May 07 2006
Holly Papa: Take a Hike!
Recent brouhaha around naming of bishops in China, see article on NYT.
Related issues:
Investiture Controversy in Christian history, China’s long tradition of power retention by direct personnel control (direct naming from the court, rules: no soldiers/generals or officials serving home town, etc.)
Conclusion: Vantican, get a life. China is not going to be another Henry IV of HRE. The state is so strong, and unless the underground Catholic community is stronger than we know today, CCP won’t even bother to be Henry Tudor.