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MILAN, Italy, OCT. 5, 2003 (Zenit.org).- Despite the persecution suffered by the Church in China, and the difficulty of fostering vocations, there are encouraging signs of unity within it, says Bishop Joseph Zen Ze-kiun of Hong Kong. Bishop Zen, whose clear positions and outspoken opposition to government decisions has made him a voice of conscience, is one of the highest-profile Church figures in Asia. He says he is not made of the stuff of martyrs, and for this reason "Providence decided [that I] should leave Shanghai in 1948, at the age of 16, a year before the advent of Communism in China." In this interview with ZENIT, Bishop Zen describes the situation of Catholics in the country, divided between the government-approved "patriotic" Church and the "underground" Church, which stresses its communion with the Pope. The Catholic Church was established in Hong Kong in 1841. The diocese's 310 priests serve 230,000 faithful. There are some 4,000 baptisms a year. The majority of the diocese's Catholics are Chinese, although there are also active groups of Filipinos, Koreans, Japanese, Indians, French and Germans. Q: What geographical and spiritual role could Hong Kong play? Bishop Zen: The Lord has his plans for Hong Kong and for China. Hong Kong is a door for the Church to return to China. The Pope has always asked the Church in Hong Kong to be a bridge for China, and in these last decades we have sought to carry out this task. Q: Could you tell us about your mission as pastor in this huge continent? Bishop Zen: In 1984, after a long absence from China -- save for a brief visit to Shanghai in 1974 -- I applied to teach in the seminaries of the official Church in China. Finally, after four years of waiting, the authorization came. It was at the end of the '80s, after the Tiananmen episodes -- the government needed to show a different face and promoted visits to China. I made many trips to China from 1986 to 1996, residing there for several months of the year. After the seminary of Shanghai, beginning in 1993, others opened their doors to us. There was great reciprocal enrichment. We were given the possibility of strengthening their formation, but at the same time we received a great lesson of faith, which was put to the test by the persecution. We seemed to be the benefactors; in fact, we were aware that we were being given much! The success of Vatican Council II is also due to the suffering of many persecuted Churches. Q: It is difficult to talk about the Church in China. What is the actual situation? Bishop Zen: For a long time, the Church in China has been a Church of silence. However, today, to a degree, it has a voice. The reality of the Church I have seen is consoling. In the past, we could not visit the "underground" Church; we went to the seminaries administered by the "official" Church, but we felt profoundly that at heart this [underground] Church was and is with Rome. When the government allowed us to mention the Pope in our prayer, I perceived great emotion among Catholics. In China, the first Prayer of the Faithful is for the Pope, because they remain faithful to Rome. Of course, no one says so publicly, just as the government pretends not to know it. In recent times, also for these reasons, the situation of Catholics in China is worsening. The three documents approved in March, regarding the "functioning" of the "official" Church and of the bodies responsible for controlling it, are worrying. The situation of the seminaries is the most painful. At present, the government is more severe than in the past -- although in China there is a saying, "When the road is narrow, you know it will widen," and vice versa. I can mention some examples. The bishop in Xian is a saint, but when in 2000 he opposed the ordination of five bishops not authorized by the Pope, he was "punished": He was prohibited from teaching in his seminaries. In Hebei, there is a large seminary with 200 places, but the number of seminarians is kept strictly at 29, despite the large number of vocations. Q: What are the prospects for the future? Bishop Zen: I think the new leaders have not had the chance to assume control and exercise it completely. Many of [former Chinese president] Jiang Zemin's men still have one function. Only when the new leadership has completed the transfer of power, will we be able to evaluate the situation. Perhaps the new leaders will introduce improvements in religious policy! The first steps, beginning with the motto "No One Is Above the Constitution," are encouraging. In any case, the situation in Hong Kong is not pleasing either. From the religious point of view, freedom is guaranteed and there are no restrictions, but the social and political atmosphere is difficult, especially after the issue of Article 23, which allowed the local government to behave with arrogance. At present, through a fraudulent maneuver, the Hong Kong authorities are trying to take away from the Church the control of Catholic schools -- some 300 in the city of Hong Kong, attended by 25% of the school population -- which by law are subsidized by the state, which pays teachers' salaries and maintenance of the buildings. The next battle will be on this topic. I have just written an article in the diocesan weekly; we'll see what the consequences are.
