Don't Misread Letter Of The Pope,' Says Cardinal Zen
Jul 18, 2007
Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun of Hong Kong says he is pained that "some serious blind spots" appear in a recent UCAN commentary.
HONG KONG (UCAN, 18/07/2007) -- Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun of Hong Kong says he is pained that "some serious blind spots" appear in a recent UCAN commentary.
Father Jeroom Heyndrickx, a member of the Congregation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary and director of Ferdinand Verbiest Institute at Catholic University of Leuven in Belgium, wrote the commentary, "Pope's Letter Begin New Phase in China Church History," and UCA News published it on July 6.
In it, Father Heyndrickx says the letter of Pope Benedict XVI to the Chinese Catholics, released on June 30, will have positive long-term impact.
Cardinal Zen also applauds the pope's letter but laments that the commentary demonstrates Father Heyndrickx has been misled and no longer enjoys "a vast consensus and positive regard among China-watchers."
In a message to UCA News, the cardinal lists "mistakes" in the commentary, and says he is providing such feedback because "I cannot allow people to be misled in their understanding" of the papal letter.
Cardinal Zen's feedback on the commentary by Father Heyndrickx follows:
Don't misread the Pope's letter
Fr. Jeroom Heyndrickx is surely a most respected Sinophile and has done a lot of work to bridge the Chinese Catholic community with the universal Church. So it pains me to see some serious blind spots in his recent mindset. There used to be a vast consensus and positive regard among China-watchers for the many undertakings by Fr. Heyndrickx, who enjoys the benefit having the support of a well-established Verbiest Foundation and a Catholic Leuven as the venue for many initiatives.
Sometimes, however, achievements can become liabilities. The effects of our actions are not always immediately seen. Now, Fr. Heyndrickx's every initiative needs the approval of Mr. Liu Bainian, of the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association, and has to be carried out according to conditions imposed by him, Mr. Liu's prestige has thus been steadily built up.
The enormous power of Mr. Liu has allowed him to oppress and humiliate our bishops. Now, fearful that his position will be undermined by the normalization of ties between China and the Holy See, and with the support of the Religious Affairs Bureau, he masterminded the illegitimate Ordination of bishops last year using threats, deceit and even forceful abduction.
Fr. Heyndrickx did not see things that way, but blamed the confrontation on us (on me?). It is astonishing that intelligent and learned as he is, he could possibly misread the Pope's letter to the Catholics in China.
Out of respect for the Holy Father's letter, I cannot allow people to be misled in their understanding of it. Here I want to point out the mistakes in Fr. Heyndrickx's reading:
(Fr.H. = Father J. Heyndrickx, commentary in UCAN on July 6)
Fr.H. (1):
Paragraph 1 (starting from "I understand the meaning of the Pope's letter as follows.") "Bishop and priests of both communities may concelebrate..."
Paragraph 7 "Let Chinese Catholics peacefully celebrate the Eucharist together."
Objection:
It is not precise to state matters so simply. What is allowed is concelebration with Bishops in the "official" Church, who are now in communion with the Holy Father, but not with those who are still illegitimate and not reconciled.
Fr. Heyndrickx seems to attach too much importance to unity in celebrating the Eucharist, but such unity without real hierarchical communion would be a lie.
Fr.H. (2):
Also in Paragraph 1 "There is at present no longer any reason to keep an underground Church Community going in China."
Paragraph 8 "underground bishops are encouraged to apply for recognition by civil authorities."
Objection:
No. This is not in the letter. What the letter says is:
"The clandestine condition is not a natural feature of the Church's life" and those who "have felt themselves constrained to opt for clandestine consecration" did so because they did not wish "to be subjected to undue control over the life of the Church." Now, if that control is still there in the official Church, then there is reason for people to remain in the underground.
The underground bishops are not encouraged to apply for registration; they are only given the faculty or, rather, the heavy responsibility to make a "very difficult decision" for their individual dioceses as to whether they should seek recognition.
Actually, what precedes in the letter seems rather to discourage them from seeking recognition because, as the letter says: "In not a few particular instances, indeed almost always, in the procedure of recognition, the intervention of agencies obliges the people involved to adopt attitudes (accept an independent Church), make gestures (concelebrate with illegitimate bishops) and undertake commitments (join the Patriotic Association) that are contrary to the dictates of their conscience as Catholics."
Fr.H. (3):
Paragraph 5 Fr. Heyndrickx appears to oppose "canonical sanctions" to calling for unity and dialogue".
Objection:
Of course the letter centers on unity and dialogue, but Article 1382 of Canon Law is still explicitly mentioned in the Pope's letter where it states: "The code of Canon Law (cf. c. 1382) lays down grave sanctions both for the Bishop who freely confers Episcopal ordination without an apostolic mandate and for the one who receives it: such an ordination in fact inflicts a painful wound upon ecclesial communion and constitutes a grave violation of canonical discipline." (Part 1, Section 9, Paragraph 1)
Fr. Heyndrickx seems to be confused; he reads too many things into the letter of the Holy Father. This risks disturbing the wonderful balance achieved in the letter between truth and charity, and it is a serious matter!
Don't Misread Letter Of The Pope,' Says Cardinal Zen