Bishop in China praises latest papal document

It will help them unite behind a Pope determined to speak to them despite the regime's continuing efforts to silence his voice.

HONG KONG (Aid to the Church in Need) - Hong Kong's new bishop has hailed a Vatican document addressed to Chinese Catholics saying it will help them to reconcile their differences and unite behind a Pope determined to speak to them despite the regime's continuing efforts to silence his voice.

In a special report sent exclusively to Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), Bishop John Tong Hon told how the Holy See's 'Compendium' explanatory notes following Benedict XVI's May 2007 letter to China would prove popular with the Chinese faithful "impressed by the Holy See's concern and close attention" towards them.

In his report sent to ACN earlier this week, Bishop Tong, who officially took over from Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun as Bishop of Hong Kong in April, made clear that that the compendium had come in response to attempts by the communist authorities to block the circulation of the Pope's 2007 letter. Describing how the regime's anti-papal Catholic Patriotic Association (CPA) had "suppressed" the 2007 letter, the bishop went on to highlight how its success was further hampered by deliberate misrepresentation of its contents.

Noting that the regime had banned internet access to the letter in China, Bishop Tong said, "Almost anywhere else in the world, Catholics can openly organize a meeting to study a papal document but in China this is still hard to do. Besides, some people selected what they wanted to read in the letter and emphasized only those sections."

Released on May 24th, the compendium uses a question and answer format, which Bishop Tong stated would be attractive to Chinese Catholics. In his ACN report, Bishop Tong wrote: "The question and answer genre can help us to understand the general content [of the 2007 letter] better. This format has been used for a long time in China to systematically present Catholic catechetics."

Bishop Tong, who was on a special commission which helped draft suggestions for inclusion in the compendium, explained that the document "captures the spirit and essence" of the 2007 letter, which was aimed at encouraging closer unity among Chinese Catholics. The bishop underlined that since the 2007 letter there had been huge strides towards reconciliation between the state-recognized 'Official,' or 'Open,' Catholic Church and the 'Underground' Catholic Church, which refuses regulation by the regime.

In his report to ACN, Bishop Tong highlighted how in the compendium the Pope compares reconciliation to a journey which "cannot be accomplished overnight." The bishop went on to emphasize that the steps towards closer unity are necessary and urgent, underlining the need for "exchange of experiences, sharing of pastoral projects, common initiatives, etc."

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The Bishop Tong report noted the compendium's willingness to allow local churches to accept state recognition "on condition that this does not entail the denial of unrenounceable principles of faith and of ecclesiastical communion." Commenting on these points, Bishop Tong wrote to ACN: "There have been cases where the 'Underground' church emerged into the open too suddenly....After the 'Underground' leaders received government recognition, this premature structural unity between 'Open' and 'Underground' Catholics led to more divisions among Catholics."

Bishop Tong maintained these difficulties should not be used as an excuse to do nothing. He wrote: "Chinese Catholics need to take steps gradually, to contact each other, pray together, dialogue and cooperate step by step, as the Holy Father expects."

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Aid to the Church in Need" is an international pastoral aid organization of the Catholic Church, which yearly offers financial support to between 5,000 and 6,000 projects worldwide. ACN helps the poor and persecuted churches with prayer, pastoral relief and material assistance.Following a 1984 decree of the Vatican Congregation for the Clergy, "Aid to the Church in Need" is recognized by the Catholic Church as a "universal public association of faithful".