On the edges at a conference organized at Terra Sancta college by the Studium Theologicum Salesanium for the Year of Saint Paul, Cardinal Zen, Archbishop of Hong Kong, granted us an interview of a few minutes. The Christianity of China has a point in common with the Christianity of the Holy Land. Each represents 1.5% of the population, but for the 200,000 Christians here, there are 25 million there.
Eminence, is this the first time that you have come to the Holy Land?
No, it is not the first time, but the third. But the two previous times were more than 10 years ago.
And what is your feeling here?
It is, I suppose, the same as all the believers of the world, joy and emotion at treading the land of Jesus.
Yesterday you said that you are here representing the entire Chinese people?
Yes, because only few of them can come, and especially to this kind of ceremony, so special because of the place where it is celebrated. It is a unique opportunity to commemorate the baptism of Christ where it took place.
What is it like for the Christians in China?
So far, there is no real liberty for the Church in China. Of course some churches are open where people can go and pray, but the government of the church, the leadership, is not in the hands of the bishops. This is truly sad and does not correspond to the Constitutions of the Church. The Holy Father wrote this in his letter to the Church in China [1]. We hope that the leaders of the Nations will understand that the liberty of the church is not only an advantage for the church, but also for the States themselves.
They say there are 10 million Christians in China; does this number approach reality?
I don’t know exactly, and no one can know exactly [2] . What is certain is that the number is far higher than the number that the Chinese authorities continue to put forward, that is, 5 million Catholics. (Editor’s note: According to an authoritative source, there are around 10 million Catholics, to which should be added (at least) 15 million Protestants.)
What does the Holy Land represent for Chinese Christians?
Again, The same thing as to all believers in the world. I hope that one day our faithful will be able to come here freely.
Do you have a message for that other minority, the Christians of the Holy Land?
Yes. We are minorities together, but we have the good fortune that the Word of God was equally revealed to us. This is our treasure, our privilege. And we must be ready to suffer, as Christ himself suffered.
What can the Christians of the Holy Land do for the Christians of China?
Minority to minority, our responsibility is to pray for each other. That is the best thing we can do.
MAB
The Chinese in the Holy Land
For the last two years, Chinese tourism has seen a singular increase in the Holy Land. Thousands of Chinese come every year to visit the country and there are not enough guides who speak Guānhuà (Mandarin) or one of the seven most-spoken languages in China. (Cardinal Zen speaks three of them.)
These tourists are not only Christians. Although a handful of Jews lived in China (they say about 600 families divided among Kaifeng, Canton and Shanghai), this tourism is promoted more than anything else by the “twinning” agreement between Shanghai (13 million inhabitants) and Haifa, of which the two cities are celebrating the 15th anniversary this year.
Political relations between the People’s Republic of China and the State of Israel date to 1992. But they are improving from year to year, the two states finding different but certain interests therein.
The Custody’s site in Chinese Time
The Custody’s site statistics, in place for eight months, show that it has already been visited from China, Taiwan and Hong Kong.
But for the Christians of China who cannot yet come, the Custody is preparing a translation of the site into Chinese. It is in progress.
According to an authoritative source, it is unlikely that the site will be blocked by the Chinese authorities, as has happened for some international portals. At worst, like the Vatican site, it will be online on alternate days.
The Chinese like the Internet and they make communal use of it. An article that pleases is conscientiously copied for maximum diffusion.
Franciscan in Taïwan, website in Chinese
[1] "In recent years, for various reasons, you, my Brother Bishops, have encountered difficulties, since persons who are not "ordained", and sometimes not even baptized, control and take decisions concerning important ecclesial questions, including the appointment of Bishops, in the name of various State agencies…" Benedict XVI in his Letter to the Christians of China. Full text on the Vatican site
[2] There is only one church in China, but it has two faces: the official church, whose members are registered, and the underground church, which avoids any statistics. In his letter, the Holy Father pleaded for the reconciliation of these two churches and for priority to be given to working together. There was no call for the Christians of the underground church to declare themselves.
Eminence, is this the first time that you have come to the Holy Land?
No, it is not the first time, but the third. But the two previous times were more than 10 years ago.
And what is your feeling here?
It is, I suppose, the same as all the believers of the world, joy and emotion at treading the land of Jesus.
Yesterday you said that you are here representing the entire Chinese people?
Yes, because only few of them can come, and especially to this kind of ceremony, so special because of the place where it is celebrated. It is a unique opportunity to commemorate the baptism of Christ where it took place.
What is it like for the Christians in China?
So far, there is no real liberty for the Church in China. Of course some churches are open where people can go and pray, but the government of the church, the leadership, is not in the hands of the bishops. This is truly sad and does not correspond to the Constitutions of the Church. The Holy Father wrote this in his letter to the Church in China [1]. We hope that the leaders of the Nations will understand that the liberty of the church is not only an advantage for the church, but also for the States themselves.
They say there are 10 million Christians in China; does this number approach reality?
I don’t know exactly, and no one can know exactly [2] . What is certain is that the number is far higher than the number that the Chinese authorities continue to put forward, that is, 5 million Catholics. (Editor’s note: According to an authoritative source, there are around 10 million Catholics, to which should be added (at least) 15 million Protestants.)
What does the Holy Land represent for Chinese Christians?
Again, The same thing as to all believers in the world. I hope that one day our faithful will be able to come here freely.
Do you have a message for that other minority, the Christians of the Holy Land?
Yes. We are minorities together, but we have the good fortune that the Word of God was equally revealed to us. This is our treasure, our privilege. And we must be ready to suffer, as Christ himself suffered.
What can the Christians of the Holy Land do for the Christians of China?
Minority to minority, our responsibility is to pray for each other. That is the best thing we can do.
MAB
The Chinese in the Holy Land
For the last two years, Chinese tourism has seen a singular increase in the Holy Land. Thousands of Chinese come every year to visit the country and there are not enough guides who speak Guānhuà (Mandarin) or one of the seven most-spoken languages in China. (Cardinal Zen speaks three of them.)
These tourists are not only Christians. Although a handful of Jews lived in China (they say about 600 families divided among Kaifeng, Canton and Shanghai), this tourism is promoted more than anything else by the “twinning” agreement between Shanghai (13 million inhabitants) and Haifa, of which the two cities are celebrating the 15th anniversary this year.
Political relations between the People’s Republic of China and the State of Israel date to 1992. But they are improving from year to year, the two states finding different but certain interests therein.
The Custody’s site in Chinese Time
The Custody’s site statistics, in place for eight months, show that it has already been visited from China, Taiwan and Hong Kong.
But for the Christians of China who cannot yet come, the Custody is preparing a translation of the site into Chinese. It is in progress.
According to an authoritative source, it is unlikely that the site will be blocked by the Chinese authorities, as has happened for some international portals. At worst, like the Vatican site, it will be online on alternate days.
The Chinese like the Internet and they make communal use of it. An article that pleases is conscientiously copied for maximum diffusion.
Franciscan in Taïwan, website in Chinese
[1] "In recent years, for various reasons, you, my Brother Bishops, have encountered difficulties, since persons who are not "ordained", and sometimes not even baptized, control and take decisions concerning important ecclesial questions, including the appointment of Bishops, in the name of various State agencies…" Benedict XVI in his Letter to the Christians of China. Full text on the Vatican site
[2] There is only one church in China, but it has two faces: the official church, whose members are registered, and the underground church, which avoids any statistics. In his letter, the Holy Father pleaded for the reconciliation of these two churches and for priority to be given to working together. There was no call for the Christians of the underground church to declare themselves.