A huge new Catholic evangelisation programme for Hong Kong aims to attract 10,000 residents of the former British colony to the faith within 12 months. The Year of Evangelisation begins in October when Church groups will be reaching out beyond China's culture of religious intolerance in an effort to encourage people to be baptised. And the key to the initiative is the Chinese Church's aim for 7 million rosaries to be said by the end of 2003. Announcing the initiative, the Auxiliary Bishop of Hong Kong, John Tong, said his diocese hoped to meet its target by distributing rosary cards newly printed with the help of the Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need. ACN produced the card in an initiative supported by the charity's UK office, and the product is ideal for newcomers to the rosary as it gives detailed instructions on how it is prayed. On the front is an image of Our Lady of China, depicting Madonna and Child dressed in traditional Chinese costume. Bishop Tong said the evangelisation plans were inspired by the massive growth of the Chinese Church, which is flourishing despite oppression. China's 12 seminaries attached to the official state-recognised Church boast more than 2,000 members. Despite government efforts to pass a restrictive security law, Bishop Tong is confident of more freedom with the state allowing greater openness and more democracy, but western governments 'should pay more attention to human and religious rights in China'. He spoke of a Church whose faith was fired by zeal and forged through persecution, and he stressed the high calibre of current seminarians, adding that vocations were rising. The bishop, a keynote speaker at last November's ACN UK day of prayer and information at Westminster Cathedral, told of a seminarian who witnessed the execution of his uncle, a Catholic priest, by the communists. When the bullets shattered his uncle's heart, the seminarian felt called to the priesthood to continue his work. Meanwhile, there have been renewed efforts at reconciliation between the State-recognised Church and the Underground Church, whose loyalty to Rome has dismayed the Chinese authorities. Referring to relations between the Official and Underground Church as 'quite good', the bishop said: 'If there will not be the will to talk to each other and to love each other, there will be no solution to the internal division among Catholics.' Bishop's war with China's 'evil system' Richard Spencer meets the man leading protests against Hong Kong's new anti-subversion laws (Telegraph) 04/07/2003 Amid the quiet voices that have galvanised opposition to Hong Kong's new anti-subversion laws, one rises stridently above the rest. Its owner, a short dapper figure, is not a lawyer or a politician like the others. He is a bishop and the leader of the territory's Roman Catholics. In a city that truly knows the meaning of the word brash, it would be unfair to apply it to Joseph Zen. But he knows what he wants to say, and, after reflecting briefly on the remarkable story of his involvement with mainland China, he says it. "It's just that the system is evil," he said. It is easy to see the vote on "Article 23", which this week prompted Hong Kong's biggest street protests since the Tiananmen Square massacre, as the final clash of British and Chinese cultures. After all, the laws that will pass through the Legislative Council replace loyalty to the Queen with loyalty to Beijing. But Bishop Zen is himself testament to how much more complex is Hong Kong's hybrid nature. He is not a Hong Konger by birth but was born in Shanghai, something he shares with his prime adversary, the shipping billionaire and chief executive, Tung Chee-hwa. And how they came to Hong Kong says much not only about their positions but also about the way the psychology of the territory has played out during China's last extraordinary century. Mr Tung's father was a Shanghai magnate, who like many others in the chaos of communist revolution made the leap to Hong Kong, bringing money, investment and jobs. The city's phenomenal growth owes much to these families. But, just as important, they became a conduit when China reopened to business and the outside world. Bishop Zen, on the other hand, had just arrived as a teenage novice in the Salesian Order of St John Bosco when Shanghai fell to Chairman Mao in 1949. Forty years later he returned, meeting colleagues who had served 20 or more years in prison. For seven years he taught at a seminary run by the official, state-backed Patriotic Church but constant battles with the authorities, stemming from their refusal to allow Catholics to pledge allegiance to the Vatican, led to his banning from the mainland. He succeeded Cardinal John Baptist Wu as head of the Church in Hong Kong last