From Excommunication to Capitulation: How the Vatican Betrayed the Chinese Martyrs

Pius XII Excommunicated the Tyrants. Rome Now Kisses Their Ring.

In 1958, Pope Pius XII stood before the world as the last truly apostolic voice against communism. In his encyclical Ad Apostolorum Principis, he did not flinch. He named names, exposed lies, condemned the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association (CPCA), and warned the faithful that any bishop appointed by the Communist Party without papal mandate incurred automatic excommunication, along with anyone who received such consecration.

In short: he acted like a pope.

Now compare that with today.

Under Francis, and now Leo XIV, the Vatican has gone from excommunicating state-appointed bishops to accepting them, striking secret deals with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and abandoning the underground faithful to persecution.

It is one of the most shameful betrayals in modern Church history. And it is still ongoing.

Pius XII: A Shepherd Who Protected His Flock

Ad Apostolorum Principis begins with a pastoral tone, recalling the promise and growth of the Chinese hierarchy under Pius XI. It quickly turns into a ringing condemnation of what the Vatican now embraces.

“This association [the CPCA]… aims primarily at making Catholics gradually embrace the tenets of atheistic materialism, by which God Himself is denied and religious principles are rejected.” (§11)

“It is perfectly clear that this association is simply an attempt to execute certain well defined and ruinous policies.” (§10)

“Bishops who have been neither named nor confirmed by the Apostolic See… enjoy no powers of teaching or of jurisdiction… their actions are criminal and sacrilegious.” (§39–41)

“If consecration of this kind is being done contrary to all right and law… an excommunication reserved specialissimo modo to the Apostolic See has been established, which is automatically incurred by the consecrator and by anyone who has received consecration irresponsibly conferred.” (§48)

This wasn’t vague spiritual encouragement. It was real governance. Pius XII defended imprisoned bishops, condemned the CPCA as a tool of atheism, and called out the lie of “patriotism” used to mask persecution. He exhorted Catholics to resist:

“We must obey God rather than men.” (§24)

This was the voice of Peter.

Francis and the Vatican’s Secret Surrender

What Pius XII solemnly excommunicated, Francis embraced.

In 2018, the Vatican signed a secret concordat with the CCP. While the full contents remain undisclosed, reliable reports (including from ChinaAid, Fortify Rights, and LifeSiteNews) confirm the core of the agreement: bishops appointed by the Communist Party would be recognized by Rome. The Vatican would supposedly retain veto power, but has never used it.

The result? Underground bishops were forced to step aside. Faithful clergy were told to join the CPCA. Surveillance increased. Churches were closed. Minors were banned from attending Mass. Persecution ramped up.

Fortify Rights noted the “emboldening” effect of the Vatican deal on state repression.

LifeSiteNews and Complicit Clergy documented how Human Rights Watch pleaded with the Vatican to speak out, and were ignored.

The Federalist called it plainly: “Pope Francis owes Catholics in China an apology.”

Yet when Cardinal Zen, the heroic voice of the underground Church, tried to meet with Francis, he was refused. He was ignored until he knelt in silent prayer at the pope’s coffin: still denied even a hearing.

This was not papal diplomacy, but apostolic cowardice.

Leo XIV: A Change in Tone, Not in Policy

After Francis’s death, Beijing wasted no time. According to Breitbart, the CCP called on Leo XIV to continue “the dialogue” Francis began.

So far, he has.

Catholic Register reports that the Vatican has offered no reversal of policy—despite fresh signs of tension and continued repression.

Spectator and Catholic Culture confirm that the Holy See remains mute on the fate of the underground Church.

There has been no public condemnation of the CCP’s bishop appointments. No effort to restore Pius XII’s excommunications. No defense of Cardinal Zen. No invocation of the Queen of China.

Only silence. And soft smiles.

The SSPX Parallel: A Grievous Inversion

What makes this betrayal even more grotesque is how the excommunication Pius XII rightly applied to schismatic, state-appointed bishops was wrongly applied to Archbishop Lefebvre and the SSPX in 1988.

Lefebvre consecrated bishops not for political gain, but to preserve the Catholic priesthood and sacraments in the wake of the Council’s revolution. He did not deny the papacy. He affirmed it. Yet he was treated as a schismatic.

Meanwhile, bishops created by an atheist regime openly rejecting papal authority are now embraced as part of the “visible Church.”

The true excommunications are gone. The false ones remain.

What Pius XII Taught

Let Pius XII have the final word:

“The Church expects each nation to preserve that degree of dignity which becomes it… But if Christians are bound… to render to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, then Caesar likewise… cannot exact obedience when they would be usurping God’s rights.” (§22–23)

“It is obvious that no thought is being taken of the spiritual good of the faithful if the Church’s laws are being violated… [Those who consecrate bishops] in defiance of its express orders… are automatically excommunicated.” (§50, §48)

“He who enters not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbs up another way, is a thief and a robber.” (§42)

By Pius’s standard, the CPCA is a false Church. By Francis and Leo’s standard, it’s a partner.

The Church cannot serve two masters. It cannot reconcile Christ and Mao. It cannot sell out the faithful, bury the martyrs, and call it diplomacy.

Conclusion: Return to the Martyrs

The underground Church in China still suffers. Still resists. Still holds fast to the Faith of their fathers. They do not recognize the imposters. They do not consent to atheistic bishops. They do not bend the knee.

They obey God rather than men.

So should Rome.