While researching the events that formed the dramatic core for The Secret Cardinal, Tom Grace discovered a global conflict between the Vatican and Communist China. Since he began his research, the conflict has escalated, as the Pope has reached out to the Chinese in an effort to seal the rift. China has rejected those efforts, stating that any attempt by the Vatican to regulate the choosing of Chinese bishops amounts to meddling in China’s internal affairs. Yet by Catholic tenets, only the Pope may name a bishop.
Similarly, China has espoused similar opinions concerning the exiled Dalai Lama. When the Dalai Lama dies, according to Tibetan Buddhist beliefs, he will reincarnate as a Buddhist monk. However, Tibet lies under Chinese control; the communist government has banned any Buddhist monk outside of China, and regulates who inside of China may become a monk. In essence, this means they claim the power to choose the next Dalai Lama.
Here are some key examples of the way the news media worldwide have covered these tense situations:
Evolution of the Vatican-China Situation
Union of Catholic Asian News, June 27, 2007: “QUESTIONS CIRCULATE AS CHINA OPEN CHURCH BISHOPS CALLED TO MEET”
“Some bishops whom UCA News contacted said they believe the June 28-29 meeting is related to an expected letter of Pope Benedict XVI to Catholics in mainland China, others said they do not know why the meeting was called.”
The New York Times, July 1, 2007: “POPE URGES RECONCILIATION FOR CHINA’S CATHOLICS”
“In an extraordinary open letter directed to Chinese Catholics and released Saturday, Pope Benedict XVI acknowledged the suffering experienced by Catholics under Communist rule but also concluded that it was time to forgive past wrongdoings and for the underground and state-sponsored Catholic churches in China to reconcile.”
Catholic News Agency, July 2, 2007: “PAPAL LETTER TO CHURCH IN CHINA IS YANKED FROM CHINESE WEB SITES BY GOVERNMENT”
“At 6:00 p.m. Beijing time on the day that the letter was issued, several mainland Catholic websites had already been forced to substitute a simplified version of the letter for the full length one they had published only hours earlier.”
BBC News: “CHINA IGNORES VATICAN OVER BISHOP”
“The Vatican had called for a delay in the appointment over concerns the bishop is inexperienced and too closely aligned with China's communist regime. The Chinese Church does not recognise the Vatican's power to appoint bishops, causing tension between the two sides.”
Catholic News Service, July 17, 2007: “BEIJING CATHOLICS ELECT DONGTANG PRIEST AS NEW BISHOP”
“This is the first election of a bishop in the registered church community of mainland China since Pope Benedict XVI's letter to Catholics in China was released June 30.”
Reuters, July 18, 2007: “CHINA NOMINATES BISHOP, THREATENING VATICAN RIFT”
“China's state-controlled Catholic Church has quietly nominated a new bishop for Beijing and the priest chosen said the government would decide whether to seek approval from Rome as Pope Benedict demanded.”
The Guardian (UK), July 24, 2007: “CHINESE CATHOLICS ASK POPE TO VISIT”
“A senior official in China's state-sanctioned Catholic Church said in comments published Tuesday that he would like Pope Benedict XVI to visit China. Benedict did not dismiss the possibility but said the issue was `complicated.'”
Catholic World News, July 24, 2001: “CARDINAL ZEN WARNS AGAINST CONFUSION SURROUNDING POPE’S CHINA LETTER”
“Cardinal Joseph Zen of Hong Kong has warned against confusion in reactions to the Pope's message to the Church in China. The cardinal has also directly criticized statements by a noted Catholic Sinologist, Father Jerooom Heyndrickx, who said that the Pope's main objective was to promote union between the "official" Church recognized by the government and the "underground" Church loyal to the Holy See.”
Xinhua News Agency (China), July 25, 2007: “CHINESE VICE PREMIER URGES RELIGIOUS GROUP TO PLAY ‘ACTIVE ROLE’ IN SOCIAL HARMONY”
“Chinese Vice Premier Hui Liangyu on Wednesday called on members of the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association to assist the government's drive to build a harmonious society. Hui made the appeal while addressing a meeting marking the 50th anniversary of the founding of the association.”
