The Martyrdom of Jimmy Lai and the Silence on Christ the King

The EWTN News portal (February 8, 2026) reports the sentencing of Catholic activist Jimmy Lai to 20 years imprisonment by Chinese communist authorities under “national security” charges. The article frames Lai’s persecution through the lens of “human rights advocacy” and “pro-democracy activism,” noting his Catholic faith sustains him through imprisonment. While mentioning his Eucharistic deprivation and crucifixion drawings, the report reduces Lai’s witness to a naturalistic struggle for political freedom rather than a supernatural battle for the Social Reign of Christ the King. This omission exposes the conciliar sect’s theological bankruptcy in confronting communist tyranny.

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Naturalism Masquerading as Religious Defense

The article’s emphasis on Lai as a “human rights advocate” rather than a soldier of Christ betrays the modernist reduction of faith to private sentiment. Pius XI condemned such naturalism in Quas Primas (1925): “Nations will not enjoy peace until they recognize the reign of our Savior.” By framing Lai’s imprisonment merely as a “violation of freedom of expression,” the report ignores the causa causans – China’s rejection of Christ’s sovereignty. The communist regime’s persecution springs not from “authoritarianism” but from its fundamental atheism, which Quas Primas identifies as “the primary cause of societal ruin.”

Ecumenism of Errors in Lai’s Support Network

The report reveals Lai’s problematic alliances with enemies of Catholic tradition:

“U.S. President Donald Trump… reportedly spoke to Chinese President Xi Jinping about the issue in October 2025.”

This tacit endorsement of Trump’s engagement contrasts with St. Pius X’s condemnation of “false peace with the enemies of God” (Notre Charge Apostolique, 1910). Worse still, the article cites modernist churchman “Fr. Robert Sirico” – founder of the neoliberal Acton Institute – who distorts Lai’s suffering into a “joining in Christ’s passion” while himself promoting economic heresies contrary to Rerum Novarum.

The Eucharistic Silence

While noting Lai’s deprivation of the Eucharist, the article fails to denounce the conciliar sect’s own Eucharitic abuses:

“He has been denied regular access to the Eucharist, she said.”

This omission proves damning when considering Paul VI’s Missale Romanum (1969) facilitated communist infiltration by:

1. Eliminating prayers against heretics and pagans
2. Reducing the Mass to a communal meal
3. Authorizing vernacular translations susceptible to state control

The true martyr thirsts for the Traditional Latin Mass – the immemorial rite codified by Pius V – not the Novus Ordo table fellowship already compromised with Beijing’s “patriotic church.”

False Ecumenism and the Bradley Prize Scandal

The report uncritically mentions Lai’s 2025 Bradley Prize “honoring ideals of the Western tradition” – a Masonic-inspired award whose past recipients include heretics and apostates. This exemplifies the conciliar error of ostpolitik whereby:

Catholic Principle	Modernist Compromise
“No communion with darkness” (2 Cor 6:14)	Dialogue with atheistic regimes
Condemnation of false religions	Religious liberty documents (Dignitatis Humanae)

As Pius IX declared in the Syllabus of Errors (1864): “Error has no rights” (Proposition 15). Lai’s imprisonment proves the failure of Vatican II’s “opening to the world” which abandoned the Church’s mission to convert nations to Christ the King.

The Missing Weapon: Christ’s Social Reign

Nowhere does the article invoke the only solution to Chinese tyranny – the Consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart demanded at True Fatima (rejected by Vatican imposters since 1960). Instead, it parrots the conciliar sect’s naturalistic human rights agenda. Contrast this with St. Pius X’s teaching:

“When society refuses to acknowledge the rights of God… it rushes headlong to ruin” (Vehementer Nos, 1906).

Until Catholics demand the public enthronement of Christ as King – not mere “religious freedom” – persecution will intensify. Lai’s authentic witness lies not in democratic activism but in rejecting the “smoke of Satan” (Paul VI) infiltrating both Beijing and the Vatican.

Conclusion: Return to Catholic Integralism

Jimmy Lai’s true martyrdom consists in being abandoned by the conciliar church that should be demanding:

• Public repentance of China’s communist rulers
• Restoration of the Social Kingship of Christ
• Universal return to the Traditional Latin Mass

As long as “Catholic” media like EWTN promote the “hermeneutic of continuity” (Benedict XVI) rather than the integral faith of Pius XII, true confessors like Lai will suffer alone. Let his imprisonment awaken faithful Catholics to reject both communist tyranny and Vatican II’s errors, embracing instead the uncompromising Catholicism that converted empires and martyred saints.

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Source:
Catholic activist Jimmy Lai sentenced to 20 years in prison in Hong Kong national security trial   (ewtnnews.com)
Date: 09.02.2026