CHINA ORDAINS BISHOP AGAINST VATICAN'S WISHES,

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 HONG KONG 001817

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E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/02/2031
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PINR PREL HK CH VT
SUBJECT: CHINA ORDAINS BISHOP AGAINST VATICAN'S WISHES,
VATICAN-BEIJING TIES AT RISK


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Classified By: E/P Chief Simon Schuchat. Reasons: 1.4(b,d).


1. (C) Summary: On April 30, the Catholic Diocese of Kunming
ordained a new bishop at a ceremony organized by the
government-sanctioned Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association
(CCPA) and ignored appeals from the Holy See to postpone the
ordination ceremony of Father Ma Yinglin, who had not been
approved by the Holy See. The day before the ordination
ceremony, Cardinal Joseph Zen of the Hong Kong Catholic
Diocese urged Beijing to postpone the ceremony, saying it
would wreck ongoing talks between the Vatican and Beijing
over normalization of relations. In a break with previous
practice, the Holy See only received late notice of Ma's
election by the local diocese and had insufficient time to
investigate his suitability as a bishop. Our Catholic
contacts told us that the private view from the Vatican is
that Ma is too close to the PRC government and does not have
sufficient pastoral experience. Moreover, Ma's duties as a
delegate to the National People's Congress might create a
conflict of interest with his duties as a bishop. Cardinal
Zen said that the Vatican was expected to make a "very strong
reaction to underline the seriousness of the matter" soon.
The Holy See also expected the ordination of another bishop
without a papal mandate on May 3. End Summary.

Beijing Ignores Vatican Request to Delay Ordination
-------------- --------------


2. (C) On April 30, the Catholic Diocese of Kunming (Yunnan
Province) ordained a new bishop at a ceremony organized by
the government-sanctioned Chinese Catholic Patriotic
Association (CCPA) and ignored appeals from the Holy See to
postpone the ordination ceremony of Father Ma Yinglin. Ma's
consecration marks the first time since January 2000 that a
Chinese bishop had been appointed without the tacit approval
of the Holy See.


3. (C) The day before the ordination ceremony, Cardinal
Joseph Zen of the Hong Kong Catholic Diocese urged Beijing to
postpone Father Ma's ordination, saying it would wreck
ongoing talks between the Vatican and Beijing over
normalization of relations. In a statement faxed to the
Kunming diocese on April 29, Zen said, "the Holy See until
today has not approved Father Ma Yingling to accept episcopal
ministry. Therefore, the ordaining bishop and co-ordaining
bishops as well as Father Ma are requested to suspend the
ordination." Despite Zen's appeal, Father Ma was consecrated
in the presence of 1,000 guests, including CPPCA Vice
Chairman Liu Bainian on Sunday, April 30. Liu dismissed the
Holy See's appeals and reportedly stated, "The Vatican and
China don't have diplomatic relations so this (appointment of
Ma) is China's sovereign authority...The Vatican didn't
oppose this so we should keep moving forward." The PRC
Foreign Ministry issued a statement on the same day, saying,
"We hope the Vatican can respect the will of the Chinese
Church and the vast numbers of its priests and church members
so as to create a good atmosphere for the improvement of
Sino-Vatican ties."


4. (C) After Ma's consecration, Zen told the press on April
30, "I fear the move is quite serious as it makes for a lack
of confidence on both sides. Although negotiations have been
proceeding smoothly, they have gone and done something
against our expectations." On May 2, Papal Nuncio Eugene
Nugent told poloff that the repercussions for those attending
the ceremony were serious. By participating in the
ordination ceremony, Ma will be in de facto breach of
ecclesial communion and will automatically be excommunicated;
the ordaining bishop, Bishop Dong Guangqing of Hankou, in
Hubei province, may also be in breach of this rule.
According to a report by the "Union of Catholic Asian News"
(UCAN) on May 1, another eight bishops, recognized by both
Beijing and the Holy See, were also in attendance (Bishops
Anicetus Wang Chongyi of Guiyang, Fang Xingyao of Linyi,
Joseph Li Mingshu of Qingdao and Paul Su Yongda of Zhanjiang,
Coadjutor Bishops Yu Runchen of Hanzhong and Joseph Zhang
Xianwang of Jinan, and Auxiliary Bishops Peter Fang Jianping
of Tangshan and Paul He Zeqing of Wanzhou). In response to a
question by poloff about whether or not all of the bishops
attending Father Ma's ceremony would be excommunicated,
Nugent said that each bishop's case would be judged on a
case-by-case basis.


