The Papal Letter to the Chinese Church, “a marvellous equilibrium between clarity of principles and courtesy of expression”, has no hidden political agenda.And this is why, “with the strength of the Holy Spirit, it should be welcomed by the faithful and by the Chinese authorities as an invitation to normalize the situation of the Church, the only path towards the improvement of society.”
This is the view of the bishop of Hong Kong, Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun, shared with AsiaNews, about the Letter written by the Pope to bishops, priests, to consecrated people and to the lay faithful of the Catholic Church of the People’s Republic of China, published on 30 June.
The cardinal emphasized his admiration for the letter, a “marvellous equilibrium between clarity of principles and courtesy of expression.
The Holy Father has truly produced a masterpiece: the entire address is pervaded by a lofty tone of religious discourse, practically a theological contemplation. No one should suspect that there are hidden political motives: it is purely a very dignified depiction of the traditional doctrine of the Church, accepted and lived throughout the world.”
The call to unity of the Chinese Church contained in the letter is “necessary and well explained. If unity means a nearness of hearts and union of spirits, this has already been going on for some time. Certainly, now it may be seen that there is much more understanding and mutual respect between the two parts of the Church [the official one, recognized by the government and by the Patriotic Association, and the unofficial one, which refuses to adhere to governmental religious institutions].”
This is because “on the one hand, the people of the official Church understand more and more that the position of the so-called clandestine Church is the objectively right one, and on the other hand, those of the clandestine Church know that nearly all the official bishops are in communion with the Pope. Thus, they know they should reciprocally respect and love each other.”
Certainly, now “it is difficult to foresee what the reaction of China will be. I am not a prophet, but I have strong hopes about the reactions of the government and the official Church, not least because the initial signals appeared to augur well for the future. The document was delivered to the Chinese authorities beforehand, and so their reaction was a considered and not an unprepared one. From my point of view, Beijing reacted in a composed and moderate way, which is a positive sign.”
As for the Patriotic Association of Chinese Catholics, considered by many to be the real obstacle in the way of Sino-Vatican dialogue, Cardinal Zen stressed that it “must understand that the present is an abnormal situation. They must accept to return within the parameters of normality, otherwise the whole world will know that the Chinese Church is not a free one.”
The concluding message of the bishop of Hong Kong was positive: “We believers are unrepentant optimists, and so we hope that the right time for change has come. We know that after many years, it is difficult to change: this is why much courage and the strength of the Holy Spirit are needed, both for the bishops and priests as well as for the leaders of the Chinese state. Everyone must make an effort to reach normality, and thus to do good. That under way now is a battle which leads to a waste of energy, which could instead be used for the improvement of society. We must change things.”
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