is going
reaching the most extreme and pernicious consequences.
Indeed, with a skilfully
conceived tactic, an association has been founded among you, which has taken
the name of patriotic, and Catholics are violently forced to belong to it.
This association —as has been
said in repeated statements— would have the purpose of uniting the clergy and
the faithful in the name of love for the homeland and religion, to propagate
the patriotic spirit, to defend peace among peoples, and at the same time to to
support, reform and propagate the socialism established in your Nation and to
help the civil authorities to defend, when the opportunity arises, resolutely
what they call political and religious freedom. It is nevertheless evident
that, under these expressions of peace and patriotism, which can deceive the
naive, such an association tends to put into practice certain pernicious
principles and plans.
With the appearance of
patriotism, which is actually shown to be fallacious, such an association
mainly seeks for Catholics to progressively adhere to the falsehoods of
atheistic materialism, with which God is denied and all supernatural principles
are rejected.
Under the pretext of
defending peace, that same association accepts and propagates false suspicions
and accusations against many venerable members of the clergy and even against
the Bishops and the Apostolic See itself, attributing to them extravagant
purposes of imperialism, condescension and complicity in the exploitation of
the people, of premeditated hostility towards the Chinese nation.
While they affirm that it is
necessary for there to be absolute freedom in religious matters, and with the
excuse of facilitating relations between the ecclesiastical and civil
authorities, in fact, the association claims that the Church, neglecting and
neglecting its sacred rights, is totally subjected to to civil authority. For
which the members are encouraged to consider unjust measures as good, such as
the expulsion of missionaries, the imprisonment of Bishops, priests, religious,
religious and faithful; also to consent to the measures taken to obstinately
prevent the jurisdiction of many legitimate Pastors; in addition to supporting
reprehensible principles that openly attack the unity and universality of the
Church and its hierarchical constitution; and to admit initiatives that aim to
undermine the obedience of the clergy and the faithful to their legitimate
Prelates and to separate the Catholic communities from the Apostolic See.
In order to spread and
inculcate these principles more easily in all intelligences, this association,
which, as we have said, glories with the name of patriotic, resorts to the most
varied means, even those of oppression and violence: namely, propaganda.
abundant and clamorous in the press; meetings and congresses, which are forced
to attend with invitations, threats, and deceit —even those who do not want
to—, and in which, if someone bravely stands up to defend the truth, they are easily
silenced, defeated, and They call it infamous, as an enemy of the country and
of the new order. Mention must also be made of those training courses, in which
the disciples have to drink and embrace this fallacious doctrine; and to those
who are forced priests, men and women religious, students of the sacred
seminary, faithful of any state and age. In these short courses, through almost
endless and endless lessons and discussions, over the course of weeks and
months, the forces of the mind and the will are so weakened and extinguished
that with this psychological violence it is uprooted, rather than requested.
freely, as would be fair, an adherence, which has almost nothing human anymore.
To this must be added those ways of proceeding that, exercised with all means,
privately and publicly, with deceit, with fraud and with grave fear, disturb
the minds; the so-called "confessions, extorted by force; the
"re-education" camps; the so-called "popular trials",
before which they have dared to drag ignominiously even Venerable Bishops to
judge them. over the weeks and months, the forces of the mind and of the will
are so weakened and extinguished that with this psychological violence, an
adherence is torn out, rather than freely requested, as would be fair, which almost
nothing has anymore. of human. To this must be added those ways of proceeding
that, exercised with all means, privately and publicly, with deceit, with fraud
and with grave fear, disturb the minds; the so-called "confessions,
extorted by force; the "re-education" camps; the so-called
"popular trials", before which they have dared to drag ignominiously
even Venerable Bishops to judge them. over the weeks and months, the forces of
the mind and of the will are so weakened and extinguished that with this
psychological violence, an adherence is torn out, rather than freely requested,
as would be fair, which almost nothing has anymore. of human. To this must be
added those ways of proceeding that, exercised with all means, privately and
publicly, with deceit, with fraud and with grave fear, disturb the minds; the
so-called "confessions, extorted by force; the "re-education"
camps; the so-called "popular trials", before which they have dared
to drag ignominiously even Venerable Bishops to judge them. Rather, it is
freely requested, as would be fair, an adherence, which is almost nothing human
anymore. To this must be added those ways of proceeding that, exercised with
all means, privately and publicly, with deceit, with fraud and with grave fear,
disturb the minds; the so-called "confessions, extorted by force; the
"re-education" camps; the so-called "popular trials",
before which they have dared to drag ignominiously even Venerable Bishops to
judge them. Rather, it is freely requested, as would be fair, an adherence,
which is almost nothing human anymore. To this must be added those ways of
proceeding that, exercised with all means, privately and publicly, with deceit,
with fraud and with grave fear, disturb the minds; the so-called
"confessions, extorted by force; the "re-education" camps; the
so-called "popular trials", before which they have dared to drag
ignominiously even Venerable Bishops to judge them. torn off by force; the
"re-education" camps; the so-called "popular trials",
before which they have dared to drag even Venerable Bishops to judge them
ignominiously. torn off by force; the "re-education" camps; the
so-called "popular trials", before which they have dared to drag even
Venerable Bishops to judge them ignominiously.