5. (C) Though the Patriotic Association claimed that Kunming
urgently needed a bishop and could not delay the ceremony,
Holy Spirit Study Center Senior Researcher Anthony Lam said
that the Kunming diocese had effectively not had a bishop in

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twenty five years and could see no reason why Beijing could
not have postponed the ceremony.

Beijing Breaks Unofficial Bishop Appointment Process
-------------- --------------


6. (C) One of the two obstacles to an improvement of
Vatican-PRC relations has been how to handle the appointment
of bishops. Over the past 3-4 years, both sides appeared to
have come to an unofficial understanding of how to handle the
appointment of bishops. Lam explained that there actually
two levels of understanding. The first level involved the
Holy See and the Beijing Government; both sides agreed that
neither side would do anything considered unacceptable by the
other side. And regarding the consecrations of bishops, both
sides would be given an opportunity to approve the candidate.
The second level of understanding was between the local
diocese and the Holy See. The local diocese must seek
approval by the Holy See for bishop candidates and could not
"self-elect and self-appoint" a bishop. Local diocese
understood that a bishop without the papal mandate, or a
"green light" from the Holy See, would not be able to carry
out his pastoral duties, said Lam.


7. (C) Nugent told us that under previous practice, China
would notify the Holy See of the election of a bishop and the
Vatican would normally spend several months investigating the
background of that individual. This would normally include
writing to people familiar with the candidate and soliciting
their opinions. However, in the case of Father Ma, who was
elected by the Kunming Diocese on January 21, Nugent only
received official notification of Ma's election in early
March and received word of the April 30 ordination ceremony
only 2-3 weeks ago. With such a short turnaround, Nugent
even solicited responses by fax, a communication method he
deemed "risky." According to Lam, the Holy See asked Ma to
postpone the ceremony, because they had not had enough time
to determine his suitability as a bishop. Lam acknowledged
that Ma may have been under some pressure by the CPPCA who
may have insisted on rushing the consecration ceremony.

A Conflict of Interest
--------------


8. (C) On April 30, Nugent told Consul General Cunningham
that while the public line is that the Vatican simply wanted
more time to consider Ma's appointment, the private view from
the Vatican is that Ma is too close to the PRC government and
does not have sufficient pastoral experience. Nugent also
told poloff on May 2 that the most serious concern regarding
Ma is the fact that he is a delegate to the National People's
Congress (NPC). This creates a conflict of interest between
his duties as a bishop and goes against canon law. Nugent
added, that Ma was "avid for power" and might be in line for
the bishop's job in Beijing.


9. (C) There has been speculation in the press that some
bishops had been misled into attending Father Ma's ordination
ceremony, believing that he had received papal approval.
However, Nugent said it was quite "easy" for church leaders
to determine whether someone had a papal mandate. Even if
they had been misled into traveling to Kunming, each bishop
should have asked to see Father Ma's proof of papal blessing,
a letter written in Latin by Nugent, stating the Holy See's
approval of the individual.

Impact on Vatican-Beijing Relations
--------------


10. (C) Lam told us that Ma's consecration would likely slow
down the process of establishing relations between the
Vatican and Beijing. Nugent said he regarded the ordination
of Ma without papal approval as a "very unfriendly gesture."
Cardinal Zen told the "South China Morning Post" that the
Vatican was expected to make a "very strong reaction to
underline the seriousness of the matter"
soon.


11. (C) Nugent warned that there would be another ordination
of a bishop, without papal mandate, at 8:30 am on May 3.
Father Liu Xinhong of Wuhu city, in Anhui province was a
"good fellow" but was also close to the PRC government, said
Nugent. Father Liu was not as "problematic" a candidate as
Father Ma, but there were "issues about his past" which might
prevent Holy See approval. With insufficient time to conduct
a proper check on Father Liu, Nugent said he planned to issue
a statement to the bishops of the region, warning them not to

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attend tomorrow's ordination ceremony.

Biographic Information on Father Ma
--------------


12. (C) Father Ma was born in 1965 and graduated from Hebei
Seminary and Sheshan Regional Seminary in Shanghai in the
1980s. In 1989, he was ordained a priest of Xingtai diocese.
Since 1998, Ma has been Secretary General of the Bishops'
Conference of the Catholic Church in China. According to
UCAN, he was designated a priest of Kunming diocese two years
ago, but has mostly staying in Beijing. He was elected
chairman of Yunnan province's CPPCA in 2005 and was also
appointed a deputy to the NPC.
Cunningham