Church Collaboration with Evil Governments
The latest news, post Polish-church scandal, indicates that it has been common during the reign of Communism in Europe, for the Church (including Roman Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox) to be in cahoots with the Government.
The reason given in the report is that the Church hierarchy in the respective countries, colluded with Government so that reprisals against Church would be mitigated. It would be easy for us who do not live in authoritarian-dictatorial countries to criticize the Church for such collaboration. We don’t know if and how many Christian lay citizens of these countries appreciate such involvement of their local Church.
What would Jesus have done in such a situation? We have the answer from the Gospels. He never watered down his message or vitriolic against the authorities in consideration of his followers. In fact his very criticism of the authorities may have been the impetus to launch the attacks on the early Church. Should not the leaders of the local Churches today also follow this example? There are people who still believe that Pope Pius XII, colluded witht he Nazis to exterminate the Jews and this book decimates this viewpoint.
If the Church hierarchy in these lands followed Jesus’ example, we are sure the persecution would have increased. Dare we predict that these Churches would have been destroyed ultimately? I say No! Christ never said His followers would have a bed of roses as His followers. History has indicated that when Governments persecute the Church, it actually increases its membership. If the Church authorities claim that they collaborated to avoid hardship for their members, shouldn’t the faithful decide if they intend to remain faithful and bear the consequences of persecution? Whoever doesn’t wish to endure such trials is free to renounce Christianity.
I am a member of the Malaysian Church and we too have been persecuted subtly - difficulty in getting approvals to build churches, importing the Malay language Bibles and refusal of work permits for foreign priests. Ironically, it’s easier for foreign maids to get a work permit. The immediate past Archbishop of Kuala Lumpur, Rt. Rev. Soter Fernandez, can be considered the quintessence of a local Catholic critic of the Government. He never placated the authorities in his shepherding of the community over 20+ years. There are local Catholics who despise his courage and insist his resistance against the Government cost the local Church the favour of the Government.
Can we be true followers of Christ and desire the favour of the Government or anyone else? Should we betray Christ because we desire comfort? Doesn’t this sound like the rich man who asked Jesus what he ought to do to reach heaven and left sad because he had to sacrifice his comfortable resources?