year, appointed by a Pope who knows communism well, and at first intended to "adjust" his style. But then he saw the draft of the new legislation with its threats of imprisonment for subversion and sedition against the authorities. "I was frightened," he said. "I realised I couldn't just keep quiet. I was someone in a position to understand this legislation, because I knew the situation in China." The government says it goes no further than the national security laws of any western, liberal society. This cuts no ice with the bishop. "It makes a link between the legal system in Hong Kong and the legal system in China," he said. "That's very dangerous. It's a destruction of the principle of one country, two systems." In the past, he has darkly referred to the possibility of civil disobedience, should the bill be used against the faith. This is an outside possibility under one section which even pro-Beijing parties were yesterday suggesting should be given up as a concession. But does he really think that is likely? "I surely do not expect a persecution of the Catholic Church in Hong Kong tomorrow or in two years' time," he said. "But it becomes possible, and in China everything is unpredictable." Hong Kongers are notoriously docile in politics. It is quiet people such as elderly lawyers and priests who have started to wake them up.
"No, it's not about the capacity to forgive. And it's not about something in the past. It is in the present, the dictatorship. It's against human dignity." Hong Kong, Singapore church activities curtailed due to SARS HONG KONG (CNS) -- Catholic Church services during Holy Week in Hong Kong will be curtailed as an increasing number of people are infected with a deadly pneumonia virus. To curb the spread of the disease, called severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, the Hong Kong Diocese has suggested that the foot-washing rite during the Holy Thursday liturgy be suspended, Father Thomas Law Kwok-fai told UCA News, an Asian church news agency based in Thailand. Father Law, who heads the Diocesan Liturgy Commission, said the diocese also suggested that there be no baptism by immersion during the Easter Vigil April 19. However, a decision on canceling the Palm Sunday procession April 13 had not yet been made, he added. In Singapore, where four people have died of the syndrome, Archbishop Nicholas Chia ordered the suspension of catechism classes and children's liturgy programs, as well as holding hands while praying the Our Father during Mass. The Singapore Archdiocese also suggested canceling baptism by immersion during the Easter Vigil. Hong Kong church leaders fear religious freedom endangered by new law HONG KONG (CNS) Nov. 9, 2002 -- Church officials, lawyers, academics and rights activists in Hong Kong have lobbied against a proposed anti-subversion law, saying it could endanger religious freedom and other rights. Anthony Lam Sui-ki, researcher of the diocesan Holy Spirit Study Center, said the greatest danger of any anti-subversion law is the possibility that it would open a channel for mainland China's laws to be applied in Hong Kong, reported UCA News, an Asian church news agency based in Thailand. As far as the Catholic Church is concerned, he said the proposed law could be taken to mean that as few as two Catholics who contact or sponsor a mainland Catholic community not recognized by the Chinese government could be charged with endangering national security. Hong Kong Bishop Offers to Step Down By MARGARET WONG, Associated Press Writer HONG KONG (AP) Mon Nov 4 - Hong Kong's outspoken Roman Catholic leader said Monday that he was prepared to step down if it helps achieve religious freedom in China, or better relations between the Vatican (news - web sites) and Beijing. "Sacrificing me is really nothing if the mainland has real religious freedom," Bishop Joseph Zen told The Associated Press. He said he was ready to be transferred elsewhere if his absence could improve relations between the two sides. Zen has long been a critic of Beijing's policies, and has recently slammed the Hong Kong government's planned anti-subversion law. China does not recognize the Vatican, and allows Catholics to worship only at state-sanctioned churches. However, scholars estimate that half the mainland's 12 million Catholics attend unofficial underground churches that are loyal to the pope. Banned from visiting the mainland since 1998, Zen has criticized Beijing officials for asking Hong Kong Catholics to keep a low profile over the Vatican's canonization of Chinese martyrs, which was opposed by Beijing. Zen also accused mainland Chinese authorities of closing many churches and banning priests from teaching in recent years ? and said there has been no improvement in the relationship between the Vatican and the mainland. "So far, I haven't seen any healthy dialogue between them," he said. Hong Kong returned from British to Chinese rule in 1997. It enjoys Western-style freedoms denied on the mainland. But it is constitutionally required to pass legislation prohibiting