Juxtaposing Two Architectural Catholic Deaths In The Last Quarter Of 2017

Two unrelated events occurred in two countries separated by culture, language and ethnicity seemed to unite under a common fate: the destructive force of secularism.

In reverse chronological order,  Asianews.it  reported on October 28, 2017, that "[t]he only Catholic church in Zhifang, a village in the Huyi District, near Xi’an (Shaanxi [province, near where the terra cotta army is located] [1]), was demolished by force and without any reason." [2]  "Built almost 20 years ago, the simple and plain building...[had] been used for worship by local Catholics since 1999." [3]  This physical destruction of the Catholic Church was an action taken by the government authorities.  Below is a photograph of the church prior to being leveled:

From Google Images

However, for some reason, another Catholic church in the area, The St. Francis Cathedral of Xi'an, is allowed to remain standing. Below is a photograph:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Francis_Cathedral,_Xi%27an#/media/File:St._Francis_cathedral_of_Xi%27an_1.jpg

Going back in time, Vatican Radio  on October 14, 2017, reported that "[a] Cistercian monastery that's existed for almost 900 years in what is now western Germany is closing down for good, due in part to a shortage of monks." [4] Although it is on terra firma politically, it nonetheless has been abandoned, voluntarily, a symbolic death for "[t]he Himmerod Abbey [that] was founded in 1134 by the French abbot Bernard of Clairvaux." [5]  Below is a photograph of the monastery:

From Google Images

"It had just six resident monks before the closure that was decided this week. That's down from about 30 monks in the 1970s....Despite the latest closure, there are still more than 160 Trappist monasteries in the world, with over 2,000 Trappist monks and roughly 1800 Trappist nuns" [6] in a world with about 7.6 billion people. [7]

As the world becomes more and more secular, perhaps Catholic churches and monasteries will eventually succumb to a certain death over time with or without actual demolition.  A quick search on the Internet reveals a number of monasteries are listed for sale currently in France, Italy, Spain and Portugal. Is the Vatican not concerned with this ominous development? Apparently not since the pope is far more interested in social concerns of the day than with the lack of interest in monasticism; even though it is having fervent interest in prayerful monasticism among Catholics that will set an example for other Christians and those in every other religion of the world to be holy so that the world will become a less self-centered and power-hungry place.  To achieve this, the Catholic Church must take the lead but the direction it is now headed is not toward God but toward secularism, paying only lip-service every so often to the teachings of Christ.


[1] http://www.history.com/news/5-things-you-may-not-know-about-the-terra-cotta-army
[2] http://www.asianews.it/news-en/-Catholic-church-in-Xian-diocese-forcibly-demolished-42693.html
[3] http://www.asianews.it/news-en/-Catholic-church-in-Xian-diocese-forcibly-demolished-42693.html
[4] http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2017/10/14/german_cistercian_monastery_closing_after_900_years_/1343096
[5] Ibid.
[6] Ibid.
[7] http://www.worldometers.info/world-population/