China Warns New Cardinal Not to Meddle in Politics

Joseph Cardinal Zen Ze-kiun, S.D.B.

Function: Bishop of Hong Kong [Xianggang]

Title:

Birthdate: Jan 13, 1932	Country: Hong Kong

Elevated: Mar 24, 2006	More information: [link=http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bzenz.html][www.catholic-hierarchy.org]

Send a text about this cardinal »

View all articles about this cardinal »

China Warns New Cardinal Not to Meddle in Politics
Feb 24, 2006
The Chinese foreign ministry has warned the head of the Roman Catholic church in Hong Kong, Bishop Joseph Zen, not to meddle in politics.

Beijing, 23 Feb. 2006 (AKI) - Zen was among fifteen clerics named by Pope Benedict XVI on Wednesday to become cardinals. At a news briefing in Beijing, foreign ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said the Chinese government had noted the appointment and believed the Catholic church had all along advocated that religious figures should not interfere in politics. Zen has frequently been critical of Beijing in the past.

In an interview with CNN, Zen said there were two distinct type of politics - official party politics and a wider participation of civil society.

"We should not engage in the first but the second kind should be a duty of all citizens," he told the network.

"We in Hong Kong and because of principle of one country-two systems we can keep this distinction," he said.

Zen said he saw his appointment as an indication of a very special predilection for the Chinese people.

Earlier on Thursday, Zen told a press conference in Hong Kong that his forthright style would be hard to change and he hoped Sino-Vatican ties could be normalized before the Beijing Olympics in 2008.

The communist government cut off ties with the Vatican in 1951 and does not recognise the authority of the Pope, forcing the faithful to adhere to the government-controlled Chinese Catholic Church.

19 READERS ONLINE

INDEX

back to the first page

printer-friendly

CARDINALS

in alphabetical order

ARTICLES