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ZEN-REACT Feb-23-2006 (460 words) With photos posted Feb. 22 and 23. xxxi
China warns church not to interfere after pope names Chinese cardinal
By Catholic News Service
HONG KONG (CNS) -- Chinese church officials welcomed Pope Benedict XVI's appointment of Hong Kong Bishop Joseph Zen Ze-kiun as cardinal Feb. 22, but the Chinese government warned that church leaders should not interfere in the country's politics.
"We have taken note that Joseph Zen was appointed as a cardinal by the Vatican," Liu Jianchao, spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, told journalists. "We advocate that religious figures should not interfere with politics."
Liu also said he hoped the appointment would not disrupt social stability in Hong Kong.
Liu added that Beijing's position on refraining from establishing diplomatic ties with the Vatican had not changed because of the appointment of Cardinal-designate Zen, who is know for his outspoken appeals for maintaining democratic freedoms in Hong Kong and human rights on the mainland.
In mainland China, which is estimated to have 12 million Catholics, Bishop Luke Li Jingfeng of Fengxiang said China needed another cardinal, considering the country's large Catholic population.
"If the pope did not appoint a cardinal for such a large population," he told UCA News, an Asian church news agency based in Thailand, "I would feel that the Chinese Catholic communities do not have any status in the (universal) church."
Cardinal Paul Shan Kuo-hsi, retired bishop of Kaohsiung, Taiwan, said, "a Chinese cardinal can reflect the opinions of the Chinese Catholic communities before the Holy See." Cardinal Shan, 82, is the only other living Chinese cardinal.
Father Peter Choy Wai-man, former president of Hong Kong Diocese's Holy Spirit Seminary College, said the appointment shows the importance the Vatican attaches to the Chinese church.
The appointment will benefit evangelization in mainland China in the future, Father Choy said, adding that "a Chinese cardinal could help improve understanding and play an important part in establishing China-Holy See diplomatic ties."
Kwan Ping-jung, a church-in-China observer, said he sees the move as a positive development for the Chinese church, noting that Bishop Zen has taught many seminarians in mainland China, and many of them are now pillars of their dioceses.
"I believe the path of Cardinal(-designate) Zen, from priest to bishop and now to cardinal, could inspire them to live their faith in a significant way," he said.
Mary Yuen Mee-yin, a member of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, said Bishop Zen is a model for church and society, since he has shown concern for the underprivileged. The former executive secretary of the Hong Kong diocesan justice and peace commission cited the example of Bishop Zen's visits to new migrant families from mainland China, and his sponsorship of a picnic for the families' children every year, despite his tight schedule.
END
Copyright (c) 2006 Catholic News Service/USCCB. All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed.
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