The Chinese Communist Party is reported to be preparing for its 100th Anniversary through plans on enforcing more control on Catholics in their country.
ChinaAid reported that Chinese authorities plan to impose its political control on Catholics through the CCP's 100th founding anniversary. AsiaNews added that the anniversary will be on July 23, 2021.
The Chinese Communist Party's founding occurred in Shanghai that was once under the French Concession. To celebrate the event, the Chinese bishops and the leaders of the Chinese Patriotic Association have met early in February and have agreed to come out with a symposium "in memory of the centenary of the founding of the Chinese Communist Party."
The Symposium involves a variety of "formation courses in collaboration with the Central Institute of Socialism," preparatory courses on the "construction of the Patriotic Association" and on the national gathering of the "Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference," the study of the Long March, among others.
The said information, AsiaNews revealed, came from a published article in the state-Catholic magazine "The Church In China" by Hui Jing.
ChinaAid said the Central Committee's United Front Work Department Vice Minister Wang Zuoan requested from the Chinese Patriotic Association that the 100th Founding Anniversary celebration be an opportunity for the Catholic Church to adhere o patriotism and the Sinicization of Catholicism so as to nurture faith within the Chinese culture.
The celebration is actually a "facade" for sinicization, which intends to align Catholics to the Chinese Communist Party's program and, in the process, gain more control on the Catholic Church there.
AsiaNews echoed the same sentiments against China in its reporting that the symposium intends to deepen Catholics understanding of the foundations of Mao Zedong's victory over Chiang Kai Shek depicted in the "moving events during the period of the Long March" in China's history.
The media outlet also raised that Catholics are required to deepen their knowledge on the "guidelines of the 19th National Congess of the Chinese Communist Party and the 5th Plenary Session of the 19th National Congress," strengthen awareness on the "need to maintain political integrity, to think in general terms, to follow the heart of the leadership and keep in line with the central Party leadership," and to imbibe "Xi Jinping's thinking on socialism with Chinese characteristics for a new era."
The report added that Catholics are to become familiar with the Chinese Regulation On Religious Affairs and measures for the administration of religious communities that were laid out by the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association in "Administrative Measures For Religious Clegy" released last February.
This is expected to be carried out by Catholics through the "principles of love for country and love religion the independent and autonomous Church, the democratic management of the Church," AsiaNews pointed out.
AsiaNews raised that China continues to push the Catholic Church there as an "independent and autonomous Church" under a "democratic management" even though the Patriotic Association went into an agreement with the Vatican that the Church in China is to recognize the Pope as head of the Church.
"What a pity that this too is under the supervision and control of the Patriotic Association, an organization linked to the Communist Party which for the most part is made up of atheist officials. And in fact, far from being an attempt to nurture faith within Chinese culture (a fact that has existed for a long time), Sinicization is only a nationalist translation of the Party's political control over the Catholic Church," AsiaNews remarked on the issue.
