THE POLITICAL SWIRL BEYOND THE VATICAN
AS THE CHURCH COMMEMORATES GOOD FRIDAY
GOOD FRIDAY
Vatican-China ties colour
Good Friday procession
VATICAN CITY, Mqr. 21 (AFP) — Pope Benedict XVI's observance of the traditional Good Friday procession at Rome's Colosseum will have distinctly Chinese overtones at a time of delicate relations between the Vatican and Beijing.
While the situation of China's Roman Catholics will be at the heart of a meditation to be offered by Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-Kiun of Hong Kong, the unrest in Tibet has taken the spotlight in bilateral relations.
The Pope broke his silence on Tibet during his weekly general audience on Wednesday when he advocated dialogue, saying: "Violence does not resolve problems, it only aggravates them."
Meanwhile on Thursday, the religious affairs news agency I.Media reported that a Chinese government delegation had a secret meeting at the Vatican on Tuesday.
The unconfirmed talks were planned long before the outbreak of violence in Tibet, the agency said.
Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi refused all comment on the meeting, not even confirming or denying it took place.
Any such meeting would be highly unusual, as China and the Vatican have not had diplomatic relations for more than half a century.
Cardinal Zen,
who is to lead the long-planned Way of the Cross procession which is to begin at 9:15 pm (2015 GMT) at Rome's Colosseum on Friday, is a key figure for Asian Catholics including those in China who are split between the official and clandestine Catholic churches.
[Factual error! Cardinal Zen is back in Hongkong, and has explained to the media he felt it was best he spent Good Friday with his own parishioners.]
According to an advance text released by the Vatican, Zen will refer to "living martyrs of the 21st century."
"The Pope wanted me to speak for our brothers and sisters" in Asia, Zen will say at the start of his meditation.
[The quotations given by AFP are from the published 2008 Via Crucis Meditations and Prayers. Caridnal Zen will not be pronouncing them.]
The observance is held every year at the Colosseum where, according to legend, early Christians were thrown to the lions.
Zen will also say that Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of Jerusalem who approved the death sentence for Jesus, was the "symbol of all those who use authority as an instrument of power and don't concern themselves with justice."
A brochure published by the Vatican to accompany the event is illustrated with Chinese artworks representing each of the 14 Stations of the Cross.
According to the programme of the Way of the Cross procession released by the Vatican, a Chinese woman will pass the cross to the pope at the 12th station, and he will carry it for the final three legs.
During the Easter vigil on Saturday, one of the six adults Benedict is to baptise is Chinese.
The Vatican has not had official diplomatic relations with China since 1951, but is working towards a reconciliation with Beijing in order to win greater freedom of worship for the Catholic faithful, and allow the pope to appoint bishops in China.
Between eight and 12 million "underground" Catholics are loyal to the pope in China, worshipping in makeshift churches, while another five million belong to the government-led church.
Last week Vatican diplomats met for three days with bishops from Taiwan, Macau and Hong Kong.
The Vatican says it will abandon ties with Taiwan in favour of Beijing if China guarantees religious freedom and allows the pope to name Chinese bishops.
Beijing has imposed two conditions on the restoration of ties -- the Vatican's recognition of the one-China policy that precludes independence for Taiwan and its acceptance that religious affairs are an internal Chinese matter.
Tibet casts shadow over
Vatican's China-themed Easter
by Martine Nouaille
ROME, March 21(AFP) - Events in Tibet cast a shadow on Friday over the Vatican's Easter observances, which have Chinese overtones this year to reflect Pope Benedict XVI's advocacy of greater freedom for China's tiny Catholic minority.
Long before Beijing's massive clampdown on protests in Tibet, Pope Benedict XVI asked outspoken Hong Kong Cardinal Joseph Zen to pen the meditations for the traditional Good Friday procession at Rome's Colosseum.
Zen is a key figure for Asian Catholics including those in China who are split between the official and clandestine Catholic churches.
According to an advance text released by the Vatican, Zen's text will refer to "living martyrs of the 21st century," a theme that is unusually political compared to other years.
"The Pope wanted me to speak for our brothers and sisters" in Asia, Zen wrote for the ceremony that will get under way at 9:15 pm (2015 GMT) at Rome's Colosseum, where legend has it that early Christians were thrown to the lions.
The Way of the Cross, for Christians, commemorates the martyrdom and death of Christ.
In one of the meditations to be read out at the event, Zen wrote that Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of Jerusalem who approved the death sentence for Jesus, was the "symbol of all those who use authority as an instrument of power and don't concern themselves with justice."
Chinese elements feature in several Easter events this year.
A brochure published by the Vatican to accompany the Colosseum procession is illustrated with Chinese artworks representing each of the 14 Stations of the Cross, while a Chinese woman will pass the cross to the pope at the 12th station, and he will carry it for the final three legs.
And during the Easter vigil on Saturday, one of the six adults Benedict is to baptise is Chinese.
The Pope broke his silence on Tibet during his weekly general audience on Wednesday when he appealed for "dialogue and tolerance" on both sides.
