The Church in China is in a
"disastrous state" because of the harshness of the regime, but also
because a "triumvirate" (the Prefect of Propaganda Fide, one of his
minions, and Fr Jeroom Heyndrickx, a Scheut missionary and one of their
counsellors) which continues to push the Vatican to compromise with the
Chinese regime, modelled on Card. Casaroli’s Ostpolitik.
This very
attitude led many bishops of the official Church to participate in the
illicit ordination of Chengde (11/20/2010 Chengde, eight bishops in communion with Pope participate in illicit ordination) and the National Assembly of Catholic Representatives (09/12 / 2010 Assembly elects new leadership, causing major harm to the Church), in clear disobedience to the directions of Benedict XVI.
According to the retired bishop of Hong Kong the Holy
See must give clear guidance to the Church in China to avoid the schism
where official bishops “enthusiastically obey” the Chinese government
and not the pope.
Card. Zen makes his case in a written response he has sent to
us, to a reflection by Fr Jeroom Heyndrickx, published in No March 16,
2011 of the Ferdinand Verbiest.
In it, the Belgian priest, an expert on
the Church in China, writes that despite the "slap in the face" to the
Pope of the Chengde ordination and Beijing Assembly, dialogue with the
Chinese Government should continue and the bishops should not be judged
to harshly, neither must we get carried away by "misunderstandings" over
their loyalty despite the many violations of canon law. " (cfr. Verbiest Update 16 - March 2011).
Here is what Card Joseph Zen has to say.
Cardinal Zen’s Answer to Ferdinand Verbiest Update No. 16
As usual, Fr. Jeroom Heyndrickx makes his choices among the
Popes, putting one against the other. In this case, he opposes Pope Paul
VI as promoter of dialogue to Pope Pius XI who loves confrontation.
The Dialogue
I allow myself to remind Fr. Heyndrickx that there are
different instances of dialogue. It is very different when a Pope
proclaims the general principles of dialogue from when a Pope dialogues
with those who are mercilessly killing his children.
In our concrete case, I ask: “Should we go after niceties of
dialogue when our Holy Father has been seriously insulted?” Actually,
what could be the meaning of the events at the end of November and at
the beginning of December last year, if not a slap in the face of the
Pope?
The dialogue is surely of paramount importance. But in our
case, people have rudely slammed the door in the face of their
all-too-gentle interlocutors.
Ostpolitik
Fr. Heyndrickx is enthusiastic of the Ostpolitik of Cardinal
Casaroli in dealing with the totalitarian regimes in East Europe, which
policy, he says, was strongly supported by Pope Paul VI.
I don’t know
how far that support went. But I know for sure, from a most
authoritative source, that when John Paul II was elected Pope, he said
“Enough!” with regard to that Ostpolitik.
Cardinal Casaroli and his followers thought that they had
worked miracles, by pursuing a policy of compromise at any cost.
But, in
reality, they made peace, yes, with totalitarian Governments, but at
the expense of a grievous weakening of our Church. You need only listen
to some ecclesiastics from those countries.
One of them told me that
Cardinal Wyzinsky one day went to Rome to tell some officials in the
Roman Curia to keep their hands off the affairs of the Church in Poland.
Fr. Heyndrickx believes that John Paul II would be on his side
as an exemplary model of moderation. He has obviously forgotten that it
was precisely John Paul II who allowed the proceedings for the
canonization of the Chinese martyrs, knowing pretty well that this would
surely upset the Beijing Government.
After the fact, he did not
apologize for the canonization, as the same Fr. Heyndrickx acknowledges.
Now let us come to the Church in China today.
The Church in China
Our Church in China is now in a disastrous situation, because
during the last years some have blindly and stubbornly persued that same
policy of Ostpolitik, ignoring the clear direction given by Pope
Benedict in his Letter to the Church in China of 2007, and against the
majority opinion of the Commission which the Pope set up to advise the
Holy See in affairs of the Church in China.
Dialogue and compromise are necessary, but there must be a
bottom line. We cannot renounce the principles of our faith and our
basic ecclesiastical discipline, just to please the Beijing Government.
Pope Benedict has judged that the moment of clarification has
come.
The Commission for China was of the opinion that we have reached
the bottom of compromise and that it is time to stop. But the Prefect of
CEP, a clerk of the same, and Fr. Heyndrickx, the three of them,
thought they knew better.
The Church in Poland was strong and courageous. Not so the
Church in China. Our bishops needed some supply of courage. But instead
they received much misplaced compassion, which pushed them deeper and
deeper into the mire of slavish subjection.
Somebody told these our brothers: “We understand you”. This
meant, obviously: “We understand you, even if you, under pressure, obey
to the orders of the Government.”
But, in this case, to obey the
Government, means to betray grievously the loyalty due to the Pope and
to the communion with the Universal Church!
After the ordination of Chengde and after the Eighth Assembly,
some of the bishops involved apologized to their priests. Some other
broke in tears.
But there are others who, as Fr. Heyndrickx confirms,
were enthusiastic of the present situation.
I am afraid these people do
not belong to our Church any more. It is only out of kindness, that the
Pope refrains from calling that part of the Church “schismatic”, when
they proclaim solemnly the will of being an independent Church and of
carrying out episcopal ordinations without pontifical mandate.
Hunting for the Culprits
Fr. Heyndrickx finds it very convenient to put the blame on
unspecified “conservative elements” of the Chinese Communist Party.
The
Party surely has its responsibility.
But all could also see clearly that
Mr. Liu Bai Nian was the one orchestrating everything behind the
scenes, as he succeeded in putting at the head of the Patriotic
Association and of the Episcopal Conference two bishops who are his
obedient puppets.
Even as Honorary President, Mr. Liu Bai Nian still
goes diligently to work every day.
It looks preposterous to me that Fr. Hendrickx should always
bring in the unofficial community, when the subject matter is the
deserved punishment for those in the official community.
What justifies
this putting on the same level our persecuted brothers and those
honoured and exalted by the Government?
Obviously I find myself among those whom Fr. Heyndrickx
qualifies as “politicians who try to divide the Church” and those
“outside China who were quicker than Rome to condemn Chinese bishops”,
because I organized a prayer meeting for the Church in China in the
spirit of penance and conversion.
Here I want just to remind Fr.
Heyndricks that I explicitly meant everybody, myself included, by those
in need of repentance and conversion.
The sad thing is that, while we are discussing who are the
culprits, everything in the Church in China is at a standstill.
The
faithful in China are waiting in vain for some clarification on how the
Church should be.
Each day is like an eternity for those our brothers in
pain.
When will their cries be heeded by the Lord?