Cardinal foresees larger role to promote improved Sino-Vatican ties
Mar 29, 2006
Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun of Hong Kong says he will directly help the pope by informing him about China concerns, and he hopes China's leaders will enter dialogue and learn they should not fear the church.
UCANews (www.ucanews.com, 3/27/2006) After the consistory on March 24, Cardinal Zen told journalists at St. Peter's Square that Chinese leaders should understand that the Catholic Church is simply fulfilling its "universal" role when it appoints bishops, not doing something fearful. However, he added, "I think there are many misconceptions."
Cardinal Zen also noted that he intended to urge all cardinals at the pre-consistory meeting on March 23 to be open to Chinese leaders and to help them understand the Catholic Church, but he had no chance to speak at that time.
Asia's two other newly elevated cardinals have also spoken of their shared concern for China and about how they look forward to serving the church in new ways because of their elevation in church ranks.
Korea's Cardinal Cheong Jin-suk of Seoul told UCA News on March 24 that he and Cardinal Zen, who both have communist homelands, will cooperate intimately. Cardinal Cheong, 74, heads Seoul Archdiocese in South Korea and is also apostolic administrator of Pyongyang Diocese in North Korea.
The Korean cardinal noted that North Korea has no religious freedom and said he would do his best to promote better relations throughout all of North Asia.
Cardinal Gaudencio Rosales of Manila, 73, pointed out on March 24 that he has long supported mainland Chinese priests, nuns and seminarians studying in the Philippines, especially in Manila. He visited mainland China in the 1990s.
Cardinal Zen said his own elevation to cardinal clearly expresses the pope's great concern for China. He also said he hopes Beijing will engage in dialogue to normalize church relations because the Church in China is now mature.
On March 25, Cardinal Zen told UCA News he was hoping to visit China's ambassador in Rome on March 27, but the embassy said the ambassador had gone to Beijing, so he could not receive the cardinal. "But there will be time," Cardinal Zen said, adding that China is changing and new things are possible.
Some days before leaving Hong Kong to go to Rome, he got a message from the holy father asking the new cardinal to continue his episcopal ministry in Hong Kong, temporarily and peacefully, without the need to work in Rome.
According to Cardinal Zen, it is unlikely the pope will visit China before Sino-Vatican relations are normalized. But the cardinal added that he himself may have more opportunities to visit the mainland because Chinese authorities in the past have not disallowed him from visiting the mainland.
Asked if he will now try to develop a lower profile, he responded that his past criticisms of China had always been rooted in his patriotism. Religious freedom is surely a topic of discussion with the Chinese leaders, he added.
Cardinal Zen told UCA News on March 22 that negotiations between China and the Holy See must begin to normalize church affairs in China, and he hopes he can help the church in China achieve that goal. In any negotiation, he pointed out, one must understand who one is. "If someone sees us as enemies, negotiation is at a dead end, and if normalization cannot be achieved, both sides lose."
He then observed: "What is there in the Catholic Church to fear? What have we done to scare them in the world today, not hundreds of years ago?"
In Sino-Vatican affairs, he explained, normalization involves "conversion," in that it requires a change of heart. The issue, he said, is not one of losing or gaining, but rather understanding what real normalization means.
Asserting that he has a good knowledge of the church in China, Cardinal Zen urged both the open and underground church communities in China to rest assured that the pope makes decisions beneficial for both sides.
Cardinal Zen celebrated Sunday Mass on March 26 with Chinese Catholics at the Pontifical Salesian University in a Rome suburb. That same day, he is also met with Catholics in the Chinese parish of Rome.
Cardinal foresees larger role to promote improved Sino-Vatican ties