Against such means, which violate
the most important rights of the human person and trample on the sacred freedom
of the children of God, the protest of all the faithful Christians of the
entire world, and even of all the sensible people to deplore the outrage
against the conscience of citizens.
And since in the name of
patriotism such iniquities are carried out, it is Our duty to remind everyone,
once again, that it is precisely the Church with its doctrine that exhorts and
incites Catholics to foster a sincere and deep love for their own nations. , to
render the due submission to the public authorities, except for the natural and
positive divine right, to contribute generously and actively to all the
companies that lead to a peaceful and orderly prosperity that is always
increasing and to a true progress of the homeland community. The Church has
never tired of instilling in her children the norm received from her Divine
Redeemer: "Render, therefore, to Caesar what is Caesar's,
But it is also necessary to
affirm that, if Christians, due to a duty of conscience, must give to Caesar,
that is, to human authority, what belongs to him, likewise, Caesar, that is,
the rulers, cannot demand from the citizens submission in the things that touch
God and not them and that is why he cannot ask for obedience when it comes to
usurping the sovereign rights of God, or forcing the faithful to act in
opposition to their religious duties, or to separate themselves from the unity
of the Church and its legitimate hierarchy. Then, without a doubt, every Christian
with a serene face and a firm will repeats the words with which Peter and the
first Apostles responded to the persecutors: "We must obey God before
men" (6).
With emphatic eloquence,
those who promote and support this association, which uses the name patriotic
as its own name, constantly speak of peace and insistently proclaim that
Catholics must fight for it. Words, in themselves, magnificent and most just: ¿who
should be praised more than the one who prepares the path of peace? But peace,
as you well know, Venerable Brothers and beloved sons, is not based on words
alone, it is not an external formality, perhaps suggested by occasional tactics
and contradicted by initiatives and works that, rather than being inspired by
peaceful feelings, have hearts to resentment, hatred or aversion, true peace
must be founded on principles of justice and charity, taught by the One who
adorned himself, as with a royal title, with the name of "Prince of
peace" (7); true peace is that desired by the Church, stable, just,
equitable and orderly peace —among individuals, families and peoples— which,
respecting the rights of each one, and especially those of God, unites everyone
with the bond of the reciprocal and fraternal collaboration.
In such a peaceful
perspective of harmonious coexistence of all nations, the Church wants each
Nation to have the position of dignity that is its responsibility. The Church,
which has always sympathetically followed the events and vicissitudes of your
Homeland, already before, speaking through the mouth of Our immediate
Predecessor, of happy memory, wished "that the legitimate aspirations and
rights of that people, the most numerous of the earth, whose civilization dates
back to ancient ages, which in past centuries experienced periods of greatness
and splendor, and which will not lack a great future, if it remains on the
paths of justice and honesty" (8 )
On the contrary, according to
the news broadcast on the radio and by the press, there are some —and unfortunately
also among the clergy, by the way— who dare to insinuate the suspicion and
accusation of malevolence of the Holy See towards your Country.
Continue.
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