Beijing brushed off the urging, according to Italian press reports that quoted foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang as saying Thursday: "Supposed tolerance cannot exist for criminals who should be punished by the law."
The "terse and abrupt (response) shows the limits of the dialogue under way between the (Chinese) regime leaders and the Catholic Church," the daily
La Repubblica said in an editorial.
[Of all the Italian newspapers, AFP had to quote the notoriously anti-clerical, anti-Church Repubblica!]
The crisis in Tibet has coincided with surprising movement towards rapprochement 57 years after Beijing severed ties with the Holy See over its recognition of Taiwan.
A papal commission on relations with Beijing last week urged "a respectful and constructive dialogue" with China.
And according to an unconfirmed press leak on Thursday, a Chinese government delegation had a secret meeting at the Vatican on Tuesday, four months after a Vatican delegation travelled to Beijing.
Renewing ties would help Beijing improve its image overseas, while the Pope's discretion on Tibet was seen as a deliberate bid to avoid antagonising the Chinese authorities.
The Vatican is working towards reconciliation with Beijing in order to win greater freedom of worship for the Catholic faithful, and allow the Pope to appoint bishops in China.
The Vatican estimates the number of Catholics in China at between 8-12 million
[the number is the equivalent to the entire population of many small nations, even those inEurope!], while it recognises 90 percent of bishops in the official Chinese Catholic Church.
The Holy See says it will abandon ties with Taiwan in favour of Beijing if China guarantees religious freedom and allows the Pope to name Chinese bishops.
Beijing has imposed two conditions on the restoration of ties -- the Vatican's recognition of the one-China policy that precludes independence for Taiwan and its acceptance that religious affairs are an internal Chinese matter.
For the first time this year, the 80-year-old Benedict will observe most of the Way of the Cross procession from the Palatine Hill overlooking the Colosseum, and will walk for only the final three of the 14 Stations of the Cross.
The last two years Benedict, who was elected in 2005, took part in the entire walk, carrying the cross at the first and last stations.
The Vatican's 'double face',
according to Beijing
Rome, Mar. 21 (AsiaNews) - "The Vatican presents itself to us with a double face": while it is seeking diplomatic relations with Beijing, in reality it wants to return to "the control and management of the Catholic Church in China".
And again: "the Vatican hates socialism", but for it, opening the doors of China "is among the most important missions of the 'strategy of the new millennium' for the Catholic Church", a means of acquiring political power and becoming once again "the Centre of the world". At this point, "Cuba is administered by them [by the Vatican]. Vietnam is administered by them. Among the socialist countries, only China has continued to ignore them".
These are only a few of the weighty statements made by Ye Xiaowen, director of the state administration for religious affairs, a ministry of the Chinese government.
The statements are part of a long interview granted by Ye to the weekly
Nan Fang last March 13. The weighty accusations against the Vatican and against Benedict XVI are even more significant if one considers that
this interview was published while in Vatican City a Chinese delegation was meeting with members of the Secretariat of state to study - according to information leaked by the Vatican - the possible steps for restoring the diplomatic relations interrupted by Beijing in 1951, with the expulsion of the nuncio at the time.
The question that many are asking is this: Why - with a delegation at the Vatican to speak about future diplomatic relations - would a member of the same government continue to express outworn and closed positions?
Some observers think that there is division in the Chinese leadership, between those who want greater openness and freedom and those who remain bound to Maoist and Stalinist perspectives. Others think that Beijing is simply playing a double game, in keeping with Chinese tradition.
In this case, the overtures of the Chinese delegation and Beijing's desire to establish diplomatic relations would simply be a means of "pacifying" the Vatican while China comes into the spotlight with the Olympics.
An expert on China has even told AsiaNews: "Don't worry; after the Olympics, everything will go back to the way it was".
In his long interview, Ye speaks of "a conflict between China and the Vatican" that has lasted for more than half a century. In his view, the letter from Benedict XVI to the Chinese Catholics is to be appreciated for its limitation of the faculties of the underground bishops, but otherwise "it is a step backward" because it forces "Chinese Catholics to remain completely united to the pope, forcing them once again to choose between their party and the Church".
And citing a Chinese expert on religious questions [Liu Bainian, vice president of the patriotic association?], he affirms that "the publication of the pastoral letter demonstrates that the Pope is continuing along the path of opposition to Beijing".
The "danger" of Benedict XVI's letter lies in the fact that it "publicly denies [the value of] the patriotic association; it rejects the episcopal conference [the council of Chinese bishops, which the Holy See maintains is defective because it does not include the unauthorised bishops and does not have approval from Rome]; it denies the principle of independence, autonomy, and the self-direction [of the Church]", above all in the appointment of bishops.
In his letter published last June, Benedict XVI asked the Chinese authorities for religious freedom, especially in the appointment of bishops, because this "touches the very heart of the life of the Church", explaining that this responsibility is not a question of "a political authority, unduly asserting itself in the internal affairs of a State and offending against its sovereignty".
For Ye Xiaowen, "continuing to maintain the principles of independence, autonomy, and self-direction is the supreme interest of the Chinese nation".
