The blood of martyrs has proven to be the seed of the Church in China

[JimBowie1958]

The blood of the martyr is STILL the seed of the church and always will be. This is why the enemies of Christ's Church CANNOT win, and the church will prosper and continue to grow for thousands of years after people have long forgotten the names of her enemies in ages past.

China s Modern Martyrs From Mao to Now Part 4 Catholic World Report - Global Church news and views

In the first three installments of this series I focused on a very dark era in the history of Chinese Catholicism: the attack against Yangjiaping Trappist Abbey and the massacre of many holy monks, Chairman Mao’s malicious media campaign against the Church, the wave of arrests that followed, and the atrocious martyrdoms of such priests as Father Beda Chang and Father Wang Shiwei. I have also recounted the Maoist destruction of Catholic churches during the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) and more recent efforts to suppress popular Catholic devotions in China, such as the annual pilgrimage to honor Our Lady of China at Donglü. No one can deny the genuine suffering that Christians have encountered in China in recent decades, but as St. Augustine famously asserted, “God had a son on earth who was without sin, but he never had one without suffering.”

Still, China’s Christians have an optimistic view of their experiences. Elderly Catholics use the word chiku (吃苦) to describe their lives during the Maoist period (1949-1976), which literally means “having tasted bitterness.” One priest noted, “When we were bombarded with anti-Christian propaganda, we had tasted bitterness. We did not swallow it. We survived.”[2] China’s Catholics have done more than survive; they have flourished. Over the years I have travelled in China by mule, train, plane, boat, taxi, bicycle, and long distances on foot to visit important places in the history of Christianity in China, and each year I am astonished by the unprecedented progress of the Church there.
Bishops, priests, sisters, and common faithful have told me their stories—and so have atheists, agnostics, and party members. In fact, party members have informed me that there are many persons in positions of influence who view religion as a “healthy human expression.” I have learned that while there are villains in the world, one is often surprised to learn that suspected villains are sometimes advocates. One party member carefully drew a Christian cross on a handmade card he gave me during Christmas, with the message, “God bless China and the US.” The same person has a Catholic image of Mary in his living room, not too far from a shelf of books containing Marxist writings.

I am not, of course, advocating or downplaying Communism, but I cannot help but recognize the signs of faith appearing in unlikely places. My task here, then, is to provide some concluding remarks on the “now” part of this series, and I shall do so by addressing what has happened to Catholic communities in China that are gathered in areas of previous persecution and martyrdom. I now turn to some promising signs of resurrection in China today, centering on three of the country’s most Catholic dioceses..

The church has survived persecution from without and corruption and faithlessness from within (especially from its clergy) and it will continue to grow and cover the world.

 

[sealybobo]

The blood of the martyr is STILL the seed of the church and always will be. This is why the enemies of Christ's Church CANNOT win, and the church will prosper and continue to grow for thousands of years after people have long forgotten the names of her enemies in ages past.

China s Modern Martyrs From Mao to Now Part 4 Catholic World Report - Global Church news and views

In the first three installments of this series I focused on a very dark era in the history of Chinese Catholicism: the attack against Yangjiaping Trappist Abbey and the massacre of many holy monks, Chairman Mao’s malicious media campaign against the Church, the wave of arrests that followed, and the atrocious martyrdoms of such priests as Father Beda Chang and Father Wang Shiwei. I have also recounted the Maoist destruction of Catholic churches during the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) and more recent efforts to suppress popular Catholic devotions in China, such as the annual pilgrimage to honor Our Lady of China at Donglü. No one can deny the genuine suffering that Christians have encountered in China in recent decades, but as St. Augustine famously asserted, “God had a son on earth who was without sin, but he never had one without suffering.”

