Hong Kong bishop calls ordinations 'breakthrough' in Chinese affairs

Published: 2005-10-21

ROME (CNS) -- The recent ordinations of Chinese bishops with the explicit approval of both the Vatican and Beijing were "a breakthrough" in relations between the two sides, said a Hong Kong bishop. Although officially China and the Vatican have no diplomatic ties, the recent ordinations of at least two Chinese bishops represent signs that things "are moving," said Hong Kong Bishop Joseph Zen Ze-kiun. Bishop Paul He Zeqing's ordination was the most recent; he was consecrated auxiliary bishop of Wanxian Oct. 18. According to AsiaNews, an Italian missionary news agency, Bishop He was the third bishop to have been consecrated with Vatican approval into the official or government-supported church in China in a public ceremony. The Wanxian bishop told people attending the ceremony that the ordination was taking place with the approval of the Vatican, the Rome-based news agency said Oct. 19. Bishop Zen, who was in Rome attending the Oct. 2-23 Synod of Bishops on the Eucharist, told Catholic News Service Oct. 21 that the last two ordinations have been unique in that the government did not pressure the church leaders to keep the Vatican's approval a secret, "so I think this is a breakthrough."

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