The interview also dealt with other "political" topics, including the problem of Taiwan. "The Vatican", Ye asserts, "recognises the illegitimate power of Taiwan, and does not recognise the People's Republic of China as the only legitimate government". From this, he concludes that anyone who has "secret contact with the Vatican . . . lacks the sense of patriotism that a Chinese citizen should have".
Another hot topic is the canonisation of the Chinese martyrs in 2000, in which the Vatican, "in spite of our objections, carried out a 'canonisation' on our national holiday, proclaiming all of those missionaries judged as saints by the people of the countryside. Among these 'saints', some were shameless libertines, while others were guilty of horrendous crimes".
Various Chinese historians have explored the topic of missionary work in the 20th century, demonstrating the value of the presence of missionaries and correcting the accusations of the Maoist period, which Ye makes his own. Unfortunately, the government has banned the publication of these studies.
AsiaNews filed this report yesterday:
Beijing attacks the Pope,
who receives the gratitude of
the Tibetan government in exile
Dharamsala, Mar. 20 (AsiaNews) - The Chinese reaction to the appeal for peace in Tibetan issued yesterday by Benedict XVI is very harsh: "So-called tolerance", says the spokesman of the foreign ministry, "cannot be extended to criminals, who must be punished according to the law".
But enormous appreciation and "true gratitude" for the words of the pontiff have been expressed to AsiaNews by the prime minister of the Tibetan government in exile. The Pope, says Samdhong Rinpoche, "has voiced our suffering to the world, and we are grateful to him for this".
The Tibetan premier, from the government's headquarters in Dharamsala, takes up the accusations issued against the Dalai Lama by Chinese prime minister Wen Jiabao: "We have nothing to respond to these accusations, it is the words of the Chinese authorities. All the allegations are baseless and false, apart from that, we cannot and will not respond in their language".
Rinpoche meets with the Dalai Lama every day: "He consoles us in our sufferings, and he reminds us that inner peace is the foundation of outer peace. We are grateful for his constant appeal to non-violence, and we are saddened to see that his words go unheard".
On the other hand, a Tibetan source explains to AsiaNews, "the Chinese government completely censors the voice of the Dalai Lama in his country: for this reason, his repeated appeals for non-violence and peace in Lhasa have gone unheard. But in this way, there is the risk of a very dangerous deterioration: Beijing must understand that the Buddhist leader is the best agent possible to make the violence stop".
In the region, our source continues, "the Dalai Lama is heard only when he prays: we do not know what he says, what he thinks, and for this reason many of us are convinced that the anti-Chinese uprising is just, whatever the cost might be. Instead, we are discovering that our spiritual leader is saddened to see what is happening in our land. Without the Chinese attitude of persecution, many problems would have been resolved long ago".
[
General news coverage of the Tibet situation and the Dalai Lama is posted on the threads on CULTURE & POLITICS... and NOTABLES.]
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Small but significant steps
warm relations between Cuba
and the Roman Catholic Church
By KATHERINE CORCORAN
HAVANA, Mar. 21 (AP) -- Pope Benedict XVI donated the collection from a Holy Thursday Mass to a Cuban orphanage -- a gesture seen here as a sign the Roman Catholic Church wants to be a key moral force in Cuba's future.
On the heels of a historic leadership change and a high-level diplomatic visit from the Vatican, Benedict's nod to Cuba is the latest example of how the church and this communist government have taken small, quiet steps toward healing a once-adversarial relationship.
"It shows that the Pope is in tune with Cuba and understands where it is going ... and that the visit and declarations of (Cardinal Tarcisio) Bertone were more than just diplomacy,'' said Aurelio Alonso, a Cuban academic who studies the church's influence. "It was an important gesture at a very important moment in time.''
While the church needs government permission to expand its social and educational role, the Cuban government sees it as a moral compass amid drifting values and a search for a national identity, church observers say. And good relations with the Church help rehabilitate Cuba's image worldwide.
Discussions between Bertone, the Vatican's secretary of state, and new president Raul Castro last month touched on political prisoners in Cuba and Cubans jailed for spying in the United States. Bertone also publicly reiterated the Vatican's long-held position that the U.S. embargo against Cuba is "ethically unacceptable.''
"In my opinion, the church wants to exercise its role as a mediator'' between Cuba and the outside world, said Enrique Lopez Oliva, a representative in Cuba of the Commission for the Study of the History of the Church in Latin America.
"The issue of prisoners is already on the table. And I have no doubt that the Pope will bring up the issue of Cuba with President Bush in April when he visits Washington.''
Cuban church officials dismissed any political significance in the pope's donation to the Golden Age orphanage in Havana, noting that it's something the Pope does every Holy Week, choosing a different country each time.
But they agreed that the Cuban church's relationship with the government is improving, and that Bertone's visit helped.
"The communication is more fluid,'' said Archbishop Dionisio Garcia in the eastern city of Santiago.
The Church is seeking official status, specifically unlimited access to news media and the reopening of Catholic schools, which were expropriated after the revolution nearly 50 years ago.