| International News

Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun, 74, became the second Hong Kong bishop to receive the red hat. His predecessor, the late Cardinal John Baptist Wu Cheng-chung, was elevated to that rank on June 28, 1988.

Cardinal Zen arrived in Rome on March 22 with his five siblings and relatives, along with part of the Hong Kong delegation. He came several days before the consistory so as to join Pope Benedict XVI, other cardinals and the cardinals-elect on March 23 at a "meeting for prayer and reflection."

The Shanghai-born prelate told UCA News he felt he was "returning home" when he landed in Rome, and he is happy to have family members attend the ceremony.

His eldest sister, Mary, and younger sister, Maria, told UCA News on March 22 their brother's elevation shows the church recognizes his work and mission.

The size of the Hong Kong delegation, now 141 persons, is six times larger than that of Cardinal Wu in 1988. About 20 Catholics went on the occasion.

Vicar General Father Dominic Chan Chi-ming of Hong Kong, who leads the Hong Kong group, told UCA News that the difference is partly because Cardinal Wu preferred a low-profile celebration and discouraged a big delegation.

Father Chan explained that Cardinal Zen is "more of a high profile image," and that he accepted a proposal by the diocesan curia to organize the delegation so as to express the support of Hong Kong Catholics and to show the participation of the local church in the universal church event.

The Hong Kong Catholics, including diocesan priests, came on their own and paid their own way, Father Chan added. With so many away, Auxiliary Bishop John Tong Hon stayed in Hong Kong to attend to diocesan matters.

According to Father Chan, the creation of Hong Kong's second cardinal at this time highlights the role of the diocese as a bridge church, and recognizes its maturity and development, as well as the bishop's leadership.

Father Chan elaborated that Hong Kong's political climate and social conditions are quite changed from those of 1988, and the diocese is now more developed and better organized. He pointed out that when Cardinal Wu received the red hat, the political climate affected the role of the local diocese.

At that time, Hong Kong was facing the reversion of the territory to China's sovereignty, he said, but today's focus is on social justice.

The vicar general also noted that Hong Kong Diocese assumed the role of a bridge church soon after the Sino-British Joint Declaration on the reversion of sovereignty in 1997 was signed.

Cardinal Zen's outspoken calls for social justices, as well as his care for the poor and marginalized, have gained recognition from the public and the church, he added, even if not all Catholics and people in Hong Kong support his view. "It is normal to have different opinions," Father Chan said.

People from beyond Hong Kong also came to show their appreciation for Cardinal Zen's strong public support for justice.

A laywoman from Taipei told UCA News she will attend the consistory because she admires his courage and outspokenness in the struggle for social justice. "I am proud of him as a cardinal for all Chinese Catholics," she said.

Bishop Bosco Lin Chi-nan of Tainan in southern Taiwan is leading the dozen or so Catholics in the Taiwan delegation.

Father Joseph Yim Tak-lung, a Hong Kong diocesan priest studying in Rome, told UCA News he has handed out 100 tickets to Chinese students studying in Rome, plus 130 to Hong Kong delegates, 10 tickets to people from Taiwan, 50 to Catholics from Canada, 25 from the United States and 10 from elsewhere in Europe. About 20 reporters from Hong Kong also are present for the event.

Some mainland Chinese Catholics earlier told UCA News they tried to go to Rome for the consistory but failed. They could not complete visa procedures at the Italian Embassy, which requires an invitation letter from the organizer and other documents. Also, tours to Europe usually spend only a half-day in the Vatican and do not stay in Rome overnight, they said.

The disappointed mainlanders said they would try to go to Hong Kong to attend the first Mass Cardinal Zen is to celebrate there on March 30.

Meanwhile, a Salesian priest from Hong Kong, another from Macau and three more from Taiwan are joining one of three tours of the Hong Kong delegation that went to Turin, the place where the Salesians began and Cardinal Zen was ordained, according to Father Savio Hon, provincial of the China Province.

"We are happy to celebrate our brother's elevation as a cardinal at this time while we are commemorating the centenary of the arrival of Salesians in China," Father Hon told UCA News.