CHINA-HONG KONG-VATICAN Benedict XVI, his Letter to Chinese Catholics and to Beijing

Milan () – Card. Joseph Zen Ze-kiun, Bishop Emeritus of Hong Kong, will attend the funeral of Benedict XVI at the Vatican tomorrow. The ninety-year-old cardinal – sentenced a few weeks ago to pay a fine in a trial in which the draconian national security law was invoked – the judge returned his passport for 5 days to travel to Rome. It was precisely Benedict XVI who created Zen a cardinal in 2006. And the elderly Chinese cardinal recalled his figure in a post he published on his blog a few hours ago in Italian, expressing great gratitude to Benedict XVI for “defending the truth against the dictatorship of relativism”, but also for the 2007 Letter to Chinese Catholics and his efforts to improve the situation of the Church in China. “He could not accept any compromise – writes Zen -. I am still convinced that any effort to improve the situation of the Church in China must be done along the lines of the 2007 Charter”.

On the importance of this document of Benedict XVI’s magisterium and on what the eight years of his pontificate have meant for China, we publish below the analysis of Fr. Gianni Criveller, PIME missionary and sinologist.

Benedict XVI, following John Paul II, has considered improving relations with China and supporting Chinese Catholics as one of the most important goals of his pontificate.

The Chinese Cardinals of Pope Ratzinger

Already as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger had made an important trip to Hong Kong in March 1993, to meet with 25 bishops from the doctrinal commissions of the Asian Bishops’ Conferences. On that occasion he delivered a fundamental speech on inculturation, proposing the term interculturality to describe the complex relationship between the gospel and cultures. On that trip, Card. Ratzinger also visited Macao. Then-priest John Tong, now a cardinal, also accompanied him to Hong Kong Peak, the mountainous elevation that offers a spectacular view of the city.

When he became pope, Benedict XVI made two other Hong Kong bishops cardinals. In 2006 he elevated to the cardinalate the Salesian Joseph Zen “the conscience of Hong Kong”, with whom Pope Benedict XVI had a strong and significant personal relationship. The Pope also entrusted him with the meditations on the Stations of the Cross on Good Friday in 2008. Card. Zen wrote: “In this invitation I have recognized the willingness of the Holy Father to show his personal concern for the great Asian continent. And, in particular, to include in this solemn act of Christian piety the faithful of China, who feel a deep devotion to the Way of the Cross. The Pope wanted me to take the voice of these brothers and sisters of ours to the Coliseum”.

In 2012, it was Bishop John Tong’s turn to be created a cardinal. And by virtue of this election of Pope Ratzinger in 2013 Tong – who is now 83 years old – was the first Chinese cardinal to participate in a conclave.

Benedict XVI was also a profound connoisseur of Matteo Ricci. He supported his cause for beatification by competently highlighting Ricci’s missionary qualities: “Precisely as he carries the Gospel – said on May 29, 2010 in an audience with the Marche faithful on the occasion of the fourth centenary of his death – Fr. Ricci finds in its interlocutors the demand for a broader confrontation, so that the meeting motivated by faith also becomes a dialogue between cultures; a disinterested dialogue, free from the objectives of economic or political power, lived in friendship”.

The historic letter to Chinese Catholics

Benedict XVI was the author of the historic letter addressed to the Catholics in China that was published on June 30, 2007. An ecclesial letter, addressed directly to the Catholics and not to the government authorities, who nevertheless claim to place themselves as intermediaries between Catholics and any external authority. It is not a political letter although it has political implications.

In the text, the Pope expresses the hope of building a dialogue between the authorities of the People’s Republic of China and the Holy See: the Church, in effect, teaches the faithful to be good citizens of their country and asks the authorities not to hinder aspects that refer to the faith and discipline of the Church.

Benedict XVI asks the authorities to recognize clandestine bishops. However, he admits that “almost always” official bishops are forced to “adopt attitudes, make gestures and make commitments that are contrary to the dictates of their conscience.” Should the bishops have accepted recognition by the civil authorities or not? The Pope leaves it to each bishop to decide the path to follow in his specific situation.

The letter to Chinese Catholics has been written by a man of the Church who describes what the Church is like. It has a foundation and a structure that are valid always and everywhere, without which the Church ceases to be herself. The faithful of China have the right to be fully part of it. The Pope calls for unity between open and clandestine communities for a faithful, free Church, capable of bearing witness to the truth, welcoming and forgiving.

Truth and love, the pairing that was the program of his pontificate, are the two pillars on which the Pope also writes his long and articulate letter. Benedict declares love and respect for the Chinese people, their history and their culture. He does not ask the authorities for privileges, but freedom. And the Pope recalls that religious freedom is one of the human rights included in the international conventions signed by China.

Meditating on the pages of the Apocalypse, Benedict XVI shares the bewilderment of Christians over God’s silence in the face of persecution. He invites Catholics not to close in on themselves: although the Church rejects the interference of political power, it does not seek clandestinity, but public witness, the common good, the unity of believers, visible communion with the universal Church and with the successor of Peter. And the Church in China, despite her difficulties, has the same mission as every ecclesial community: evangelization.

