Underground Catholic leaders unsure whether cardinal-elect can foster reconciliation
Mar 20, 2006
Some "underground" mainland China church leaders say they hope the new Chinese cardinal can help reconcile underground and "open" church communities, while others say he faces a tough task ahead.
HONG KONG (UCAN, 3/17/2006) – Bishop Joseph Zen Ze-kiun of Hong Kong and 14 other prelates will be installed as cardinals by Pope Benedict XVI March 24-25 at the Vatican.
A priest from the underground community in Zhejiang province, southeastern China, told UCA News he regards the elevation of Bishop Zen as "a neo-Matteo Ricci journey."
According to this priest, who requested anonymity, Italian Jesuit Father Ricci "brought the Holy See closer to China," and Cardinal-elect Zen now carries the same "bridging mission." Father Ricci spent 27 years in China, from 1583 to 1610, and has been credited with contributing greatly to the founding of the church in China.
An underground priest in Inner Mongolia, northwestern China, told UCA News March 8 that Cardinal-elect Zen dares to tell the truth and uphold justice.
The priest said he hopes the new cardinal will speak up for underground Catholics, "who are unpopular and marginalized" by the government and some Catholics of the government-approved church. Underground Catholics refuse to acknowledge the authority of government-approved church structures.
"I believe his elevation would directly promote unity and reconciliation of the China church," said the priest, who also requested anonymity.
Bishop Joseph Wei Jingyi of Qiqihar, a bishop of the underground community, told UCA News March 8 that all his priests and laypeople cheered when the pope named Bishop Zen a cardinal. They felt it showed the pope's concern for the church in China, he explained.
"Most of us have heard of Cardinal-elect Zen, but do not know much about his deeds and views, since our diocese is located far north," said the 47-year-old bishop. Qiqihar, in Heilongjiang province, is about 1,010 kilometers (about 625 miles) northeast of Beijing. Bishop Wei was one of the four mainland bishops invited by the Vatican, but not allowed by the Chinese government, to attend the World Synod of Bishops in Rome last October.
Recalling his visit with Bishop Zen in Hong Kong in 2002, Bishop Wei said he appreciates the Hong Kong church leader's seriousness in defending the Catholic faith. He feels that as a cardinal, the Shanghai-born prelate could play a positive role in China-Holy See relations, but could offer very limited help to solve the internal problems of the China church, such as the division between the underground and open church communities.
The division "originated from historical reasons," he noted. "Some of the mainland Catholics are willing to reconcile, but we have no freedom until 'external pressure' is removed. Even Cardinal-elect Zen may not be able to help," he said.
Bishop Wei predicted that the underground church would gradually diminish after the normalization of China-Holy See relations, and that "some wounds left behind will be healed with time."
An underground priest in Hebei province, northern China, echoed Bishop Wei's views. "I don't know what to say about Cardinal-elect Zen's elevation, since I can't recall him speaking out for the underground church," he said.
The priest, who requested anonymity, said the cardinal-elect has little influence among underground Catholics, and seldom contacted or helped the underground community. Furthermore, his teaching in seminaries on the mainland was restricted to open church facilities, the priest added.
Cardinal-elect Zen spent six months a year teaching in various major seminaries on the mainland from 1989 until his episcopal ordination in 1996.
Nevertheless, the priest said he hopes the prelate will "care about the underground church, which is a reality in China." He added that the underground church has suffered much and serves a "large number of Catholics."
An underground priest from Fujian province, eastern China, said "Cardinal-elect Zen knows nothing about our diocese, as he never contacts us." He added, however, that underground Catholics in Fujian are happy to have a new Chinese cardinal, even if none of the priests there have met him.
"We hope he can play a role in promoting China-Holy See relations," the priest told UCA News March 8.
Anthony Lam Sui-ki, senior researcher of Hong Kong diocese's Holy Spirit Study Centre, told UCA News March 13 that Cardinal-elect Zen has shown concern for the underground Church continually, though in a low-key way that the underground Catholics may not be aware of.
The Hong Kong church leader keeps urging the Chinese government to allow more religious freedom on the mainland, which is for the good of both the underground and open communities, Lam said.
Every year the prelate goes to Rome to celebrate the Lunar New Year with mainland seminarians and priests studying there, regardless of whether they are from the open or underground church communities, he continued.
Kwun Ping-hung, a church-in-China observer in Hong Kong, told UCA News March 14 that one should not see Cardinal-elect Zen's role as merely helping the open or underground communities. "We should interpret his role as promoting mutual understanding between China and the Vatican, and the healthy development of the China church on the whole," he said.
Underground Catholic leaders unsure whether cardinal-elect can foster reconciliation