acts against the central Chinese government including subversion, treason, and the theft of state secrets. The planned legislation also requires Hong Kong to ban groups linked to organizations on the mainland that are considered threats to Chinese national security. Government officials insist Hong Kong's freedoms will be maintained ? but critics of the proposed law are worried. Zen has expressed concern that suppression of the underground church in mainland China could extend to Catholics in Hong Kong. CATHOLIC SCHOOLS CHARGED WITH FRAUD Hong Kong (Fides) – "The Catholic Church is exempt from paying rent for school buildings". This is the answer given by Hong Kong diocesan delegate for education Ms Alice Woo, to a commentary published recently in the Tung Fong (Oriental Daily News) which said that the Catholic Church owes the government of the Special Region 128,000 US dollars rent for school buildings used for "religious activities". Leading members of the Church in Hong Kong fear the claim is a first step prompted by Beijing towards taking control of schools and pushing Catholics out of education in the former British colony. On the basis of education regulations set during the time of British rule, Catholic schools in Hong Kong use public buildings. The Tung Fong commentary accuses the Hong Kong diocese of fraud regarding the local government by using the school structures for religious services without paying rent, while other organizations need to pay rent when using public property for their own purposes. The article says that because the Church uses the campus for activity not strictly educational, it must pay rent. The diocesan education delegate, Ms Alice Woo, told Fides that "the Church is exempt from rent": with its education the Church serves the community, parents and students. According to education regulations, school supervisors or principals may decide if they should ask for the full fee or partial fee from the tenant when the school campus is rented out. The Catholic Church is the sponsoring body of the school, not a tenant. Fr Stephen Chan, a Catholic school supervisor and Ecclesiastical Adviser of the local Justice and Peace Commission, told Fides that religious activities are part of education and bring a contribution of charity and morality to society. The Franciscan father said that "suppressing this contribution would render society only more materialistic, lacking formation in spirituality and humanity". "Every time the Church opens a new school, Fides was told by Fr Thomas Law, another supervisor, it pays the government a set sum". However the Oriental Daily News accuses the Church of failing to live up to its fame as a moral leader. "Three and a half years after the handover of Hong Kong, the Catholic Church contributes much to society it has become a moral force for Hong Kong people. For this reason - the commentary claimed - they have high expectations that it will continue to be a model of morality" About half the schools in Hong Kong are run by Catholics or Protestants. The Hong Kong Catholic Church Directory 2000 reports that there are 323 Catholics schools in the territory, ranging from pre-schooling to high school, serving 289,391 pupils, of whom 18,984 (6.56%) are Catholics. In April 2000 reforms in Hong Kong’s education system penalized the Church threatening to by-pass it as a school sponsoring body (see Fides December 22, 2000). Beijing is interfering increasingly with the Special Region’s affairs in religion, politics and economy, and the principle "one country two systems policy" is being questioned. (see Fides November 10, 2000) (Fides 10/01/2001) EDUCATION REFORM PUTS CATHOLIC SCHOOLS AT RISK Hong Kong (Fides) - A Catholic Bishop in Hong Kong stated that the recent government education reform appears to pressure the Church, by-passing it as a school sponsoring body. Coadjutor Bishop Joseph Zen was interviewed about the situation of the local Catholic Church by the Hong Kong-based international news-weekly Yazhou Zhoukan [Chinese edition of Asiaweek]. The report was published in the latest issue December 11-17. Referring to education, a field of major importance for the Church the world over, Bishop Zen said that the new School-Based Management programme, introduced last April, seems to "by-pass the authority of sponsoring bodies to let the government manage the schools directly"; the Catholic Church here has expressed doubts regarding the policy. As Bishop Zen pointed out, the Catholic Church operates more than 300 schools in Hong Kong, a huge force that can influence government education policy. "The government fears that sponsoring bodies control schools" the Bishop said, adding that the government may not necessarily aim at the Catholic Church here, as there are other sponsoring bodies in Hong Kong. While the government claims that under the new School-Based Management programme, schools have a higher degree of autonomy and transparency, parents have more participation in school management, sponsoring bodies fear that the program will play down