Still, China’s Christians have an optimistic view of their experiences. Elderly Catholics use the word chiku (吃苦) to describe their lives during the Maoist period (1949-1976), which literally means “having tasted bitterness.” One priest noted, “When we were bombarded with anti-Christian propaganda, we had tasted bitterness. We did not swallow it. We survived.”[2] China’s Catholics have done more than survive; they have flourished. Over the years I have travelled in China by mule, train, plane, boat, taxi, bicycle, and long distances on foot to visit important places in the history of Christianity in China, and each year I am astonished by the unprecedented progress of the Church there.
Bishops, priests, sisters, and common faithful have told me their stories—and so have atheists, agnostics, and party members. In fact, party members have informed me that there are many persons in positions of influence who view religion as a “healthy human expression.” I have learned that while there are villains in the world, one is often surprised to learn that suspected villains are sometimes advocates. One party member carefully drew a Christian cross on a handmade card he gave me during Christmas, with the message, “God bless China and the US.” The same person has a Catholic image of Mary in his living room, not too far from a shelf of books containing Marxist writings.

I am not, of course, advocating or downplaying Communism, but I cannot help but recognize the signs of faith appearing in unlikely places. My task here, then, is to provide some concluding remarks on the “now” part of this series, and I shall do so by addressing what has happened to Catholic communities in China that are gathered in areas of previous persecution and martyrdom. I now turn to some promising signs of resurrection in China today, centering on three of the country’s most Catholic dioceses..

The church has survived persecution from without and corruption and faithlessness from within (especially from its clergy) and it will continue to grow and cover the world.

And if they don't convert, kill them

 

[guno]

The blood of the martyr is STILL the seed of the church and always will be. This is why the enemies of Christ's Church CANNOT win, and the church will prosper and continue to grow for thousands of years after people have long forgotten the names of her enemies in ages past.

China s Modern Martyrs From Mao to Now Part 4 Catholic World Report - Global Church news and views

In the first three installments of this series I focused on a very dark era in the history of Chinese Catholicism: the attack against Yangjiaping Trappist Abbey and the massacre of many holy monks, Chairman Mao’s malicious media campaign against the Church, the wave of arrests that followed, and the atrocious martyrdoms of such priests as Father Beda Chang and Father Wang Shiwei. I have also recounted the Maoist destruction of Catholic churches during the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) and more recent efforts to suppress popular Catholic devotions in China, such as the annual pilgrimage to honor Our Lady of China at Donglü. No one can deny the genuine suffering that Christians have encountered in China in recent decades, but as St. Augustine famously asserted, “God had a son on earth who was without sin, but he never had one without suffering.”

Still, China’s Christians have an optimistic view of their experiences. Elderly Catholics use the word chiku (吃苦) to describe their lives during the Maoist period (1949-1976), which literally means “having tasted bitterness.” One priest noted, “When we were bombarded with anti-Christian propaganda, we had tasted bitterness. We did not swallow it. We survived.”[2] China’s Catholics have done more than survive; they have flourished. Over the years I have travelled in China by mule, train, plane, boat, taxi, bicycle, and long distances on foot to visit important places in the history of Christianity in China, and each year I am astonished by the unprecedented progress of the Church there.
Bishops, priests, sisters, and common faithful have told me their stories—and so have atheists, agnostics, and party members. In fact, party members have informed me that there are many persons in positions of influence who view religion as a “healthy human expression.” I have learned that while there are villains in the world, one is often surprised to learn that suspected villains are sometimes advocates. One party member carefully drew a Christian cross on a handmade card he gave me during Christmas, with the message, “God bless China and the US.” The same person has a Catholic image of Mary in his living room, not too far from a shelf of books containing Marxist writings.

I am not, of course, advocating or downplaying Communism, but I cannot help but recognize the signs of faith appearing in unlikely places. My task here, then, is to provide some concluding remarks on the “now” part of this series, and I shall do so by addressing what has happened to Catholic communities in China that are gathered in areas of previous persecution and martyrdom. I now turn to some promising signs of resurrection in China today, centering on three of the country’s most Catholic dioceses..

The church has survived persecution from without and corruption and faithlessness from within (especially from its clergy) and it will continue to grow and cover the world.

And if they don't convert, kill them

And with China excelling in science an technology this would be the worst thing to befall them, having the population going backwards into superstitious, idiotic magical and primitive thinking .Just look at what is happening in the United States since these yahoos got some political power, attacks on science and rational thinking