Ad Apostolorum principis
Pius XII29 June 1958
Encyclical of Pope Pius XII to the Catholics of China on the “patriotic” association formed among them and on bishops consecrated without the pope’s mandate. It states the penalty of excommunication for such consecrations.
The letter was written after Chinese Catholics had been pressed to join a “patriotic” association and after bishops had been elected and consecrated in China without reference to Rome. Pius XII says that the association aims to lead Catholics to accept atheistic materialism, that no one may lawfully consecrate a bishop without the mandate of the Apostolic See, and that those who give or receive such consecration incur an excommunication reserved to the Holy See. See the Chinese Church under the People’s Republic.
Cited in
- 1950 to 1954, firm date