Ad Apostolorum principis
| Ad Apostolorum principis Latin : At the Prince of the Apostles Encyclical letter of Pope Pius XII |
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| Date | 29 June 1958 |
| Argument | On Communism and the Church in China |
| Encyclical number | 40 of 41 of the pontificate |
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Ad Apostolorum principis (29 June 1958) is an encyclical of Pope Pius XII on Communism and the Church in China. It describes systematic persecutions of bishops, priests, religious and faithful and the attempts of the government to establish a patriotic Catholic Church, independent of Rome.
The Catholic Church in China prospered in the early 20th century, despite many obstacles. A hierarchy was established in China, opening many opportunities. But after the Communist victory in the Chinese Civil War, the Christian communities were destroyed and the missionaries expelled. Many bishops, priests, and religious men and women, together with many of the faithful, were imprisoned, sent to re-education camps, underwent torture and show trials. Pope Pius XII issued in 1952 the encyclical Cupimus Imprimis, in which he accused the persecutors and defended the Church, "a stranger to no people on earth, much less hostile to any" against the accusation of being against the people of China. In 1954, he published another Encyclical Letter, Ad Sinarum gentem, in which he refuted accusations made against Catholics in China, stating that they are loyal and faithful to their country.
Since that time, the Church in China underwent even more difficulties. A "patriotic" Catholic movement is forced by every means on all the faithful A movement for patriotism and peace, who can be against that, asks Pius, is in reality just a fraud. This association aims primarily at making Catholics gradually embrace the tenets of atheistic materialism. All are forced to approve and participate and those bishops, priests, religious men, nuns, and the faithful in considerable numbers, who do not participate, are already in prison; Priests, religious men and women, ecclesiastical students, and faithful of all ages are forced to attend courses and an almost endless series of lectures and discussions, lasting for weeks and months, in order to weaken the strength of mind and will, by a kind of psychic coercion. Under such circumstances, every Christian should cast aside all doubt and calmly and firmly repeat the words with which Peter and the other Apostles answered the first persecutors of the Church: "We must obey God rather than men."
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