China cracks down on Shanghai's
new auxiliary bishop for saying
he will no longer work for the PA
by Gerard O'Connell
July 9, 2012
Map shows location of Shanghai, and of Harbin in northeast China, where an illegal episcopal ordination took place July 6. Left panel, top photo: Bishop Ma after his Vatican-approved consecration on July 7; bottom photo, Shanghai's government-appointed bishop, Mons. Aloysius Jin, 96, who was legitimized by the Vatican several years ago, presided at the ordination.
Chinese authorities have retaliated against and punished the new auxiliary bishop of Shanghai, Thaddeus Ma Daqin, hours after he declared publicly, during his ordination homily on Saturday, July 7, that he would no longer hold any position in the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association (CCPA).
On Saturday afternoon, unidentified men came and took Bishop Ma away to an unknown destination, UCA News and other agencies reported. Asianews said the unidentified men were “religious officials.” On Saturday evening, the Hong Kong media reported that Bishop Ma was “missing”.
But the next day, Sunday, July 8, the bishop re-appeared in the seminary at Sheshan, on the outskirts of Shanghai, where he was said to be “resting”. The seminary is next to the famous Marian Shrine, but the priests there were reluctant to take any telephone calls that were not local, and a source said that policemen are stationed at the seminary.
“He has freedom of movement there but Chinese authorities have restricted him from exercising his Episcopal ministry”, UCA News reported. It is not clear however what kind of “freedom of movement” he actually has, or what are the restrictions placed on his ministry and for how long these will remain in force.
On Sunday evening, the priests and nuns of the Shanghai diocese received a text message said to be from Bishop Ma in which he told them that he felt “mentally and physically exhausted” after his ordination, UCA News reported.
“I need a break and have made a personal retreat. With the consent of Bishop Jin [Luxian], I am at the side of Our Lady of Sheshan,” the message said.
The 96-year old Jesuit Bishop Aloysius Jin Luxian, who heads the ‘open’ Church community in this megalopolis of 23 million people and is in communion with the Pope, was the main celebrant at Mons. Ma's consecration in Shanghai's St Ignatius Cathedral, at which five other bishops – four of them recognized by the Holy See - participated.
Bishop Jin was the first to lay hands on the man who is destined to succeed him. He was assisted by Bishop Joseph Xu Honggen (Suzhou) and Joseph Shen Bin (Haimen), who also laid hands on him.
Three other bishops were present at the ceremony - Joseph Cai Bingrui (Xiamen), John Baptist Li Suguang (Nanchang), and the illicitly ordained Vincent Zhan Silu (Mindong), but significantly they did not lay hands on Ma, UCA News reported.
This seems to have been the result of a compromise reached earlier, because before the event, many Catholics were concerned that Bishop Zhan would take part in the episcopal ordination. By not doing so, he avoided creating problems and embarrassment for the Catholic community.
UCA News also reported that most of the 86 priests of Shanghai’s “open’ Church community avoided being present at the celebration with the illicit bishop. Indeed, only 30 priests concelebrated the Mass and of these, only 12 were from the diocese. Bishop Ma referred to this in his speech when he said.
“Because of special reasons, many diocesan priests and nuns did not come here," the new bishop said in his homily. "I love you so much. You are my strength”.
The CCPA was created by the Beijing Government in the late 1950s to control the Catholic Church in the mainland, but Benedict XVI stated clearly in his 2007 letter to Catholics in China that this association is “incompatible” with Catholic doctrine.
At the time of his ordination, Ma was vice-Chairman of the Shanghai CCPA and a member of the national standing committee of the CCPA. At the ordination ceremony, however, he did what no other ‘open’ Church community bishop ever did before in China.
He told the congregation: “After today’s ordination, I will devote every effort to Episcopal ministry. It is inconvenient for me to serve the CCPA post anymore.”
The thousand or so Catholics present at the ceremony broke into long and thunderous applause at his announcement, but sources told UCA News that government officials present were most unhappy.
