Bergoglio Grovels to Chinese Emperor but is Snubbed by Xi Jinping

 One historic meeting sought, another cancelled

On the flight to Nur-Sultan, Francis made an attempt to arrange a spontaneous meeting with Xi Jinping.

(Rome) Over the past three years, the Holy See has sought a meeting between China's Communist leader Xi Jinping and Pope Francis. There were also such efforts in the run-up to the Trip to Kazakhstan. However, the red rulers in Beijing waved this off. This recalls a parallel: while one historic meeting of Francis is being sought, another was canceled by him. Years of efforts by the Holy See to bring about a meeting between the Pope and the Russian Orthodox Patriarch of Moscow were successful in 2016. A second meeting was already fixed, but in this case, it was Francis who canceled it.

Philip Pullella, Reuters' Vatican correspondent, confirmed the latest development in Vatican-China relations:

"The Vatican has told China that Pope Francis is ready to meet with President Xi Jinping when the two were in the Kazakh capital, but Beijing replied that there was not enough time for a meeting, a Vatican source said Thursday."

The source did not elaborate, Pullella said, on how or when the Vatican approached the People's Republic of China, with whom it is "engaged in a delicate dialogue about the status of the Catholic Church in the country."

The Chinese side, according to the unnamed Vatican source, has always indicated that it "appreciates the gesture." However, Xi Jinping's scheduling did not allow a meeting. China's communist ruler was in Nur-Sultan on September 14 at the same time as Francis. Xi Jinping made his first trip abroad after more than two and a half years (Corona). First, he asserted in the Kazakh capital that the People's Republic of China is interested in a "stable" Kazakhstan. The People's Republic of China is Kazakhstan's most important foreign partner after Russia. In terms of exports, China is even the first addressee. Beijing has a stake in numerous Kazakh oil and gas companies, and the gas pipelines from Turkmenistan, which are important for China, run through Kazakhstan. Turkmenistan is the largest supplier of natural gas to Beijing.

Philip Pullella commented on a possible meeting between the Pope and "Emperor Xi":

"A meeting between the two men, no matter how brief, would have been historic." 

Historic would also be a visit of the Pope to Russia, which has been sought with much patience and emphasis since John Paul II. Francis seemed to be reaping the rewards when a first meeting with the Moscow Patriarch took place in Cuba in February 2016. Due to the territorial principle to which the Russian Orthodox Church adheres, the Pope's arrival on Russian soil has a significance to which fundamental questions are linked.

When asked about a meeting with Xi Jinping, Francis reacted briefly on the flight back from Nur-Sultan to Rome yesterday, saying only:

"I don't know anything about that."

  

On September 13, Francis had stressed on the flight to Kazakhstan:

"I'm always ready to go to China."

The extension of the secret agreement on the appointment of bishops signed in 2018 between the Holy See and the People's Republic of China seems to have been finalized since the beginning of September. The recent courtesies of Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning on September 14th confirm this. Mao Ning is one of several press spokesmen for the Beijing Foreign Ministry. At the daily press conference, asked about Francis' statement to be ready for a visit to China, she said:

"I, too, have taken note of the relevant reports and appreciate the friendship and goodwill conveyed by Pope Francis. China and the Vatican maintain good communication. We are also ready to continue our dialogue and cooperation with the Vatican and to actively advance the process of improving relations."

 

However, an official confirmation that the secret agreement has been extended is still missing.

Mao Ning, press spokeswoman for the People's Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, at the september 14 press conference

Text: Giuseppe Nardi
Image: Vatican.va/fmprc. gov.cn (Screenshots)

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

AMDG

Wagner's Tannhäuser With Jesus in Bordello -- Freedom and the German Feature Pages

(Moscow) The director's theater can sometimes spoil  the full musical experience in an opera house. Theater managers  and directors who put themselves in scene and trample over music, composer, librettist and their intentions with the "lightness" of elephants in a magnificent rose garden.

Actually the Russian Novosibirsk with a wanted to honor the Tannhäuser of Richard Wagner with an adaptation. But the theater director Timothy Kuljabin intended to deface the "most Catholic" of Wagner operas with a "Jesus-sex scene" (Die Welt). The redemption theme in conjunction with the Catholic Church is difficult for a disbelieving director to do.  Intellectual honesty would require one  to refuse a commission with which you can not identify. In general, the artist director decided not to do without, but to enjoy himself  by the "deconstruction" of the works.

After protests from the audience and the Orthodox Church, the Novosibirsk  cancelled the staging  and dismissed theater director Boris Mesdritsch. He had defended Kuljabins sacrilege and refused to publicly apologize for offending religious feelings.

Is there a "right" to blasphemy?

Kuljabin presents himself remains unapologetic and complained of the "right" to offend God, religion and the religious feelings of Christians. A charge of blasphemy was rejected in a court in Novosibirsk.

Since then, Kuljabin has portrayed himself as a defender of  "common sense" and as a victim of "ultra-radicalism", "censorship" and "paternalism". Doubts about Kuljabins common sense abound.

The daily Die Welt  immediately aligned itself on the side of "artistic freedom" and denounced critics of blasphemy and Tannhäuser  together as "militant Orthodox activists". In no time there were well-known alliances of the liberal left-crowd and old-communist cliques to defend an egocentric "freedom".

Unknown Director Was an Overnight "Celebrated Young Star" in German Feature Pages

Timothy Kuljabin

The 30-year Kuljabin  Tannhäuser scandal was indeed known  to Russia insiders, but outside he was unknown.  Since  presenting his blasphemy on stage, he has mutated overnight into a "star" for the German culture journalist. The features section of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung made ​​him even the "much celebrated young star ".

What catapulted Kuljabin  to media darling, is Tannhäuser, which comes from the   film "Venus Grotto" about Jesus in a brothel. Tannhäuser is the film director, Jesus one of the actors, who is surrounded by half-naked prostitutes. The advertising promoting the production shows  Jesus between two woman legs on a large movie poster.

Protest by Metropolitan Tikhon

Metropolitan Tikhon of Novosibirsk initiated a charge last February for blasphemy. The lower court judge ruled on the side of director and artistic director, and decreed that religious symbols have been used in "artistic context".

Mesdritsch offered the Archbishop a public debate on Kuljabins Tannhäuser adaptation. Metropolitan Tikhon felt duped and sent a letter to the Governor of Nowosibrisk. In the letter, he explained that a public debate only makes sense if the performance in the current production is to be suspended.

 Novosibirsk Director Dismissed

Christians gathered in front of the Opera House in protest and prayer. The new director of Novosibirsk was the artistic director of the St. Petersburg Mikhailovsky Theatre, Vladimir Kechman. Kechman had a week-long discussion  on Kuljabin's Tannhäuser blasphemy and criticized him for it. There was no cause for government art programs to insult people and to serve as a stage for the self-promotion of individuals.

The Lenkom- and the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow however, have offered Kuljabin the opportunity to be able to produce on their stages "what he wants". This too is a form of defending "freedom of art" or in other words to express the aversion to Christianity.

Text: Giuseppe Nardi
Picture: Channel 24 (Screenshots)

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

Link to Katholisches...

AMDG