Chinese Catholics are united in 'fundamentally one' church
Oct 06, 2006
Catholics in China are united in "fundamentally one" church despite government attempts to create divisions, said Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun of Hong Kong.
LONDON (CNS, Oct-3-2006) -- Cardinal Zen called the division between Catholics loyal to the communist state and those loyal to the pope artificial.
During a Sept. 29 press conference in London, Cardinal Zen said the Catholic Church in China had not been separated by "theological differences" but by the response of its own members to decades of persecution by atheistic communists.
"The Catholic Church in China is fundamentally one," Cardinal Zen said. "They're separate ... but just in front of the policies of the government.
"The patriotic official church exists only as an instrument of the state," he said. When the state changes, church divisions will disappear, he added.
The Catholic Church in China includes three communities: underground Catholics, whose members are not approved by the government; members of the so-called open church, approved by the Vatican and the government; and members of the patriotic association, who reject papal authority and are not approved by the Vatican. In some areas of China, the communities mingle; in other areas, underground Catholics still face persecution.
Cardinal Zen said that some people regard patriotic association members as schismatics. However, he added that "when you go there (to China) and live with them, you see that they are very much part of the Catholic Church."
Cardinal Zen said that the April and May ordinations of two bishops without Vatican approval were a "tired effort" to return to the totalitarian "practices of 50 years ago."
The Chinese government does not feel secure and wants to control everything, he said. When the government realizes it doesn't have to be in control, "that will be the day that our problems will be solved," said the cardinal.
Meanwhile, Cardinal Zen confirmed that he offered his resignation to Pope Benedict XVI during a Sept. 27 private audience in Rome. On Jan. 13, Cardinal Zen will be 75, the retirement age for bishops.
Cardinal Zen said he wants to act as an adviser to the Vatican on Chinese affairs.
"In China, people see me as the cardinal of the whole country," he said.
The cardinal, who was born in Shanghai, China, was made a cardinal in March. He said that the pope had promised to consider his request "seriously."
Cardinal Zen visited London to speak on the situation of the church in China at an event in Westminster Cathedral. The event was sponsored by Aid to the Church in Need, a Catholic charity that assists poor and persecuted churches. According to the charity, 15 million Catholics live in China.
Chinese Catholics are united in 'fundamentally one' church