What is behind the clash between the Pope and the traditionalists | Massimo Franco

In his address to diplomats accredited to the Vatican, Monday, January 9 Francis Make it clear that it is still going on Respectful and constructive dialogue between the Holy See and China under Xi Jinping. That is why it was agreed to extend the temporary agreement on the appointment of bishops for another two years, stipulated in Beijing in 2018.

In addition, the Pope reiterated his call for an immediate ceasefire in the conflict that Russia started on Ukrainian soil.

I am Two thorny issues in the foreign policy of the Vatican. And they will become decisive in the clash with the traditional front and beyond. In view of the next concave meetingAnd When will that be
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The break with Father George

Yesterday’s conversation between Francis and the former ruler of the Papal family and Benedict’s secretary, Msgr George GensoinThe bitter controversies that followed the Pope Emeritus’s funeral were in the spotlight.

But behind a personal break that has happened almost in slow motion over the years, and only foreshadowing New toxins from the pastThe shouting is seen to affect the future of the church.

Diplomacy choices under Francis’ papacy proved divisive. They add to the problem of resignation, which is being attempted to be regulated nearly ten years after Benedict’s resignation. The solution will be entrusted to a small group led by the Jesuit Gianfranco Ghirlanda, former rector of the Gregorian University and authorized preacher of the Pope.

potential assignment hypotheses

Concession and foreign policy are two topics that often arise together. But with regard to relations with China, as in relations with Russia Vladimir Putincurrents pressing for a different, more homogeneous approach.

Regarding the resignation, on the other hand, there are differences between supporters and opponents of Jorge Mario Bergoglio. Some Catholic traditionalists have said that Joseph Ratzinger’s resignation should remain an isolated case. and who, on the other hand, is willing to accept that it has become a practice, hoping that Francis will leave the papacy as soon as possible: a sign of insecurity.

Disputes over the secret agreement with China

Regarding the agreement with Beijing, on the other hand, the fronts are well defined. The text of the agreement remains secret, meaning its contents are unknown, due to the Chinese will. This really creates mistrust.

And the Vatican’s extreme caution in condemning the crackdown on protests in Hong Kong, and its silence on the persecution of Muslim Uyghur Chinese in the far west of the country, is a byproduct of the 2018 agreement.

To the traditionalists, the assertion that Francis would have sacrificed the Chinese underground Catholic Church on the altar of dialogue with Xi; who, for the same reasons, did not sufficiently protest against the arrest of the Honorary Cardinal of Hong Kong last May, Joseph Zaneover ninety years old, was later released by the Chinese police on bail, and Francis received him in the last days.

Taiwan node

Zen is an irreducible critic of the agreements with Beijing. Behind him, we can guess a current of the Church, convinced that the agreement will end with the pontificate of Pope Francis, as the cardinal explains.

These Catholic sectors judged Xi to be a ruthless dictator, who would attempt to indoctrinate Catholics and gain access to a state church, relying on the Holy See’s fears of undermining dialogue.

But it is not clear where these fears come from and to what extent they are mixed with hostility to the Argentine pontiff. The fact that the question goes beyond the problem of the independence of Taiwan, the island that China wants to regain and which is a stronghold of the West in Asia, further complicates the matter.

balance between Moscow and Beijing

The Vatican still maintains diplomatic relations with Taiwan but not with China: again at Beijing’s behest.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine and Chinese solidarity with Putin also ended in relations between papal Rome and Moscow.

The primary criticism of the Argentine papacy and the Secretariat of State for their privileged relations with authoritarian regimes in this decade. with China, in the long term hope of transforming at least part of that formidable country; And with Russia to encourage dialogue between Catholics and Orthodox. But the results so far have proven meager.

Xi Jinping does not withdraw from communist nationalism, which sees religion as a phenomenon only to be normalized. It is indicative that on the rare occasions on which he might have met Francis he was careful not to do so: despite the papal cordial presence.

Contradictions with the Russian patriarch

As for Russia, Putin ignored the mediation of the Vatican. As a result, the openings plummeted, culminating in Cuba’s 2016 embrace with the Patriarch of Moscow. Kirill: the same thing that today Francis calls Putin’s altar boy.

And this is while there are those in the West who accuse Bergoglio of having taken, at least at first, an insufficiently clear position against Moscow.

As for Russia, even if there was a different analysis on the part of Benedict, there was no news of him. When asked to comment on In the Ukrainian question, the monastery declared that the Pope Emeritus preferred silence.