China Describes Two Catholic Saints As Criminals
BEIJING, Oct 2, 2000 -- (Reuters) China has provided
details about two of the more than 100 Catholics made saints by the
Pope, saying the men were actually China-hating criminals whose
canonizations were perverse and vicious acts.
The Chinese government has exploded in anger with the
Vatican for canonizing 87 Chinese and 33 missionaries on Sunday, saying
the act glorified a century of Western imperialism in China.
The canonizations, which fell on the 51st anniversary
of the founding of the People's Republic of China, also severely
hampered chances for normalizing relations between Beijing and the Holy
See, which do not have diplomatic ties, it said.
Pope John Paul said making saints of the martyrs, who
the Vatican says died for their faith between 1648 and 1930, should be
seen as honoring Chinese, not defending colonialism.
But a spokesman for China's State Administration of
Religious Affairs cited examples of "monstrous crimes" committed by the
saints against the Chinese people, including one who he said slept
with all the brides of his followers.
Aldericus Crescitelli, an Italian missionary, "was
notorious for taking the 'right to the first night' of each bride under
his diocese", Xinhua news agency quoted the spokesman as saying in a
report late on Sunday.
A second missionary, Auguste Chatdelaine of France,
instigated the second Opium War and the burning of the imperial Summer
Palace in 1860 after he was punished for felonies, the spokesman said.
"Did they represent God's 'true love' to the Chinese
people like the Vatican said?" asked the spokesman, who Xinhua did not
identify.
Chinese Catholics are allowed to practice their faith
only under a Communist Party-controlled church, which China says has
four million members. The Vatican says there are eight million Chinese
Catholics loyal to the Pope who worship in secret.
The top bishop of China's state-backed church called
the canonizations intolerable and urged the Vatican to repent its past
crimes against Chinese people.
"Choosing this date to canonize the so-called
'saints' is an open insult and humiliation against the Chinese Catholic
adherents," Bishop Michael Fu Tieshan, chairman of the China Catholic
Patriotic Association, said on Sunday.
Fu was among 120 Catholic bishops, priests, monks and
nuns who attended a flag-raising ceremony in Beijing's Tiananmen Square
to celebrate National Day.
He later conducted a mass to give thanks for 51 years
of Communist rule.
_______________________________________________
Leninist-International mailing list
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
To change your options or unsubscribe go to:
http://lists.wwpublish.com/mailman/listinfo/leninist-international
