Hong Kong Cardinal Joseph Zen (陳日君) has assailed China's ordination of bishops without papal approval, warning that the Vatican faced "crucial moments" as it seeks normalization with the communist government while protecting the interests of its Chinese faithful.
"I heard of recent arrests ... the situation is still dangerous and confused," the cardinal, an outspoken champion of religious liberty, said in an interview on Wednesday.
While a Vatican delegation is now in Vietnam discussing the possibility of diplomatic ties, Zen was cautious about such prospects with China.
"I see signs of improvement for Vietnam, but for China we are in crucial moments. I would say we can hope for better, but there are also dangers," the prelate said.
Zen is in Rome for periodic talks just weeks before Pope Benedict XVI is expected to send a message to Chinese Catholics on the state of the Church in their country.
"Knowing the Holy Father, I expect the letter to be clear in the ideas and very warm in the way of saying it," Zen said.
Beijing's ties with the Vatican were broken in 1951 after the communists took power. Worship is only allowed in government-controlled churches but as many as 12 million Catholics are estimated to belong to unofficial congregations loyal to Rome.
Some nominations of bishops have been tacitly agreed upon, but the state-sanctioned Chinese Patriotic Church unilaterally went ahead and appointed three bishops on its own last year, raising Vatican anger. Zen called the appointments "very serious wounds in the unity of the Church."
"If there is a reason for less optimism, I think you have those facts of the illegitimate ordinations, which are very serious," Zen said.
Human rights groups also periodically report roundups and disappearances of priests loyal to Rome.
Benedict's decision to address Chinese Catholics came out of high-level talks on China at the Vatican in January in which Zen took part.
The general outlines of the pope's letter could be seen in the Vatican statement following the meeting.
It spoke of its interest in pursuing "respectful and constructive dialogue" with the government while paying tribute to those Catholics who have suffered for their loyalty to the pope.
While there has been talk at the Vatican about a possible papal visit to China before the Beijing Olympics next year, Zen expressed skepticism.
"With a normalization, a visit by the pope would be a natural outcome, but without a guarantee of normalization, an eventual visit would mean nothing to me," the cardinal said.
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