The Catholic Church is the best institution on the face of the planet to face down evil. By saying this, I’m not saying that people affiliated with the Church aren’t capable of great evil. They are. We know that. But as an institution it is the only one that truly can stand up to evils such as communism.
I’m not saying anything radical here. There’s a reason that authoritarian governments almost always seek to destroy the Church. And nobody knows how hard authoritarian governments crack down on Christians better than Chen Guancheng, who currently teaches at the Catholic University of America.
Aleteia reports:
A blind Chinese dissident said Thursday the Catholic Church is more likely than the United States government to withstand pressure from the Chinese government seeking to punish exiles like him.
Chen Guangcheng was a visiting scholar at New York University after his acclaimed exile from China in 2012. Chen left the NYU faculty in June 2013, alleging the school had bowed to lobbying efforts from Chinese officials to withdraw their sponsorship of the human rights lawyer. He is a distinguished visiting fellow at the Catholic University of America.
“Catholic University has a very strong immune system against the Communist Party. Without it, I would not be a faculty member there,” Chen said, speaking through an intrpreter after an event at the Heritage Foundation.
Chen, 42, was asked if he thinks the U.S. government protects him as well as the Catholic Church. “No, the U.S. government has not. It is more subject to pressure from the Chinese government. Generally, the government, the U.S. government, is subject to big influences. There are many people who influence the government,” said Chen, who has fought forced abortions under China’s one-child-per-family restriction.
It’s an interesting note to think that when the Church’s enemies seem so strong, the Church’s call seems to be heard and heeded by so many.
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