Hong Kong cardinal says papal letter to China has no secret agenda

Published: 2007-07-02

HONG KONG (CNS) -- Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun of Hong Kong said the pope's letter to Chinese Catholics does not have a secret political agenda. "The doctrine painstakingly explained by (Pope) Benedict XVI is nothing but the most traditional and universally accepted Catholic principles, belonging to the religious field, with no secret political agenda, even less with an intention of attacking anybody," Cardinal Zen said in a statement June 30, the date the papal letter was made public. The cardinal expressed hope that Chinese leaders "would read the pope's letter from this perspective and understand the true, unchangeable nature of the Catholic Church." "The voice of our bishops and priests in China is often prevented from reaching our leaders; now that the letter of the pope is in the hands of our leaders, our bishops and priests can thus refer to it directly as a common starting point for dialogue," he said. Cardinal Zen said he hoped that China's bishops and priests "stand united with the Holy Father."

Copyright (c) 2007 Catholic News Service /U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The CNS news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed, including but not limited to such means as framing or any other digital copying or distribution method, in whole or in part without the prior written authority of Catholic News Service .