‘No religious freedom for Catholics’: cardinal

By JEFF GRAHAM

"Are you being called to Rome?" That was the first question Archbishop Raymond Roussin, SM, bluntly asked Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun, a Salesian, on meeting him in Vancouver. The Hong Kong bishop's reply was equally candid, "Some people may be afraid that I'll be called to Rome."

Jeff Graham / The B.C. Catholic Archbishop Raymond Roussin, SM, welcomes Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun (left) to the Archdiocese of Vancouver for a May 15 meeting. The two discussed the state of the Church in China and the large population of Chinese Catholics in the archdiocese. However it wasn't all business for Cardinal Zen, as he took time to visit former pupil Father Aloysius Lou (right).

Known as an outspoken critic of communism, a tireless supporter of human rights, and for being staunchly loyal to the magisterium of the Church, Cardinal Zen, now in his mid-70s, has gained a reputation as a man who won't be bullied by those in authority in the Chinese government.

Put simply, Cardinal Zen wants freedom in China, and he's let the Chinese government know it.

Cardinal Zen was in Vancouver to visit friends while on vacation, but took time to speak with The B.C. Catholic about religious freedom and the state of the Church in Hong Kong and the rest of mainland China.

"In China there is no religious freedom for Catholics. People who travel there have the impression that there is perfect freedom, because they see many churches open, but still there is no freedom, because the Church cannot function as it should according to the divine constitution."

The situation with the Church in China is confusing at best, and downright chaotic at worst. In a nutshell, the Church operates on two different levels, with a state-sanctioned Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association operating openly, but closely monitored by the Chinese government. On the other level is the underground Church, not sanctioned by the Chinese government, which is loyal to the Vatican and faces substantial opposition from the government.

"Some people refuse to have an independent Church (from the Vatican), and so they go underground. Some people are in the open Church, which appears to be independent (from the Vatican), but the vast majority in that Church do not want to be independent.

Cardinal taught Father Lou in Chinese seminary

"Most want to be united with the whole universal Church, but then they are checked some way in that situation by the Chinese government. Although the great majority of the bishops are in communion with the Holy See, they cannot enjoy full freedom and communicate openly with the Holy See."

The most high-profile case of the Patriotic Association meddling in Church affairs in recent history was a series of three illicit ordinations of Chinese bishops last November. Cardinal Zen believes the Chinese government may have blackmailed those involved in the ordinations. He pointed out that the ordinations were a setback to what had been otherwise promising progress made by the Vatican in China.

"Unfortunately there are forces who are trying to disrupt this initial rapprochement. After the death of Pope John Paul II there was some communicating between the Holy See and Beijing, but then there are some people who enjoy power and advantages now in this abnormal situation, so they don't want to change it, and so they forced the bishops to perform the three illicit ordinations, which is very sad, because it is very serious. I hope the higher leaders in the nation realize that this is very damaging."

Fortunately for Cardinal Zen, he enjoys significant freedom as Bishop of Hong Kong. After Hong Kong returned to Chinese rule from being a British Colony, many of the existing Church relations remained the same, meaning that Cardinal Zen and the rest of the faithful in the Hong Kong diocese are able to communicate openly and freely with the Vatican and speak against government policies when necessary.

"I'm bishop in Honk Kong. We are a special administerial region, and so our situation is very different from the rest of China. In Hong Kong we are a city, and we have been promised a high degree of autonomy, and so they saying goes, `one country, two systems.' We are not following the same system as mainland China, although we are a part of China; we are completely free about our religious affairs."

Because Hong Kong enjoys significant freedoms, Cardinal Zen explained that they face many of the same problems that every other metropolitan city faces.

"In Hong Kong, our challenges are just the same as every modern city. Because Hong Kong is a very sophisticated city there is much secularism, meaning the people are very much concerned with business, materialism, and improving the condition of living, and so the Church has to make a big effort to spread the Gospel in the face of this.

"Still, we are doing well: there are 250,000 Catholics in Hong Kong. The population is 7 million, so we are a small minority, but every year we have 2,000 confirmations, so I think that we're making steady progress. In this new situation (Hong Kong being part of China), we seem to have some problems with this new government in Beijing, but Hong Kong is still rather free, and the Church is with the people."

"We can also still run Catholic education, although the government passed a new law which in the future may prevent us from being able to control our schools, but up until now things are still okay."

Cardinal Zen happens to know a thing or two about Catholic education himself. Trained as a Salesian priest, Cardinal Zen holds both a doctorate in philosophy and a licentiate in sacred theology, and he taught in seminaries throughout China before becoming a bishop.

One of the seminarians he taught is Father Aloysius Lou, the pastor of St. Francis Xavier Parish in Vancouver. The cardinal explained he came to Vancouver to visit Father Lou and to update people in Canada on the situation of the Church in China.

"I know Father Lou; he was my pupil when we were young, and there is a good group of Salesian people from Hong Kong here in Vancouver. I'm Salesian myself, so they're very happy to see me, and there is also a big Chinese community, and so they're happy to have me here as well.

"This is kind of a holiday for me. I'm to meet old friends and the Chinese community, and to see the bishops and cardinals of the United States and Canada. Everyone has been very happy to see me, but also to hear from me about the situation of the Church in China, which is a little complicated, so they like to have someone who knows a lot about that situation."

Cardinal Zen, who is often consulted by the Vatican about affairs in China, explained one of the biggest tasks is to promote religious freedom in the country. He said Pope John Paul deeply desired religious freedom in China, and that desire is echoed by Pope Benedict XVI.

"It was one of the desires of Pope John Paul II to visit China, to see freedom of religion in China, but unfortunately he could not have that desire fulfilled. However, thank the Lord, Pope Benedict understands perfectly the situation in China. We hope under his guidance the Holy See will achieve some good agreement with the government, in spite of all the negative actions from the Patriotic Association."

Cardinal Zen hopes that everyone in China will one day have the same religious freedom that Canadians enjoy.

"I think that Canada is a wonderful country, and that the people are fortunate to enjoy freedom. They are full of wisdom, I see, and so I'm happy that so many Chinese people can enjoy that happiness in this country, but I hope that they still remember that everybody in this world should be concerned about everybody else, and I hope they pray that one day soon China too may enjoy that kind of freedom."