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Anti-Catholic League: Difference between revisions
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The '''Anti-Catholic League''' commonly abbreviated as ACL is a nonprofit organization whose stated purpose is to stand against the spread of Christian doctrines and practices in [[Alshar]] in general and [[Corumm]] in particular. Founded in 1993 by businessman [[Chul Lung Qua]], the ACL tapped into a vein of growing xenophobia and anti-christian attitudes in Corummese society spurred on by the controversial legal case of ''[[Qua v. His Most Christian Majesty's Government]]''. The ACL reached the height of its influence in the late 90's when the government moved to ban organized religious practice. Afterwards it began to lose importance and visibility as it came under pressure by the government by being banned from advertising, organizing meetings or rallies and even recruiting new members. | The '''Anti-Catholic League''' commonly abbreviated as ACL is a nonprofit organization whose stated purpose is to stand against the spread of Christian doctrines and practices in [[Alshar]] in general and [[Corumm]] in particular. Founded in 1993 by businessman [[Chul Lung Qua]], the ACL tapped into a vein of growing xenophobia and anti-christian attitudes in Corummese society spurred on by the controversial legal case of ''[[Qua v. His Most Christian Majesty's Government]]''. The ACL reached the height of its influence in the late 90's when the government moved to ban organized religious practice. Afterwards it began to lose importance and visibility as it came under pressure by the government by being banned from advertising, organizing meetings or rallies and even recruiting new members. | ||
==Background== | ==Background== | ||
Christianity first appeared in [[Corumm]] in 1623 when Emperor Dagai of the Qian Dynasty petitioned the court of [[Metzetta]] to send Christian missionaries to educate his heir, Prince Chun, in western caligraphy, philosophy and religious practice. From [[Ankae]] came [[Aciria]]n Friar Corso Pizarra and two [[Caphiria]]n priests, Quintulo Batiato and Maximo Cosinga, arriving in [[Mirzak]] by the autumn of 1623. They were received at the imperial court amid great fanfare and with a mix of curiosity and suspicion. Being outsiders preaching a foreign religion, they were beset by intrigues almost from the very beginning of their stay, targeted by court scholars, imperial eunuchs and officials. Batiato's predilection for overindulging in sacramental wine was quickly noted by the palace eunuchs, who began plying him with alcohol in an attempt to, through him, curry favor with the imperial heir. Scholars believe | Christianity first appeared in [[Corumm]] in 1623 when Emperor Dagai of the Qian Dynasty petitioned the court of [[Metzetta]] to send Christian missionaries to educate his heir, Prince Chun, in western caligraphy, philosophy and religious practice. From [[Ankae]] came [[Aciria]]n Friar Corso Pizarra and two [[Caphiria]]n priests, Quintulo Batiato and Maximo Cosinga, arriving in [[Mirzak]] by the autumn of 1623. They were received at the imperial court amid great fanfare and with a mix of curiosity and suspicion. Being outsiders preaching a foreign religion, they were beset by intrigues almost from the very beginning of their stay, targeted by court scholars, imperial eunuchs and officials. Batiato's predilection for overindulging in sacramental wine was quickly noted by the palace eunuchs, who began plying him with alcohol in an attempt to, through him, curry favor with the imperial heir. Scholars believe Friar Batiato may have become too involved in the eunuch's plotting and was possibly imprisoned, in any event there are no further mentions of him after 1627. On the other hand Friar Pizarra's tutelage of the prince was deemed so successful and pleasing to the Emperor, that he was granted permission to open a small seminary and an adjacent school for the sons of a select group of nobles. Corummese men who could read and write were free to apply for enrollment into the seminary to be trained as priests. Friar Cosinga for his part would be dispatched to the court of the Duke of [[Zong]] and would later go on to found the Monastery of the Yellow Rose, famed for having the biggest repository of Christian illuminated manuscripts in all of [[Alshar]]. | ||
From these small seeds and over the next 200 years Catholicism would slowly and cautiously spread in certain urban centers of Corumm under the patronage and protection of powerful and pious noble families and magnates, with [[Mirzak]] having a sizable Christian Quarter well into the late 1800's. Official attitudes would range from toleration and indifference but also to terrible persecutions. | From these small seeds and over the next 200 years Catholicism would slowly and cautiously spread in certain urban centers of Corumm under the patronage and protection of powerful and pious noble families and magnates, with [[Mirzak]] having a sizable Christian Quarter well into the late 1800's. Official attitudes would range from toleration and indifference but also to terrible persecutions. | ||
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At its height in 1994, the ACL claimed it could put millions on the streets and boasted a membership in the hundreds of thousands. [[Chul Lung Qua]] made regular appearances in state television and was frequently invited to rallies by PCD politicians. Blockading and picketing Catholic shops, pelting churches with eggs and paint while police looked on impassively, the ACL felt stronger than ever. Little did its leaders know the League had been instrumentalized by the Party, with much of its mobilization power actually provided by government agencies and with its finances buoyed by shady PCD funds. The Party had decided to do away with religion altogether and the loudness of the League was one of the tools used to make it seem unavoidable and necessary. During the Great Summer March, the ACL made a big spectacle of sending a delegation to the People's Assembly to present a legislative initiative that would ban all religious practice. With the Party graciously accepting the will of the masses and duly voting it through, the text having been redacted in the offices of the Ministry of Interior all along, the League made itself redundant. | At its height in 1994, the ACL claimed it could put millions on the streets and boasted a membership in the hundreds of thousands. [[Chul Lung Qua]] made regular appearances in state television and was frequently invited to rallies by PCD politicians. Blockading and picketing Catholic shops, pelting churches with eggs and paint while police looked on impassively, the ACL felt stronger than ever. Little did its leaders know the League had been instrumentalized by the Party, with much of its mobilization power actually provided by government agencies and with its finances buoyed by shady PCD funds. The Party had decided to do away with religion altogether and the loudness of the League was one of the tools used to make it seem unavoidable and necessary. During the Great Summer March, the ACL made a big spectacle of sending a delegation to the People's Assembly to present a legislative initiative that would ban all religious practice. With the Party graciously accepting the will of the masses and duly voting it through, the text having been redacted in the offices of the Ministry of Interior all along, the League made itself redundant. | ||
===Decline=== | ===Decline=== | ||
The passage of the Religious Law of 94 was the crowning achievement of the ACL and also its death knell. Within months, the ACL would begin to see its public activities severely constrained. Permits for public acts stopped being approved, audits began raining from the tax authorities, activists soon found themselves being clobbered and arrested on the streets by especially vicious police officers. As the crackdown intensified, ACL President [[Chul Lung Qua]] was forced to appear on national television and denounce his own organization for excesses and mistakes committed, in the first instance of nationally televised self-criticism. Shortly after and under threat of arrest, Qua would be forced to resign from the ACL although he kept his Party membership. | |||
==Activities== | ==Activities== | ||
==Leaders== | ==Leaders== | ||
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| [[Chul Lung Qua]] | | [[Chul Lung Qua]] | ||
| December 1993 | | December 1993 | ||
| August | | August 1996 | ||
|- | |- | ||
| 2 | | 2 | ||
| ACL | | ACL | ||
| Barbas Chang | | Barbas Chang | ||
| August | | August 1996 | ||
| June 2004 | | June 2004 | ||
|- | |- | ||