In a letter to the Chinese government, a Vietnamese cardinal has suggested, among other things, that to fill the vacant bishop's post in Beijing, candidates could be nominated from among the mainland Chinese bishops.Cardinal Jean Baptiste Pham Minh Man of Ho Chi Minh City sent a letter dated May 22 to two officials from China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and State Administration for Religious Affairs (SARA).
Church sources said the officials led a seven-member delegation that visited the cardinal-archbishop at his official residence in early March and engaged in a closed-door meeting.
The 73-year-old cardinal said in his letter that the visit from Liu Haixing, deputy director-general of the Chinese foreign ministry's Department of European Affairs, and Wang Zuo'an, SARA deputy director, left him with very good impressions.
"This could be regarded as a bridge of communion between me and the Catholic Church in your country," Cardinal Man wrote.
A church source in Vietnam told UCA News in late May that the letter, written in both Chinese and Vietnamese, was sent to Beijing through the Chinese consulate general in Ho Chi Minh City.
However, as of May 31, there has been no reply from the Chinese government, the source said.
According to a copy of the letter that UCA News obtained on May 28, Cardinal Man said he wished to visit China. He said he had originally hoped to lead some priests, religious sisters and laypeople to make a courtesy visit to the two Chinese officials as well as ailing bishops in Beijing and Shanghai in early April.
"It is a pity that I could not visit the Beijing bishop before he died," he said, referring to Bishop Michael Fu Tieshan of Beijing, who died April 20 of lung cancer at the age of 76.
The church source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told UCA News on May 28 that the Chinese consul general had expressed hoped the cardinal could visit China as a guest, but said "that would require an invitation" from a person or an organization on the mainland.
Though the cardinal has suggested an invitation from the Bishops' Conference of the Catholic Church in China (BCCCC) and has exchanged letters with Bishop Aloysius Jin Luxian of Shanghai, he still has had no reply from the BCCCC, the source said.
Cardinal Man has told Bishop Jin he hopes to make his planned trip to Beijing and Shanghai in late September or October, the source added.
A sense of what transpired in the March meeting between the cardinal and the Chinese officials can be gleaned from the cardinal's letter, in which he offers some suggestions for the good of the Chinese people, the Catholic Church in China and the "glorious relations" between China and the Holy See.
The prelate suggested that "the best way" to solve the leadership succession issue in the Beijing Diocese is for the BCCCC, "not any other organization," to call for a meeting of all mainland bishops and have them nominate candidates chosen from bishops who are presently in office.
This can be done, he said, after bishops reflect, pray, discuss and understand more about each other.
Then the Holy See will submit its list, from among these candidates, to the Chinese government for its opinions. Once the Chinese government gives its consent, the Holy See would appoint the new Beijing bishop, he continued.
The cardinal said he believed that if the Chinese bishops could "pray quietly and freely, exchange views, and face no pressure, threat of domination or control," they would be able to make decisions in the long-term interest of the Chinese people and the Catholic Church in China.
"With enough confidence in the people and the Catholic Church, the Chinese government can create favorable conditions for harmony among the Chinese people, communion within the China Church, and exchanges with the Vatican and every organization in the world," he wrote.
And these would contribute to the country's long-term social progress and stable development, the cardinal added.
Meanwhile, Bishop Jin of Shanghai told UCA News on June 1 that Cardinal Man had indeed written to him and proposed to visit China in October.
"I sincerely hope he will come. I will give him a warm welcome and hope he can share with us his experience of the Vietnam Church," the 91-year-old prelate said.
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