Talks with Jan
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Leo XIV: Tolerance for Communist China,
like His Predecessors
My friend Jan asked me recently if Leo XIV had taken a sterner stance against China’s increasingly brutal persecution of the Catholic Underground Church. The mainstream Catholic media is stubbornly silent on the topic, she noted.
Yes, it is, I agreed. I believe the silence is to protect the new Pope from criticism so he can continue on his mission of synthesis as he gently brings the Catholic right into the Francis agenda.
It is the silence of Leo XIV that speaks volumes on the topic. During the interregnum after Francis’ death, the Chinese government took advantage of the situation
to appoint an auxiliary bishop in Shanghai and another bishop in Xinxiang. One of these government appointed bishops was assigned to a diocese already headed by a Vatican-appointed Bishop, who is in hiding.
It is an outrage. It is also a direct violation of the agreement that stipulates Beijing’s “right” to propose future bishops and the Pope’s direct veto power over those appointments.
So, without the Pope or the Vatican knowledge and approval the communist government took the initiative to name and appoint bishops in the officially government controlled Catholic Patriotic Association (CPA). This bold move effectively told Rome that the Pope was unnecessary in the process of choosing CPA Bishops.
Even secular groups like Human Rights Watch have urged the new Pope to act and to use pressure to end the persecution of the Underground Churches, clergy and faithful. For the last decade the raids on underground churches and arrests of their clergy have been increasing at an alarming rate. In the name of the ‘sinicization’ of religion, authorities have also destroyed crucifixes on and in churches, forbidden children under age 18 to attend Catholic religious services or classes, issued new versions of the Bible, and so on.
Instead of a protest, Leo XIV has appeared to accept China’s appointments without officially approving them. Then, indicating the path he will follow, on June 5, of 2025, the new Pope made his first appointment of a Chinese bishop following the 2018 Agreement with Beijing. With this he clearly signaled that he is continuing Francis’ controversial policy.
The Vatican claimed that China’s recognition of the appointment demonstrated “further fruit of the dialogue between the Holy See and the Chinese authorities.” In fact, it was the Vatican’s way of assuring the Chinese government: “No confrontation wanted, no changes required, accept our appointment and let’s continue on.” And that is what happened.
The Underground Church faithful to Rome continues to be unsupported by the very Vatican to which it is faithful.
A new bold move to indoctrinate children
Emboldened by the Vatican’s silence and compliance, China’s communist government introduced a new program this summer to indoctrinate Chinese schoolchildren. They “invited” youth to participate in a campaign against “unofficial” religions unrecognized by the State. Need it be said that the Underground Catholic Church falls in this category?
In a recent article Bitter Winter reported the 2025 “Little Guardians” summer program for chidlren in Shanghai’s Baoshan Dictrict. In these classes children were trained to become the “little guardians” of the community by reporting on members of the xie jiao – or “evil cults,” that is, on the “illegal religious groups,” such as the Underground Church.
In the name of “community service,” Bitter Winter explains, the children were taught “to recite anti-xie jiao rhetoric and sent out to the streets to distribute anti-xie jiao pamphlets, and even to perform skits that demonize religions that refuse to fall under the communist yoke. All this is done in the name of ‘sinicization,’ which aims to instill unwavering loyalty to Xi Jinping and the Chinese Communist State.
What is most shocking, however, were the mock courts set up by the Baoshan District Anti-Cult Association. In an account the Chinese government published on August 14, 2025, the reader can see children participating in mock courts, where they would try and sentence members of the “Illegal religions” to heavy jail terms and severe penalties.
“To combat cultism,” the article proudly proclaims, the Youth Law Courts were set up as part of the anti-cult awareness campaign. The mock court experience received “enthusiastic response from primary and secondary school students across various districts and town, with exuberant registration and participation,” the report continued.
Under the guidance of Party members, these mock trials were held with children serving as judges, prosecutors, defendants and the accused. This “grand” experiment was to “immerse the children in the whole trial process and deepen their understanding of the nature of illegal cults through an interactive experience, ” the Anti-Cult Association explained.
Then, after the “trial,” which always resulted in a guilty sentence and a heavy sentence, the CCP teachers “seized the opportunity to deliver a special anti-cult class for the children, titled "Support Science, Stay Away from Cults." In it, the Underground Church was presented as one of the dangerous cults to be avoided and prosecuted.
The program was popular and successful, the article reports, so much so that the campaign will continue so that the young students might be allowed “to bask in the sunshine of innocence and grow in a safe environment.”
In truth, this is the destruction of innocence and a clear indoctrination into the politics of the Communist State.
The great question is now presented: What will Pope Leo XIV say or do in response to this new bold campaign to indoctrinate children against the Catholic Religion?
