Hong Kong Prelate: China to Halt Illicit Ordinations
Sees Positive Changes Under Way

SEOUL, South Korea, JULY 26, 2006 (Zenit.org).- Hong Kong's auxiliary bishop says that the Chinese government intends to stop illicit episcopal ordinations, which have drawn the condemnation of the Holy See.

At a seminar last Thursday on ecumenism, organized by the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity in Seoul, South Korea, Bishop John Tong Hon referred to the issue of the designation of Chinese bishops. He stated that the Beijing government "will stop illicit ordinations," reported AsiaNews.

Bishop Tong, 66, added that "positive changes are already evident in relations between the official and unofficial Church in China."

To date, the Chinese government has allowed religious practice in the country only with recognized personnel and in places registered with the Religious Affairs Office and under the control of the Patriotic Association, whose statute envisions the establishment of a national church split from the Holy See.

Last spring, two illicit episcopal ordinations took place without papal consent, at the insistence of the Patriotic Association. The event represented "a grave wound to the unity of the Church," said Vatican spokesman Joaquيn Navarro Valls at the time.

At the end of May, Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun, bishop of Hong Kong, already mentioned the Beijing government's intention to stop episcopal ordinations that did not have the Pope's consent.

In recent statements, the auxiliary bishop of Hong Kong observed that "The Chinese government wants dialogue with the Holy See, so it will have no more illegitimate ordinations."

And he commented on the international press' coverage of the topic during those weeks: "This kind of information can exert positive pressure on the Communist government. The media can play an important role."