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<div class="m_7010182195561604130m_6016821651866726139m_1155482530706057028gmail-article-header"><h1 class="m_7010182195561604130m_6016821651866726139m_1155482530706057028gmail-article-title">Cardinal Zen: The Vatican is badly mishandling China situation</h1>
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<div class="m_7010182195561604130m_6016821651866726139m_1155482530706057028gmail-article-author">by <b><a href="http://catholicherald.co.uk/author/catholic-news-agency/" title="Posts by Catholic News Agency" rel="author" target="_blank">Catholic News Agency</a></b></div>
<div class="m_7010182195561604130m_6016821651866726139m_1155482530706057028gmail-article-date">posted Friday, 26 Oct 2018</div><div class="m_7010182195561604130m_6016821651866726139m_1155482530706057028gmail-article-date"><a href="http://catholicherald.co.uk/news/2018/10/26/cardinal-zen-the-vatican-is-badly-mishandling-china-situation/" target="_blank">http://catholicherald.co.uk/news/2018/10/26/cardinal-zen-the-vatican-is-badly-mishandling-china-situation/</a><br></div>
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<div class="m_7010182195561604130m_6016821651866726139m_1155482530706057028gmail-article-featured"><img src="http://catholicherald.co.uk/content/uploads/2017/05/P20-Zen-800x500.jpg" class="m_7010182195561604130m_6016821651866726139m_1155482530706057028gmail-featured-image m_7010182195561604130m_6016821651866726139m_1155482530706057028gmail-wp-post-image" alt="" style="margin-right:0px" width="195" height="122"> <div class="m_7010182195561604130m_6016821651866726139m_1155482530706057028gmail-featured-caption">
(CNS/Liau Chung-ren, Reuters) </div>
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<p class="m_7010182195561604130m_6016821651866726139m_1155482530706057028gmail-article-standfirst"><span style="background-color:rgb(208,224,227)"><b>The former bishop of Hong Kong said the Pope does not understand <span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)">the communist regime</span></b></span></p>
<p><span style="background-color:rgb(208,224,227)"><b><span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)">The recent agreement between the <span style="background-color:rgb(217,234,211)">Vatican </span>and China is a step
towards the “annihilation” of </span><span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)">the Catholic Church<span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)"> in China,</span></span> Cardinal
Joseph Zen, former bishop of Hong Kong, wrote in a New York Times op-ed
published on Wednesday.</b></span></p>
<p>Zen, who has been openly critical of Vatican’s approach towards China
in the past, did not hold back in his assessment of Pope Francis’ new
deal and in offering his views on communist governments.</p>
<p><span style="background-color:rgb(217,234,211)"><b><span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)">A Sept. 22 agreement </span>between the Holy See and Beijing was intended to
normalize <span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)">the situation of China’s</span><span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"> Catholics</span>. The<span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"> Church</span> in China has
been <span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)">split between </span><span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)">the “underground” Church</span>,<span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"> in full communion with
Rome,</span> and <span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)">the state-run Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association (CPCA), </span>
<span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)">which</span> was not. <span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)">The Chinese government appointed bishops of the CPCA</span>.</b></span></p>
<p><span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)"><b>The September agreement was designed to unify those groups, by
approving a formula through which<span style="background-color:rgb(208,224,227)"> Pope Francis</span> would approve bishops
nominated by Beijing.</b></span></p>
<p>But Zen’s op-ed said the distinction between the underground Church and the CCPA has not been eradicated.</p>
<p>He said <span style="background-color:rgb(207,226,243)"><b>t<span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)">hose who attend the “underground” Church worship in secret
</span></b></span>and <span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)"><b>are subject to persecution from the government if <span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)">they</span> are
discovered. </b></span>Amid a religious crackdown in China, Zen said that priests
of the underground church have been encouraging their parishioners to
skip Mass for their own safety.</p>
<p><span style="background-color:rgb(208,224,227)"><b>While Pope Francis is “very pastoral,” Zen said <span style="background-color:rgb(208,224,227)">does not </span>think that
he properly understands <span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)">how Communist China works.</span></b></span><span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)"> <span style="background-color:rgb(208,224,227)"><b>In Pope Francis’ home
country of Argentina, <span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)">the Communists</span> worked to defend the poor against
<span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)">government oppressio</span>n, often alongside Jesuits, he said. <span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)">This could be
why </span>the pope “may have a natural sympathy for<span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)"> Communists</span>,” as he views
them to be persecuted.</b></span></span></p>
<p><span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)"><b>It is far different, said Zen, in places where Communists are the
ruling party–like China. When they acquire power, the Communists become
the persecutors themselves,</b></span> he said.</p>
<p>After Zen returned to China from studies in Rome in 1974, he said it
had become a “whole nation under slavery,” and cautioned about society
forgetting how oppressive the regime was at that time. And while he
concedes that the Chinese government has made significant strides in
embracing human rights, “you can never have a truly good agreement with a
totalitarian regime.”</p>
<p>The current iteration of Church leadership does not properly
understand the threat Communist governments pose to Catholics, said Zen.
