Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun, the Bishop of Hong Kong and fearless voice of the suffering Church in China, has spoken of the oppression faced by millions of Catholics in China, a daily reality that belies the more familiar image of a country on an unstoppable march towards becoming the world's largest economic power.
Cardinal Zen surprised listeners Friday when he conveyed an optimistic outlook on relations between the state-sanctioned China Catholic Patriotic Association (CCPA), which remains under the control of the Chinese government, and the Underground Church, which remains loyal to the Holy See.
"The Church in China is fundamentally one," said Cardinal Zen. "They're separate ... but just in front of the policies of the government."
