.- In
response to the illicit ordinations of two Chinese bishops last week
without the Holy See’s approval, Hong Kong’s Cardinal Joseph Zen has
said that Catholics in the country “want to be led by the Pope” rather
than the church imposed by the Chinese government.
In a statement
released in response to the government’s defense of the ordinations,
Cardinal Zen said that there is only one true Church in China and that
the split truly tears at the conscience of members of the state-run
church.
According to
AsiaNews, he recalled that for more than 50 years, these “self-elected
and self-consecrated” bishops “were aware of their situation and their
hearts were not really at peace. At the end of the 70s and the
beginning of the 80s, as contacts with abroad became easier, these
bishops, through some people, entrusted their request for ‘pardon and
recognition’ to the Holy See.”
He pointed out
that “Whenever possible, the Pope accepted many of these requests, and
he asked them to make this known to priests and lay believers, without
pitting themselves in direct opposition to government institutions.
This allowed bishops, priests and lay people to live their faith
activities tranquilly, being still under government control.”
Cardinal Zen
also noted that “Those who are forced to be ordained as bishops
illicitly [without the permission of the Holy See], do not face an easy
situation: priests generally refuse to concelebrate with them; the
faithful do not want to participate in their masses.”
Because of this,
as well as the genuine knowledge that they are not truly ordained
without recognition from the Holy See, many, he said, go to their
ordinations with their eyes “brimming with tears.”
“From this
attitude of priests and believers, a very clear significance emerges.
And I myself therefore say that ‘in China, there is only one Catholic
Church and all want to be led by the pope’.”
In closing, the
Cardinal said that while both China and the Vatican seem to sincerely
want a harmonious relationship, that it is the state-run church that
has “forced two priests to accept Episcopal ordination without the
approval of the Holy See. We do not understand this fact and it leads
us to lose hope. In conclusion: who is it who is pushing things
backwards?”
Hong Kong Cardinal: Chinese Catholics want to be led by the Pope
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