Stationary Bandit

Improving Chinese-Vatican Relations?

Pope Benedict has decided to attempt to improve the position of the Catholic Church in China. 

In elevating Hong Kong bishop Joseph Zen Ze-kiun to the post of cardinal, Pope Benedict XVI - who was once known as God's Rottweiler - knows he has picked someone hardly less tenacious.  His promotion means the relationship between China and the Vatican could change dramatically - though whether for the better or worse remains to be seen.  It has always been troublesome. China only allows its Catholics to worship in state-sanctioned churches, and bans all contact with the Vatican.

Story here.

Why Faith Persists?

Deepak Lal weighs in on why religion has persisted since the Enlightenment even though non-religious explanations for events continue to replace religious ones.  He argues that it is because of evolution.

But, if there is a “God Gene” which predisposes its bearers to self-transcendence, why would it have emerged through evolution? Hamer argues that its role in natural selection is to provide an innate sense of optimism to keep on living and procreating despite the inevitability of death. At the physical level this optimism promotes better health and quicker recovery from disease...

The other evolutionary advantage provided by “the God gene” is that “it provides us with a sense of purpose beyond ourselves and keeps us from being incapacitated by our dread of mortality” (Hamer, p.144), and allows us to attain the self-transcendence which seems to be the essence of spirituality. This capacity to reach beyond ourselves is typical of all those who are moved by various abstract causes. As this “spirituality” reflects the emotional rather than the rational parts of our brain, Reason cannot transform Faith.

The whole piece is here.

Schism in Anglican Church in Malawi?

Sometimes the same issues that divide part of the developed world divide part of the less developed world.

The Anglican Church in Malawi has rejected the appointment of a liberal British vicar as one of the country's three bishops because of his support for gay rights, a church statement said on Friday.

In a further sign of the split between African and Western Anglicans over homosexuality, the Anglican Church of Central Africa said Nicholas Henderson's prior association with a pro-gay church group "made him unsuitable for confirmation".

Story here. 

Religious Repression in Madagascar

Responses by incumbent religious organizations to new entrants into religious markets does not differ very much from responses by incumbent firms in more conventional economic markets: use the state to limit competition. 

Madagascar's government has shut down a popular protestant charismatic church which is winning followers from the more traditional protestant movement.  It accused the FPVM of illegally occupying churches assigned to the protestant FJKM church and was therefore "a threat to public order".  But FPVM members say the landlord offered them the buildings as he had converted to their movement.

Story here.

The Papal Smear Campaign

Does it really matter that Joseph Ratzinger was a member of the Hitler Youth?  Of course not.  It  was mandatory.   Best I can tell, no one has accused him of having pro-Nazi sympathies.  In fact, the Simon Wiesenthal Center has recognized his anti-Nazism.  Yet, Maureen Dowd (among others) mentions this fact in passing in her column.  I suspect that this strategy is part of a larger attempt to de-legitimize the new Pope.  He will be portrayed as an old time conservative who is out of touch with the modern world.  His papacy will be referred to as transitory. 

Ms. Dowd does recognize one possible outcome of Ratzinger's election:

For American Catholics - especially women and Democratic pro-choice Catholic pols - the cafeteria is officially closed.

And why not close the Roman Catholic cafeteria to American Catholics?   After all, they rarely play by the Vatican's rules.

Are Public Officials Consistent?

Representative Ron Paul does not think so.  He believes that few public officials in the US  understand the teachings of the John Paul II and Christianity more broadly.   He stated that

The Pope’s commitment to human dignity, grounded in the teachings of Christ, led him to become one of the most eloquent spokesmen for the consistent ethic of life, exemplified by his struggles against abortion, war, euthanasia, and the death penalty.  
Unfortunately, few in American politics today adhere to the consistent ethic of life, thus we see some who cheered the Pope’s stand against the war and the death penalty while downplaying or even openly defying his teachings against abortion and euthanasia. 

Others who cheered the Pope’s opposition to abortion and euthanasia were puzzled or hostile to his opposition to war. Many of these “pro-life supporters of war” tried to avoid facing the inherent contradictions in their position by distorting the Just War doctrine, which the Pope properly interpreted as denying sanction to the Iraq war. One prominent conservative commentator even suggested that the pope was the “enemy” of the United States. 

 

How could anyone label John Paul II an enemy of the US?  I know that I should not be surprised to hear such statements but I like to think that on rare occasions, public officials will recognize that their positions do not make logical sense although they probably make political sense.

Catholicism in China

Normalizing relations with China will be a challenge for the next pope. The Vatican is the last European government with diplomatic ties to Taiwan, instead of China. The Vatican wants to regain authority over church affairs in China - control that the Communist Party is loath to relinquish. Already, Bishop Joseph Zen Ze-kiun of Hong Kong has predicted that the Vatican would be willing to sever ties with Taiwan but only as part of negotiations with Beijing.

Taiwan's president, Chen Shui-bian, is to attend the pope's funeral on Friday, a trip that is sure to infuriate the Chinese government and complicate the prospect of normal ties with the Vatican.

Here is the story.  The upcoming papal election could exert a significant impact on reform attempts in China although I doubt it will.  In all likelihood, the next pope will attempt to normalize relations with China rather than pursue a policy of increasing the freedoms of the Chinese people.