(LifeSiteNews) — On this episode of Faith and Reason, John-Henry Westen, Father Charles Murr, and Frank Wright discuss Pope Leo XIV appointing an underground Chinese bishop who has been recognized by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the pontiff giving a homily on Pentecost that some have interpreted as a call for “open borders,” Bishop Michael Martin of Charlotte inviting heterodox Father Casey Cole to evangelize the diocese, and more.

The panel opened the episode by discussing Pope Leo XIV’s noteworthy appointment of Bishop Joseph Lin Yuntan, an underground Chinese bishop, as auxiliary of the Archdiocese of Fuzhou, a key archdiocese near Taiwan. However, many faithful are concerned that Yuntan’s appointment was recognized by the state-sponsored Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association (CCPA) and the Chinese Communist Part (CCP).

READ: Underground bishop made auxiliary in key Chinese archdiocese close to Taiwan

Westen noted that under the controversial Vatican-China deal, every bishop recognized by the CCPA has to swear an oath when they receive their appointment and read that oath.

“That he solemnly vowed to abide by the constitution and laws … of China, safeguard the unity of the motherland and social harmony, love the country and the Church, adhere to the principle of independent and self-running churches, adhere to the direction of Sinicization of the Catholic Church in our country, and contribute to the comprehensive construction of a modernized socialist country and the comprehensive advancement of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation,” the host read from the oath.

Murr emphasized that he doesn’t trust this appointment or any news coming from the Church in China because of the secret Vatican-China agreement that the Vatican has refused to disclose.

“(The Vatican is) not letting anyone know what the agreement is. … I think China is very happy to broadcast what the agreement is because it’s on their side,” the priest said. “But I find it very disturbing that the Vatican doesn’t let the Catholics all over the world know what that agreement is.”

“These are our brothers and sisters in Christ. We’ve been supporting them in prayer, in sacrifice for about 60 years. I mean, this is incredible that we don’t know what (the agreement) is,” he added.

“Just what is the agreement? And it sounds to me that the Church is giving up all of her rights,” he added. “And also, which is most upsetting to me, betraying hundreds of thousands of Chinese who have given their lives defending the Catholic faith. I don’t know how in the world this is justified.”

Wright underscored that the CCP and other global powers with extreme ideologies frequently try to curtail the power of the Church because they perceive it as a threat to their political power.

“(The Church) provides a parallel or rival explanatory power to the politics that they’re pushing. And this becomes much more important if you have quite an extreme ideology, like the (Chinese) Communist Party does,” the journalist said. “Now, you can see something very similar going on in Ukraine, where the Orthodox Church has been effectively disestablished by violence and replaced by a state-sanctioned version of it.”

“And if you go back to the late 19th century, you had what was called a Kulturkampf in Germany, where (Otto von) Bismarck took on the Catholic Church and basically lost, because he feared that it would divide political unity and therefore his power in the new German dispensation that he led,” he added. “What happened was that the Church didn’t bend. Bismarck lost because his suppression of the Church doubled the political support for a party that defended (the Church).”

Wright further stressed that the Kulturkampf and other examples from history show us that the Church should never bend its knees to secular powers, as it has done with the Vatican-China deal.

“If the Church is unwavering in its commitment to itself, it forces politicians to act that often undermine their own power. If you collude with them, however, there’s no threat,” he said.

Later in the episode, the panel turned to news from the Diocese of Charlotte, where Bishop Michael Martin, who announced a severe suppression of the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM), only to then delay it after backlash, invited heterodox influencer priest Father Casey Cole to evangelize the diocese’s young adults. The panel watched a clip from a YouTube video in which Cole falsely claimed that Sacred Scripture does not condemn homosexuality.

READ: Charlotte bishop invites popular heterodox influencer Fr. Casey Cole to ‘evangelize’ diocese

Westen noted that Cole is very similar to the notoriously pro-LGBT Father James Martin, who is very careful not to say anything that is absolute heresy – but like Fr. Martin, Cole’s views contradict Church teaching.

“(Cole) is quite controversial, but very much like James Martin, he speaks to the issue in a way that it’s hard to call him out for total absolute heresy. But he’s always dancing around it,” he said.

Murr pondered how long the faithful are going to continue tolerating bishops like Michael Martin.

“I wonder how much longer people are going to tolerate bishops and leaders like this,” the priest said. “They’re insulting their own flocks. They’re insulting their own people and trying to take everyone to where no one wants to be.”

For more discussion on the bishop of Charlotte inviting Fr. Casey Cole to evangelize the diocese, Pope Leo XIV’s appointment of a CCP-approved archbishop, and much more, tune in to this episode of Faith and Reason.

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