We have seen that this Pope, like his predecessors, is quick to respond to every humanitarian or natural crisis: e.g. the school shooting in Minnesota, the earthquake in eastern Afghanistan, the Texas flood victims, etc.
Will there be a word of concern for the Chinese students being indoctrinated against the Catholic Faith. Or just more silence?
So far, dear Jan, from the Vatican there has been only a complicit silence.
Yes, it is, I agreed. I believe the silence is to protect the new Pope from criticism so he can continue on his mission of synthesis as he gently brings the Catholic right into the Francis agenda.
China appoints two bishops in the interregnum;
Leo XIV is silent on the topic
It is an outrage. It is also a direct violation of the agreement that stipulates Beijing’s “right” to propose future bishops and the Pope’s direct veto power over those appointments.
So, without the Pope or the Vatican knowledge and approval the communist government took the initiative to name and appoint bishops in the officially government controlled Catholic Patriotic Association (CPA). This bold move effectively told Rome that the Pope was unnecessary in the process of choosing CPA Bishops.
Even secular groups like Human Rights Watch have urged the new Pope to act and to use pressure to end the persecution of the Underground Churches, clergy and faithful. For the last decade the raids on underground churches and arrests of their clergy have been increasing at an alarming rate. In the name of the ‘sinicization’ of religion, authorities have also destroyed crucifixes on and in churches, forbidden children under age 18 to attend Catholic religious services or classes, issued new versions of the Bible, and so on.
Instead of a protest, Leo XIV has appeared to accept China’s appointments without officially approving them. Then, indicating the path he will follow, on June 5, of 2025, the new Pope made his first appointment of a Chinese bishop following the 2018 Agreement with Beijing. With this he clearly signaled that he is continuing Francis’ controversial policy.
The Vatican claimed that China’s recognition of the appointment demonstrated “further fruit of the dialogue between the Holy See and the Chinese authorities.” In fact, it was the Vatican’s way of assuring the Chinese government: “No confrontation wanted, no changes required, accept our appointment and let’s continue on.” And that is what happened.
The Underground Church faithful to Rome continues to be unsupported by the very Vatican to which it is faithful.
A new bold move to indoctrinate children
Emboldened by the Vatican’s silence and compliance, China’s communist government introduced a new program this summer to indoctrinate Chinese schoolchildren. They “invited” youth to participate in a campaign against “unofficial” religions unrecognized by the State. Need it be said that the Underground Catholic Church falls in this category?
A class of ‘Little Guardians’ line up to be instructed in the mock court proceduress
In the name of “community service,” Bitter Winter explains, the children were taught “to recite anti-xie jiao rhetoric and sent out to the streets to distribute anti-xie jiao pamphlets, and even to perform skits that demonize religions that refuse to fall under the communist yoke. All this is done in the name of ‘sinicization,’ which aims to instill unwavering loyalty to Xi Jinping and the Chinese Communist State.
What is most shocking, however, were the mock courts set up by the Baoshan District Anti-Cult Association. In an account the Chinese government published on August 14, 2025, the reader can see children participating in mock courts, where they would try and sentence members of the “Illegal religions” to heavy jail terms and severe penalties.
A CCP leader instructs the ‘class’ seated in benches; the students take the parts of judge, lawyers & the accused
Under the guidance of Party members, these mock trials were held with children serving as judges, prosecutors, defendants and the accused. This “grand” experiment was to “immerse the children in the whole trial process and deepen their understanding of the nature of illegal cults through an interactive experience, ” the Anti-Cult Association explained.
Then, after the “trial,” which always resulted in a guilty sentence and a heavy sentence, the CCP teachers “seized the opportunity to deliver a special anti-cult class for the children, titled "Support Science, Stay Away from Cults." In it, the Underground Church was presented as one of the dangerous cults to be avoided and prosecuted.
The program was popular and successful, the article reports, so much so that the campaign will continue so that the young students might be allowed “to bask in the sunshine of innocence and grow in a safe environment.”
In truth, this is the destruction of innocence and a clear indoctrination into the politics of the Communist State.
The great question is now presented: What will Pope Leo XIV say or do in response to this new bold campaign to indoctrinate children against the Catholic Religion?
We have seen that this Pope, like his predecessors, is quick to respond to every humanitarian or natural crisis: e.g. the school shooting in Minnesota, the earthquake in eastern Afghanistan, the Texas flood victims, etc.
Will there be a word of concern for the Chinese students being indoctrinated against the Catholic Faith. Or just more silence?
So far, dear Jan, from the Vatican there has been only a complicit silence.
Following in Francis’ footsteps:
Thumbs up to communist China
Posted Sptember 1, 2025
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