Fox News (Associated Press), July 29, 2007: “CHINA DETAINS 4 PRIESTS FROM UNDERGROUND CATHOLIC CHURCH”
“Three priests were detained Tuesday in the northern region of Inner Mongolia after fleeing their hometown to avoid arrest for refusing to join the state-sanctioned church, the Cardinal Kung Foundation announced. It said the fourth priest was detained in early July in the northern province of Hebei following a motorcycle accident.”
AsiaNews, August 2, 2007: “PRIESTS ARRESTED AND PUT INTO COLITARY CONFINEMENT: THE GOVERNMENT’S ANSWER TO THE POPE’S LETTER”
“At least 11 priests from the underground church are being held in arrest in various regions throughout China. AsiaNews sources confirm that since last May their conditions have worsened due to the Pope’s Letter to China’s faithful.”
USA Today, Sept. 21, 2007: “CHINA, VATICAN AGREE ON NEW BISHOP”
“The installation of a Chinese bishop well regarded by the Holy See marked the beginning of what could be a ‘new chapter, a new reality’ in the Catholic Church’s relationship with the government in Beijing, a Vatican official said Friday… The appointment of bishops remains one of the thorniest issues dividing them, with the officially atheist Communist government refusing to yield control and the Vatican loath to concede its traditional right to appoint church leaders.”
Reuters, Oct. 9, 2007: “DEATH OF JAILED BISHOP IN CHINA CONCERNS VATICAN”
“The Vatican expressed concern on Tuesday at the unexplained death of a jailed Chinese bishop, who was quickly cremated and buried by Chinese authorities without a religious ceremony. Han Dinxiang, bishop in Hebei province who belonged to China's underground Catholic Church, died in custody on Sept. 9.”
AsiaNews, Oct. 9, 2007: “GUANGXI: STOP THE POPE’S LETTER, EVEN BY BRAINWASHING”
“Brain washing Catholic priests to convince them of the “error of their ways”; in short of having published and distributed the Pope’s Letter to China’s Catholics: it is taking place in Nanning, a major city of the autonomous Guangxi region…”
The Wall Street Journal, Dec. 20, 1007: “THE VATICAN'S COLD SHOULDER”
“China's wrath toward those who meet with the Dalai Lama — a list that has
recently included George W. Bush and Angela Merkel — had its desired
effect in Italy last week, when Pope Benedict XVI backed out of a planned meeting
with the Buddhist leader.”
The New York Times, Dec. 25, 2007: “IN CHINATOWN, A CHURCH SPEAKS IN SEVERAL LANGUAGES, BUT WITH ONE STRONG VOICE”
“The preparations to celebrate Christmas at the two-century-old Church of
the Transfiguration in Chinatown, like the history of the church
itself, were
multilayered, reflecting the nimble adaptation of a church once
dominated by
Irish and Italian immigrants that now claims the largest Chinese Roman
Catholic congregation in the United States.”
The Dalai Lama
International Herald Tribune, Oct. 31, 2007: "REPORT: POPE PLANS TO MEET THE DALAI LAMA IN DECEMBER"
“Pope Benedict XVI plans to meet the Dalai Lama in a Vatican audience in December, Italian news agencies reported Wednesday. Such a meeting with the Tibetan spiritual leader would likely add a chill to the Vatican's difficult relations with China.”
Newsweek, August 20-27, 2007: “BELIEFWATCH: REINCARNATE”
“In one of history's more absurd acts of totalitarianism, China has banned Buddhist monks in Tibet from reincarnating without government permission.”
The Times (London), August 4, 2007: “CHINA TELLS LIVING BUDDHAS TO OBTAIN PERMISSION BEFORE THEY REINCARNATE”
“’The so-called reincarnated living Buddha without government approval is illegal and invalid,’ according to the order, which comes into effect on September 1.”
As a bonus, here is an article on one of the more bizarre technologies employed by Nolan Kilkenny in the novel The Secret Cardinal. The fact that it’s bizarre doesn’t stop it from being real…
The Robotic Fly in The Secret Cardinal
The Washington Post, October 9, 2007: “DRAGONFLY OR INSECT SPY? SCIENTISTS AT WORK ON ROBOBUGS”
“Vanessa Alarcon saw them while working at an antiwar rally in Lafayette Square last month. ‘I heard someone say, “Oh my god, look at those,” ’ the college senior from New York recalled. ‘I look up and I'm like, 'What the hell is that?' They looked kind of like dragonflies or little helicopters. But I mean, those are not insects.’ ”
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