Cardinal Shan diagnosed with lung cancer, asks for prayers
Aug 27, 2006
Jesuit Cardinal Paul Shan Kuo-hsi has been diagnosed with lung cancer following tests during a medical checkup.
TAIPEI (UCAN, August 18,2006) -- The Taipei-based Chinese Regional Bishops' Conference in Taiwan made this news public on Aug. 17 through a press release signed by Father John Chen Kun-chen, its secretary general.
According to the press release, Cardinal Shan, 82, has been diagnosed with lung cancer after tests showed a small tumor in one of his lungs. However, the press release pointed out that the tumor has not spread.
The cardinal has accepted the fact calmly with a religious spirit and will cooperate with his doctor for treatment, it stated. "He does not wish to disturb others, but only asks all of us to pray for him so that he can fully carry out God's will," the release added.
In January Pope Benedict XVI accepted Cardinal Shan's resignation as bishop of Kaohsiung, a diocese based about 300 kilometers southwest of Taipei. When the prelate resigned last November as president of the bishops' conference in Taiwan, he had held that office for 18 years. The late pope John Paul II made him a cardinal in 1998.
Father Chen told UCA News Aug. 17 that Cardinal Shan went to Taipei for a medical checkup in mid-July to look into his irregular breathing. Lung cancer at an early stage was confirmed after a biopsy was conducted, he said. Describing the cardinal as "a person who relies on God," he called the prelate's health satisfactory.
According to Father Chen, the cardinal will remain in Kaohsiung for the time being but will travel to Taipei for medical treatment as necessary.
Bishop Peter Liu Chen-chung, who was coadjutor bishop of Kaohsiung for 19 months before succeeding Cardinal Shan as head of the diocese, said he was "a bit surprised" to hear of the diagnosis, as nothing unusual was discovered when the cardinal went for his annual checkups in previous years.
"The cardinal has been healthy, and he has traveled unaccompanied frequently," Bishop Liu told UCA News Aug. 17.
The bishop said Cardinal Shan "asked us not to pray to God for a miracle, but to ask God to strengthen him to accept the time God gives."
Cardinal Shan, a native of Puyang in Hebei province, northern China, joined the Jesuit society in 1946 and then left the mainland for his study for the priesthood. He was ordained a priest in the Philippines in 1955.
Pope John Paul appointed him bishop of Hualien in 1979 and bishop of Kaohsiung in 1991.
The cardinal was present for the late pope's funeral in April 2005 but did not take part in the conclave that elected Pope Benedict because he was past the age of 80, when cardinals no longer have the right to vote for a new pope.
Cardinal Shan diagnosed with lung cancer, asks for prayers