In the letter, the Pope removes some extraordinary powers granted to the underground Church during the decades of persecution: the possibility, in case of need, to ordain bishops even without pontifical mandate. Finally, it establishes that May 24, the feast of Mary Help of Christians and the national Marian sanctuary of Sheshan (Shanghai), will become a day of prayer for the Church in China, which has become an event lived with great participation by the communities. Chinese, especially from the diaspora.

Benedict was very brave in entering a complex field full of traps. Although experts were aware of how things were in China, they had offered the Pope conflicting opinions, just as, in certain circumstances, Catholics in China also disagreed with each other. The Pope gave his opinion of it, producing what some consider a small masterpiece of lucidity, balance and finesse.

The Catholics, from the open or clandestine communities, were very grateful for the letter that was addressed to them. Catholics, including those in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao, appreciated the Pope’s effort to understand the situation, to show solidarity, to offer clear and sustainable lines, without pronouncing condemnations and without accepting that the freedom of the Church would be trampled on.

15 years have passed and it is worth asking if the letter has borne the desired results. His successor, Pope Francis, signed a provisional pastoral agreement with the civil authorities in 2018, which was renewed in 2020 and 2022, precisely on the highly sensitive issue of the appointment of bishops. According to some sources, the agreement was already practically ready in 2009, but Pope Benedict did not sign it, and the reason is still not clear.

The truth is that the letter of Benedict XVI continues to be a fundamental stage in the history of the Chinese Church. It contains the seed to bring about the unity and freedom of the Church. Something else has been achieved on the road to unity, but there is still no religious freedom. Despite the 2018 agreement, there are still many steps ahead

The government’s reaction. Illegitimate ordinations and excommunication of three bishops

In the years of Pope Benedict, relations with China were marked by ups and downs. Beijing authorities tried to prevent Catholics from receiving the pope’s letter by blocking websites and confiscating printed copies. They insisted on frustrating its auspices and its meaning. And Benedict XVI was forced to announce, for the first time since 1958, public excommunications against three illegitimate bishops.

After a few years of legitimate episcopal ordinations (that is, also approved by the Holy See), there were three illegitimate ordinations in 2006. But from 2007 until the end of 2010, ordinations took place again with the approval of both parties, although the approval was agreed without direct negotiations. However, on November 20, 2010, with the illegitimate consecration of Guo Jincai as Bishop of Chengde, relations between the Vatican and China became complicated again.

They came to a head in December 2010, when the government ostentatiously held the VIII National Assembly of Catholic Representatives in Beijing. The agenda for the meeting included the election of the new leaders of the Patriotic Association and the Episcopal Conference. In vain the Holy See asked that the convocation of the Assembly be suspended, which created more suffering and divisions.

The bishops who boycotted it, temporarily disappearing or with a merely passive presence, were subjected to serious reprisals. The auxiliary bishop of Shanghai Joseph Xing Wenzhi, irreducible to the government, was forced to resign after being accused by the secret police of having an affair with a woman. Two other bishops, Lei Shiyin in Leshan (June 29, 2011) and Huang Bingzhang in Shantou (July 14, 2011), were consecrated without the approval of the Pope. In response, the Holy See publicly declared the excommunication of both.

On July 25, 2011, Beijing denounced the harsh sanction as “extremely unreasonable and rude.” Words were followed by deeds: Beginning in July 2011, numerous Church members, mostly Hong Kong residents, were prevented from entering mainland China, despite holding valid visas. In the offices of the United Front in Beijing there was a list of 23 people subject to restrictive measures (including some PIME missionaries).

In April 2012, two ordinations approved by both parties were celebrated in Nanchong (Sichuan) and Changsha (Hunan), but with the presence of illegitimate bishops as consecrators. On July 6, 2012, Yue Fusheng was ordained Bishop of Harbin (Heilongjiang) despite being asked by the Holy See to decline the election. As a consequence, the Holy See publicly announced the excommunication of Yue, known for his closeness to the government. The three excommunicated bishops were later readmitted to ecclesial communion thanks to the 2018 agreement between the Holy See and China.

What happened to Bishop Thaddeus Ma Daqin of Shanghai marked another dramatic deterioration. On July 7, 2012, at the Shanghai Cathedral, he was ordained an auxiliary bishop with the approval of both parties. But, once again, the authorities imposed the presence of an illegitimate bishop, causing the consternation of many priests, religious and lay people who decided not to participate in the rite. The new bishop declared his intention to renounce his membership in the Patriotic Association. A brave gesture but one that paid dearly: government officials took him away that same night. More than 10 years have passed and Thaddeus Ma is still under house arrest at the Sheshan (Shanghai) seminary.

The eight years of Benedict XVI’s pontificate, therefore, marked moments of great hope for the Church in China, especially thanks to the Pope’s letter. But they were also years of painful divisions. The dream of freedom and unity for the Church in China expressed by Benedict XVI continues to be a commitment to fulfill.

*Missionary of PIME and sinologist