The Pope may figure that 2,000 years of Catholicism can stand against any threat, but Papal appeasement of Communist China this week is a very slippery slope against a ruthless, officially atheist regime in a culture that has 5,000 years of imperial history and intrigue, and strategic planning that covers centuries, not years or even decades. China wrote the book on war and such strategies 500 years before Christianity even existed. Yet this week, the Pope actually allowed Beijing a say in the appointment of bishops to its Communist Party Patriotic Catholic Church, an irony itself considering the Party is officially atheist, and in doing so implicitly approved of the existence of this alternate Catholic universe for tens of millions of Chinese Catholics, who may now feel the Pope threw them under the bus. Atheism hasn’t stopped the Party before from destroying a religion.
In Monday’s Taipei Times, Page 6, October 1, 2018 in an editorial by John J. Tkacik entitled “The Vatican’s ‘provisional accord’ with Beijing”, there are 4 pages and yet the article not nearly captures the alarm I have for these developments. One need only look at Tibet to see how well Beijing plays with religions within its reach. I think recalling the sordid history of Beijing’s kidnapping and rape of the Tibetan religion is warranted to demonstrate Beijing’s nefarious intentions. Why does no one raise this issue to sound the clarion of the danger to any religion, and any sovereign nation within Beijing’s sights?
For those who have forgotten or do not know, in Tibetan Buddhism, when the Dalai Lama dies, the Panchen Lama is the one who finds the reincarnated soul of the Dalai Lama in a Tibetan child, who then become the Dalai Lama, educated and mentored by the Panchen Lama.
When the Panchen Lama dies, it is the Dalai Lama who finds his reincarnated soul in a child in Tibet, and that child becomes the next Panchen Lama.
When China crushed Tibet, just before the Dalai Lama and his administration left Tibet, Beijing understood that if they controlled the Panchen Lama, they would control Tibetan Buddhism, including the appointment of the next Dalai Lama. So, Beijing first poisoned the sitting Panchen Lama in 1989, just before the Tiananmen incident. At the time, the head of the Tibetan region was Hu Jintao, whom you might recall later became the President and leader of China until Xi replaced him.
Once the Panchen Lama was killed, the Dalai Lama was forced to find the new Panchen Lama reincarnated in a child, and did so, finding a child in the hinterlands, Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, when he was 6 years old. Shortly thereafter, the child Panchen Lama, 6 years old, was kidnapped by Beijing, and he has not been seen since. Beijing often says he is happily living with his family in a secret place, but since he has never been seen again, it is reasonable to assume Beijing murdered the child and his family. The Dalai Lama indicated he had information that the real Panchen Lama is still alive, but has not given more specific information.
But that was not the end of the story. Beijing thereafter appointed their own Communist Party Panchen Lama, and that person has now served as fake Panchen Lama for twenty years. Since the Panchen Lama chooses the next Dalai Lama, you can see that Beijing will have a Communist Party fake Panchen Lama appoint a Communist Party fake Dalai Lama, ending Tibetan Buddhism. Thus Communist China has waited these 29 years so far for the Dalai Lama to die, so they can completely rule Tibetan Buddhism, making it essentially like the Patriotic Catholic Church, a Communist Party church. How moronic is it to have an official Communist Party Church in a country that is officially atheist?
The U.N. has stood silently by as there have been calls since 1959 to stop the genocide in Tibet. Beijing has sent millions of Han Chinese there to carry out eugenics to dilute Tibetan culture, and has kidnapped the chain of command for the Tibetan religion. When the Dalai Lama dies, Tibetan culture will die with him.
Knowing this, why would the Pope believe China has any intention whatsoever of allowing a freer Catholic church? Every Bishop appointed by Beijing is a Trojan Horse, because technically each can become a Cardinal, and a Cardinal can become Pope. With the blackmail, extortion and bribery that is Beijing’s typical means of working with anyone, it is easy to see how the Pope may have inadvertently killed the Church. China can wait many, many years to kill an institution that constitutes a threat to it – China invaded Tibet in 1959, 59 years ago, and has unfolded its plan to kill off the Tibetan religion by kidnapping it.
Good luck to the Vatican. Appeasement of China is basically the same as gaining permission to die.
Strait Talk by Lee Longhwa 