1076 was a defining year in the battle for power between secularism and Catholicism. In January, tired of dealing with Pope Gregory VII, the Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV and several German and northern Italian bishops called upon the Holy See to step down. In response, Gregory excommunicated both the king and those bishops, essentially damning them to eternal hellfire for their actions.
What was the issue at the heart of this debate which could pit potentates against pontiffs? The spat revolved around lay investiture, a term defined by the Encyclopedia Britannica as “the customary prerogative of rulers to invest and install bishops and abbots with the symbols of their office.”
In layman’s terms, Henry IV wanted to put clergy loyal to him in charge, for the purpose of undermining the Church’s power in Germany. Naturally, the Pope was not eager to see his power challenged (as traditionally he appointed ecclesiastics), so he utilized his authority as God’s representative on Earth to kick the king out of the church.
As Protestantism would not originate for a few centuries and his subjects were fervently religious, Henry realized his hands were tied. In the winter of 1077, he walked barefoot through the snow and knelt before the Pope as a sign of his repentance. Gregory relented, but the conflict between the two men continued, with Gregory excommunicating the emperor again in 1080 before Henry eventually succeeded in deposing Gregory later that year.
Chaos gripped continental Europe when a Christian king sought to appoint his own bishops. The only way Gregory VII was able to effectively fight back was to use his power as head of the Church to excommunicate Henry IV.
But what will Pope Francis do when Xi Jinping, the atheistic head of an atheistic country, appoints bishops who likely will seek to undo the growth of Christianity in China?
According to the Italian newspaper Corriere della Serra, the Vatican is close to signing a deal with China which would grant the Chinese government significantly more control in the Chinese Catholic community. Currently, the Chinese believers are split between the government-backed Chinese Patriotic Catholic Organization and an underground collection of churches. This new deal would force underground bishops to step down in favor of clergy backed by the Chinese government.
Among the churchmen whom the Vatican are seeking to depose are Zhuang Jianjian and Guo Xijin. According to Ian Johnson with The New York Times, Jianjian would be replaced by Huang Bingzhang, a Chinese Parliament member who was excommunicated in 2011. Xijin has been instructed to serve as an assistant to Zhan Silu, a clergyman whose consecration was declared illegal by the Vatican.
It is no secret China, a Communist country, is not a fan of Christians. Earlier this year, Chris Baynes with Independent reported on a government-backed paramilitary group who blew up a megachurch with dynamite. Guo Xijin’s predecessor, Vincent Huang Shoucheng, spent 35 years in either labor camps or prisons.
Jeroom Heyndrickx, an advisor to the pope, calls the agreement a “breakthrough” and notes that both King Francis I of France and Napoleon were granted similar power to appoint bishops. What Heyndrickx fails to mention is the situations of both of those men, who were themselves at least nominally Catholic in a majority-Catholic country. It is ignorant to compare them to Xi Jinping. Cristina Maza with Newsweek reports Xi Jinping gave a speech last year emphasizing his quest to make religion more “Chinese-oriented” by implementing more socialist values.
Reuters reports President Xi has proposed to lengthen his reign by abolishing term limits and to add his own political agenda to the nation’s constitution. These are not the actions of a man who supports free speech; in fact, the Evening Standard notes Jinping’s government has banned memes featuring the fictional character Winnie the Pooh after several appeared comparing the president to the teddy bear. The letter “n” also has been banned.
Pope Francis is buying friendship with China at too great of a cost. He should support the underground church, which until now has been led by bishops secretly appointed by the Vatican. At least those men are devoted to God above all else.
To replace them with cronies more focused on politics than religion is a slap in the face, not only to the faithful clergy, but also to their congregation. The undiluted Gospel will cease to be preached in Catholic Chinese churches, all for the sake of a political power play. I sincerely hope the Vatican does not agree to this ploy by China to put Communism into churches.