<span style="background-color:rgb(208,224,227)"><b>He<span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"> praised the work of Cardinal Jozef Tomko, who</span> was the prefect of the
Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples from 1985 until 2002.
<span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)">Tomko, </span>who is from Slovakia, <span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)">“understood </span><span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)">communism</span>,<span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"> and he was wise</span>,”
said Zen.</b></span></p>
<p><span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b>Under Tomko, <span style="background-color:rgb(217,234,211)">the Vatican</span> considered only the underground Church in
China as the true Church</b></span>, and that while there were “many good people”
in the state-sponsored church, it was “unlawful.” <span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)"><b>After <span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)">Tomko</span>’s
retirement, </b></span>however, Zen said <b><span style="background-color:rgb(208,224,227)">things took <span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)">a turn for the worse</span> with the
appointment of Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe, who Zen described as “a young
Italian with <span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)">no </span>foreign experience.”</span></b></p>
<p><span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)"><b>Sepe “began legitimizing official Chinese bishops too quickly, too
easily,” he said, which created an impression that <span style="background-color:rgb(217,234,211)">the Vatican </span>would
“automatically” approve of any Bishop appointed by the Chinese
government. </b><b>This continued through Cardinal Ivan Dias, the next prefect,
who was a “proponent of détente” with former Soviet states. </b></span>This
mentality carried over into Dias’ view of China and the Chinese Church.</p>
<p>Zen went as far as to accuse the Vatican of purposefully
mistranslating Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI’s 2007 letter to Chinese
Catholics that called for the reconciliation of the churches.</p>
<p>“In a delicate passage about how priests in the underground might
accept recognition by the Chinese authorities without necessarily
betraying the faith, a critical caveat was left out about how “almost
always,” however, the Chinese authorities imposed requirements “contrary
to the dictates” of Catholics’ conscience,” said Zen. This error in
translation was “too important to have not been deliberate.”</p>
<p>Although the translation was eventually updated, it was too late,
said Zen. The original letter had been “widely circulated” in China, and
some of the underground church’s bishops understood the letter as
permission for them to join the CPCA.</p>
<p>Zen was also critical of Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro
Parolin, who he described as caring more about diplomatic success than
he does about the Church. Parolin seeks to restore normal relations
between the Vatican and China for the first time since 1950.</p>
<p>While the exact terms of the agreement between China and the Vatican
were not released, Zen is not optimistic about the future of the
underground church. While Pope Francis could still “veto” the nomination
of a state-approved bishop, “how many times can he do that, really?”</p>
<p>“What good is having the last word when China will have all the words
before it,” he asked. He also expressed doubt that the approximately 30
bishops of the underground church will still be permitted to function
as bishops if the two churches are reconciled.</p>
<p><span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)"><b>Since the agreement in September, two CPCA bishops were invited to
attend<span style="background-color:rgb(217,234,211)"> the synod on youth.</span> These men are “known to be close to the
Chinese government,” and their attendance at the synod is “an insult to
<span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)">the good bishops of </span>China.”</b></span></p>
<p><span style="background-color:rgb(208,224,227)"><b>Despite</b></span><span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)"><b> this,</b></span> <span style="background-color:rgb(207,226,243)"><b>Zen warned the clergy of the underground church against
starting any kind of “revolution.” Instead,<span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)"> if the government takes
away </span><span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)">their churches</span> <span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)">or prohibits</span> <span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)">them </span>f<span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)">rom</span> <span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)">officiating</span>,</b></span> <span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b>they should
return to their families, continue praying, and “wait for better times.”</b></span></p>
<p><span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)"><b>“Communism</b></span><span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b> isn’t </b></span><span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)"><b>eternal.</b></span>”</p></div></div></div>
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