In their eyes, Ma is setting a dangerous precedent by distancing himself from the CCPA, a precedent others might follow, and one which could effectively undermine the association’s role and authority over the Catholic Church in the mainland.
These officials left the ceremony “looking very serious”, according to the sources. Breaking with tradition, they did not attend the official banquet for the new bishop - the three tables assigned to them were left empty. It was a warning that retaliation was on the horizon.
Bishop Ma was scheduled to celebrate Mass in the Cathedral on Sunday morning, July 8, but the Chinese authorities prevented from doing this. His absence caused considerable grief at the Sunday Mass. Father Joseph Gu Zhangjun presided at the Mass in his place but he was “visibly upset”, a source told UCA News. So too were the hundreds of Catholics who packed the Cathedral to attend the new bishop's first Mass after his consecration.
A Shanghai priest told the news agency that Bishop Ma is now having a rough time. “It is painful, but it is good for the conscience of the Church in China. His witness is an encouragement for our Catholics, so we can only pray for him”, he said.
Anthony Lam Sui-ki, senior researcher at Hong Kong diocese’s Holy Spirit Study Centre (the leading information centre on the Church in China, which is headed by Cardinal John Tong Hon), told UCA News that the ordination of a bishop is usually a joyous occasion in the Church, but the Chinese government had on this occasions openly assaulted the Church with “fierce and barbarous” acts. He condemned the Government’s interference in Bishop Ma’s civil rights to participate in religious activities.
Catholics across mainland China, who are aware of what happened in Shanghai, are praying for Bishop Ma today, the feast of the Chinese martyrs.
Vatican statement
on Harbin and Shanghai
episcopal ordinations
July 10, 2012
The Vatican today issued the following statement on the episcopal ordinations in Harbin and Shanghai:
With regard to the episcopal ordination of the Reverend Joseph Yue Fusheng, which took place in Harbin (Province of Heilongjiang) on Friday 6 July 2012, the following is stated:
1) The Reverend Joseph Yue Fusheng, ordained without pontifical mandate and hence illicitly, has automatically incurred the sanctions laid down by canon 1382 of the Code of Canon Law. Consequently, the Holy See does not recognize him as Bishop of the Apostolic Administration of Harbin, and he lacks the authority to govern the priests and the Catholic community in the Province of Heilongjiang.
The Reverend Yue Fusheng had been informed some time ago that he could not be approved by the Holy See as an episcopal candidate, and on several occasions he had been asked not to accept episcopal ordination without the pontifical mandate.
2) The Bishops who took part in the illicit episcopal ordination and have exposed themselves to the sanctions laid down by the law of the Church, must give an account to the Holy See of their participation in that religious ceremony.
3) Appreciation is due to those priests, consecrated persons and lay faithful who prayed and fasted for a change of heart in the Reverend Yue Fusheng, for the holiness of the Bishops, and for the unity of the Church in China, particularly in the Apostolic Administration of Harbin.
4) All Catholics in China, Pastors, priests, consecrated persons and lay faithful, are called to defend and safeguard that which pertains to the doctrine and tradition of the Church. Even amid the present difficulties, they look to the future with faith, comforted by the certainty that the Church is founded on the rock of Peter and his Successors.
5) The Apostolic See, trusting in the concrete willingness of the Government Authorities of China to dialogue with the Holy See, hopes that the said Authorities will not encourage gestures contrary to such dialogue.
Chinese Catholics also wish to see practical steps taken in this direction, the first among which is the avoidance of illicit celebrations and episcopal ordinations without pontifical mandate that cause division and bring suffering to the Catholic communities in China and the universal Church.
The ordination of the Reverend Thaddeus Ma Daqin as Auxiliary Bishop of the Diocese of Shanghai on Saturday 7 July 2012 is encouraging and is to be welcomed. The presence of a bishop who is not in communion with the Holy Father was inappropriate and shows a lack of consideration for a lawful episcopal ordination.
[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 10/07/2012 19:18]