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The Russian Orthodox Church hopes for good cooperation with Chinese
Catholics under new bishop of Beijing
Moscow, July 27, Interfax - The Moscow Patriarchate says they are
ready to cooperate with the leadership of the Vatican-independent
Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association.
`I sincerely hope for furthering of good relationships between Chinese
Roman Catholics, Chinese Orthodox and the Russian Orthodox Church,'
the chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the
Moscow Patriarchate Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad
said in his letter to Joseph Li Shan, published on the Moscow
Patriarchate's official website on Friday.
According to Metropolitan Kirill, the two churches' priorities for
today are `affirming of Christian spiritual and moral values, helping
peaceful and prosperous coexistence of nations and harmonious
development of society.'
`Accept my cordial greetings on the occasion of your election to the
high ministry of Bishop of Beijing. I prayerfully wish you strength of
mind and body and God's help in your upcoming work,' the DECR head
wrote to the bishop of Beijing.
Joseph Li Shan was elected chairman of the Chinese Patriotic Catholic
Association on July 16. His predecessor Archbishop Fu Ti Shan of
Beijing, who for a time had been a deputy chair of the Chinese
National Assembly of People's Representatives, died in April 2007
being 76 years old.
A few days ago the Secretary of State of the Holy See Cardinal
Tarcizio Bertone said that the CCPA had elected `a very good and
convenient' person and he hoped the association would ask for papal
approval of the bishop elect. The experts say that his words are
evident of the Vatican's readiness to go rather far in seeking to find
a compromise with the Chinese government on the appointment of
Catholic bishops.
The Chinese authorities made local Catholic community break all
contacts with the Vatican in 1951 when Chinese laws banned all
religious bodies governed from abroad.
In the late July Pope Benedict XVI sent a letter to the Chinese
Catholics urging them to unite under the Holy See. He noted in the
same letter that the Vatican couldn't regard the council of bishops of
the CCPA as a canonical bishops' conference. The publication of the
letter on China-based websites was prohibited by the local authorities.
Millions of Chinese Catholics belong the outlawed Catholic Church in
canonical and administrative communion with the Holy See. Last month
one of their bishops, Jeng Din, was released after 17 days in custody.
Before that he had been detained eight times.