Cardinal Joseph Zen, the retired Bishop
of Hong Kong, has warned the Vatican against forging an agreement with
the Chinese government that would grant it significant power over the
Catholic Church in the country. Cardinal Zen has stated that he would
consider any such deal a betrayal by the Holy See of the underground
Catholic faithful in China.
It is estimated that millions of
Catholics in China are forced to worship underground as they refuse to
register with the state's official Chinese Catholic Patriotic
Association (CPA). These "underground" Catholics recognize the authority
of the Holy See and opt to worship clandestinely due to the risk of
harassment from authorities. Meanwhile, the communist-approved Chinese
Patriotic Catholic Association operates under the supervision of the
central government and the activities of its clerics are strictly
monitored. REUTERS/Bobby YipCardinal
Joseph Zen, an outspoken critic of Beijing, prays outside China Liaison
Office to demand religious freedom in China during a protest in Hong
Kong July 11, 2012.Cardinal Zen has explained that
priests and bishops in the so-called underground church have been
thrown in jail for submitting to the Holy See rather than the
state-overseen church. If a deal is approved between the Chinese
government and the Catholic authorities in Rome, it is feared that the
agreement would amount to an official recognition by the Vatican of the
government-controlled Church. The deal would grant the government the
power to nominate bishops, although Beijing would have to submit its
nominees to the Pope for ultimate acceptance or rejection.
Cardinal
Zen has expressed concern that Pope Francis may be misinformed about
the true situation for Catholics in China. "We are very much worried
because it seems that the Vatican is going to make a very bad agreement
with China. And I can understand that the pope is really naïve. He
doesn't know the Chinese communists," he told LifeSiteNews.
"Unfortunately,
the people around him are not good at all. They have very wrong ideas.
And I'm afraid that they may sell out our underground Church. That would
be very sad," he added.
In its desire for total control of the
Church, Zen said Beijing is painting a negative picture of the
underground faithful as "troublemakers."
Zen ultimately fears the
deal would "give too much decision power to the government," endangering
Catholics in the country who do not want to submit to state oversight
in their worship.
However, the current Catholic Archbishop of Hong
Kong, Cardinal John Tong Hon, has defended the new deal proposals. He
has said the agreement would mean China would be put in a position where
it must now recognize the Pope as the supreme head of the Church, as
the deal would mean the pontiff, not the Chinese state, would have final
authority on who was appointed as a bishop in the country.
Zen
though, disagrees, and believes granting Bejing the power to choose
nominees for Church leaders in the country would be a betrayal of those
currently forced to worship in secret in China.