their roles. In Hong Kong most schools are run by sponsoring bodies and about half are operated by Catholics and Protestants. Catholic Sister Leung Kit-Fun, a university teacher, fears that the education reform will turn into a source of conflict between the Church and the government; as the personnel composition of the director board, financial affairs and student-intake of the schools are being increasingly influenced by the government, schools find it difficult to maintain their education objectives. Sister Leung fears a clamp-down on education as in mainland China. Recalling that in 1949 the Communists seized the Church’s education involvement, Sister Leung says the government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region appears also to want to play down the influence of the Church and favour pro-Beijing sponsoring bodies. Meanwhile, a Hong Kong official in charge of education affairs has emphasized that the policy is not aimed at the Catholic Church, "it is a complete misunderstanding", the education official said. Statistics quoted by the Yazhou Zhoukan report showed that from 1997 to 2000, the authorities approved 72 applications for building school-centres, 29 of which belong to Catholic or Protestant communities. The official said that the government welcomes large-scale and long-term sponsoring bodies participation in schooling, but at the same time it encourages new bodies to join in. According to the Hong Kong Catholic Church Directory 2000, there are 323 Catholic schools here, from pre-schooling to tertiary level, serving 289,391 students, in which 18,984 (or 6.56%) are Catholic. (B.B.) (22/12/2000) CATHOLICS BARRED FROM MAINLAND CHINA HONG KONG, OCT. 9, 2000 (ZENIT.org).- Catholic Church members have been banned entry to mainland China after supporting the Vatican's canonization of 120 Chinese and missionary martyrs, according to a local bishop quoted by the South China Morning Post. Speaking on RTHK this morning, Bishop Joseph Zen Ze-kiun said that Catholics recently applying to teach or preach on the mainland have been turned down without reason, according to the Post. ''Members of the Catholic Church in Hong Kong have received calls from various mainland officials and Church representatives warning them not to visit the mainland," he was quoted as saying. ''Visiting places where the martyrs died is especially discouraged until things cool off.'' ZE00100921 HONG KONG BISHOP SAYS CHINA MEDDLED OVER CANONIZATIONS HONG KONG, 5-Oct-2000 (CWNews.com) - The auxiliary bishop of Hong Kong said on Wednesday that China's Communist government pressured the archdiocese to approach the recent canonization of Chinese martyrs in a "low-key manner." Bishop Joseph Zen, writing in the Ming Pao newspaper, said the government had tried to meddle in Hong Kong's celebrations of Pope John Paul II's canonization of the first 87 Chinese saints on Sunday. "The Liaison Office urged the Hong Kong diocese to handle the canonization in a low-key manner," he wrote. The Liaison Office is the former Hong Kong branch of the official Xinhua news agency and is now Beijing's chief representative office in the semi-autonomous territory. "That puts us in a quandary. What are the measures for 'high', 'low'?" Bishop Zen wrote in the article. He said the celebrations went as planned in Hong Kong churches over the weekend. Communist Beijing has promised to keep a light hand in running Hong Kong, the foremost capitalist enclave in Asia, following the handover from Britain in 1997, including allowing relatively expansive religious freedom. The Communist Chinese government requires Christians on the mainland to worship only in state-controlled associations including the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association, which eschews any connections to the Vatican or the Pope. Many Catholics worship in illegal, underground churches following only bishops appointed by the Pope. China's reaction to the canonizations, which fell on October 1, China's National Day, was unprecedented, saying chances for any improvement in relations with the Vatican were destroyed and characterizing the mainly 19th and early 20th century saints as pawns of Western imperialists. Bishop Zen rejected what he called Beijing's "violent suppression" of both the state-controlled and underground churches in China recently. "What hurts the feelings of countless Chinese citizens and peace-loving people all over the world is the violent suppression by central authorities of churches in the country," he wrote. "It leads one to recall some of the campaigns in the early years of the People's Republic of China, even the Cultural Revolution," Bishop Zen said, referring to Mao Zedong's campaign of political persecution from 1966 to 1976. He said the Liaison Office had tried to prevent him from communicating with his brother bishops across the border in China after he spoke briefly with one bishop on the mainland. "The telephone call brought a warning from the Liaison Office that 'Beijing is very dissatisfied with you'," he wrote. |