A New Pope, A New Poland, An Old Foe: Communism

c. 2006 Religion News Service VATICAN CITY _ When Pope Benedict XVI travels to Poland next week (May 25-28), millions of Polish faithful will be watching his every move, measuring how intensely the German pontiff pays homage to their national hero, the late Pope John Paul II. A continent away, however, Benedict will have another, […]

c. 2006 Religion News Service

VATICAN CITY _ When Pope Benedict XVI travels to Poland next week (May 25-28), millions of Polish faithful will be watching his every move, measuring how intensely the German pontiff pays homage to their national hero, the late Pope John Paul II.

A continent away, however, Benedict will have another, smaller audience, that does not admire Benedict’s faithfulness to his predecessor: China’s communist leadership.


If John Paul is celebrated in Poland for sparking the country’s historic challenge to Soviet communism, his legacy haunts the government corridors of Beijing. By evoking John Paul’s stand against communism, Benedict’s trip to Poland could add further strain to Sino-Vatican ties that appeared to reach their breaking point after China’s recent consecration of bishops without papal approval.

“I’m sure they’ll follow every step of the pope’s visit to Poland. They may not feel particularly comfortable with this particular trip,” said Joseph Kung, director of the Cardinal Kung Foundation, a watchdog group that monitors Beijing’s treatment of Chinese Catholics loyal to the pope.

Benedict’s trip to Poland was not planned as an affront to China. His four-day visit traces John Paul’s life as a youth and as archbishop of Krakow, and ends with a visit to the Nazi death camp in Auschwitz _ a sensitive site for a German-born pope who was forced to enroll in the Hitler Youth movement as a teenager.

The trip’s reverent overtones, however, may have taken on a new subtext in light of recent tensions with Beijing.

Whether Benedict uses the stage in formerly communist Poland to send a message to communist China, the ghost of John Paul’s battle with communism on Polish soil is likely to keep the issue alive. Many will try to read between the lines to see what message Benedict may be sending to Beijing.

John Paul’s visit to his native Poland in 1979 fueled a wave of outspoken protest among Polish labor leaders and church officials that eventually toppled the Soviet occupation. According to Sister Beatrice Leung, a professor of international affairs at Wenzao Ursuline College of Taiwan, John Paul’s success in calling the world’s attention to the oppression of Polish Catholics still resonates in Beijing.

Any echo of that legacy during Benedict’s trip will be sure to raise eyebrows, she said. “They will be looking to see if (Benedict’s) speeches emphasize religious freedom,” Leung said.


The Chinese government’s perception of John Paul as a rabble rouser apparently crystallized after the fall of the Berlin wall in 1989. China identified John Paul as one of the main architects of the West’s challenge to Soviet communism and moved to insulate the country from his influence.

“China has always accused John Paul of being the principal author behind the fall of the Berlin Wall. Because of this the regime keeps its distance,” said the Rev. Giancarlo Politi, a veteran China-watcher at the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions in Rome.

It was the end of John Paul’s 26-year pontificate, in fact, that set the stage for the Vatican’s most recent push to improve ties with China. Sensing that Beijing was embarrassed by its glaring absence at John Paul’s public funeral last year, the Vatican renewed its offer to break diplomatic ties with Taiwan. The island republic, China’s leading adversary, sent its president to the papal funeral.

The new pope also appeared less confrontational than his predecessor, signaling his openness to detente with Beijing shortly after his election.

Months of overtures from the Vatican, however, screeched to a halt weeks ago when China’s state-run church began consecrating bishops without Benedict’s tacit approval.

The question of who has the authority to appoint bishops has been a constant sticking point in talks between Beijing and the Vatican. The consecrations appeared to nullify an informal agreement between the two sides that granted Benedict the authority to approve candidates nominated by the state-run church.


Unlike Poland, China has a relatively sparse Catholic population. Five million Chinese Catholics currently belong to a state-controlled “Catholic” church, while at least 8 million faithful are believed to belong to an underground church loyal to the pope. Members of the underground church are routinely harassed, beaten and jailed by Chinese authorities.

According to Leung, Chinese Catholics do not have the same clout on the world stage that Polish Catholics once wielded, because of their small numbers and lack of unity. At the same time, she says the government must maintain a tight grip on Chinese Catholics so as not to jeopardize its control of other Christian denominations and religions such as Islam and Tibetan Buddhism.

“If you lose control of managing the Catholic Church, the other denominations will ask the same kind of freedom,” Leung said.

KRE/JL END MEICHTRY

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