Cardinal Zen blames the surrender to the Chinese government on the Pope’s advisors and not on the Pope:
Chinese Cardinal Joseph Zen voiced more criticism about the forthcoming Vatican deal with China’s Communist government on the appointment of bishops, terming it “suicide” and an act of “shameless surrender.”
According to the Cardinal, the problem is not so much with Pope Francis, but with his papal advisors.
Pope Francis is “optimistic and full of love, and is eager to visit China,” Zen said, but his advisors are “obsessed” with an “Ostpolitik” answer to the problem of bishop appointments in China.
They want “compromise without limits,” the Cardinal said, “they are already willing to completely surrender.”
The Pope, Zen said, “has never had direct knowledge of the Chinese Communist Party and, moreover, is poorly informed by the people around him.”
Go here to read the rest. Cardinal Zen is a true hero but he is wrong on this. This policy has all the hallmarks of Pope Francis: kowtowing to the Left, giving the back of the Papal hand to orthodox Catholics and an indifference to long term consequences. That many of the Pope’s advisors are supportive of this policy PopeWatch does not doubt, but Pope Francis chose these men because they would back policies he supports.
I agree Cdl. Zen is wrong about this as well. Not only does Pope Francis have a demonstrated proclivity to this kind of capitulation, he’s ultimately responsible because he’s the guy at the top.
The unwillingness of the higher ups in the Church to take responsibility for things going wrong on their watch is a bigger problem than it is even in our federal government. And believe me, that’s saying something!!!
Just we need, to bring back lay investiture. What could go wrong? I mean, the Chinese communists really are good guys who will do the right thing, right? (then again, can you expect Francis to pick any better?)
[…] DEAR CARDINAL ZEN: THE CHINA SELLOUT BELONGS TO THE FRANCIS […]