China: Anti-Christian persecution intensifies

Cardinal Zen

China’s government has stepped up its persecution of the country’s Christians, according to a leading Chinese prelate. In an interview with Aid to the Church in Need, Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun, former bishop of Hong Kong, criticised the government’s recent actions towards members of the country’s growing Christian churches.

He said: “The Chinese government has intensified the persecution recently. We have seen demolished churches, crosses taken away from the buildings, therefore there’s not much we can hope for immediately. The Church is still enslaved to the government.”

In May 2014, 23 churches in Wenzhou city were served with demolition orders and according to reports more than 300 crosses have been removed from religious sites.

Addressing speculations that Pope Francis might visit China, which were raised during the pontiff’s visit to South Korea in August, Cardinal Zen stated that this is not the right time for a papal visit to China. He said: “If asked about it, I’ll strongly recommend him not to go, because the current circumstances are not the right ones.”

According to the cardinal, the Chinese government has made no effort to improve the Church’s situation or the relationship with the Vatican – and warned a papal trip could end up being manipulated by Beijing. “They won’t let the Pope meet the people he would like to meet and they will try to force Francis to meet the people they want him to meet. The only outcome of such a visit will be good people suffering and the Pope’s good will being misused.”

The eighty-two-year old bishop added there would not be any real improvements until the Chinese government changed its religious policies. He said: “The Holy Father is conscious of the situation, he is patient and ready to work hard to improve the relationship and the situation of the Chinese Church, but he is also aware that the path can be long.”

The cardinal also talked to Aid to the Church in Need about the current situation in Hong Kong, where protests against China’s plans to change Hong Kong’s voting system for the 2017 elections are still ongoing.

Protests started when it appeared the Beijing government would vet candidates for the post of Hong Kong’s Chief Executive. Cardinal Zen even marched on the streets alongside students who started the peaceful occupation of the city’s financial district.

But he criticised student leaders: “We should stay united as we were at the start of the protest, but the students’ leaders began to run on their own without listening to us.”

The Cardinal said: “We cannot expect to win immediately but as long as we have freedom of speech, we should keep fighting, even though victory is not close.”

He ended his interview with Aid to the Church in Need humorously, saying: “When I’m back in Hong Kong, I might hand myself over to the police for having committed an act of civil disobedience. Hopefully they’ll jail me for a few days, so I'll have time to pray for all of you.”

Source: ACN