BISHOP ZEN ELEVATED TO CARDINAL

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 HONG KONG 000755

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E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/23/2031
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SUBJECT: BISHOP ZEN ELEVATED TO CARDINAL

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


1. (C) Summary and Comment: On February 22, Pope Benedict XVI
named 15 new cardinals, among them Bishop Joseph Zen Ze-kiun,
head of the Hong Kong Catholic Diocese, and an outspoken
defender of religious freedom on the mainland as well as a
leading figure in the democracy movement in Hong Kong. Zen
told reporters that his elevation signaled the Pope's
"goodwill and love for the whole of China." As cardinal, Zen
will be one of Pope Benedict's most senior advisors on policy
towards China. The official reaction from China has been
muted so far, with one official stating that China would
benefit from a new cardinal. Comment: Some analysts have
speculated that because of Beijing's distrust of Zen, his
appointment might serve as an obstacle to a resumption of
dialogue between Beijing and the Holy See, but others see his
appointment in a more positive light. If a deal were
eventually brokered to normalize the diplomatic relationship,
Zen's reputation as an outspoken defender of religious
freedom and advocate for democracy might help marshal support
among the more skeptical underground Catholic community. End
Summary and Comment.

Vatican Appoints Outspoken Bishop Zen as Cardinal
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2. (SBU) On February 22, Pope Benedict XVI named 15 new
cardinals, his first nominations since taking over the
papacy. There were three Asian bishops elevated, including
Bishop Joseph Zen Ze-kiun, head of the Hong Kong Catholic
Diocese, as well as bishops from Seoul and Manila. Zen, an
outspoken defender of religious freedom on the mainland as
well as a leading figure in the democracy movement in Hong
Kong, will be the second church leader from Hong Kong and the
sixth ethnic Chinese in the history of the Catholic Church to
be named a cardinal. Zen will be formally appointed as a
cardinal during a ceremony at the Vatican on March 24.


3. (SBU) Pope Benedict's announcement helped fill a possible
void in the leadership of the Chinese Catholic community.
Zen, 74, had been approaching the mandatory retirement age of
75 and had sent a letter to the pope requesting retirement
last month. With the retirement issue now moot, Zen, who is
under the age of the cutoff age of 80, will be the only
ethnic Chinese cardinal eligible to vote in a conclave to
elect Pope Benedict's successor. (Note: During the 2005
papal conclave that elected Pope Benedict, there were no
ethnic Chinese cardinals eligible to vote. There is
currently only one living cardinal in the Greater China
region, Cardinal Paul Shan Kuo-hsi, who retired as the head
of the Kaohsiung, Taiwan diocese last month. At 82, Cardinal
Shan was ineligible to vote in the last conclave. End Note.)



4. (SBU) Following the pope's announcement, Zen told
reporters that he was "very happy" and said that his
elevation signaled the pope's "goodwill and love for the
whole of China." "He didn't name a lot of cardinals this
time. A lot of dioceses that typically get appointments
didn't. This shows his priority for China," said Zen. He
said that hoped to visit the mainland and begin dialogue with
the central government. "I don't just want to go
sightseeing, but to have a formal and constructive dialogue."


Initial Reaction from Beijing is Muted
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5. (C) As cardinal, Zen will be one of Pope Benedict's most
senior advisors on policy towards China, explained Papal
Nuncio Eugene Nugent. He told poloff on February 23 that the
Vatican had initially been concerned about a possible
negative reaction from Beijing. As an outspoken critic of
central government policies on religion, Zen was branded a
"Vatican agent" by the mainland and was banned from the
mainland for six years. However, relations between Zen and
mainland leaders have thawed, beginning with an April 2004
trip by Zen to visit Shanghai. Moreover, in recent years,
Zen has articulated, on numerous occasions, the Vatican's
stated policy of seeking an improved relationship with China.



6. (SBU) The only reaction from the Chinese Government so far
is a statement by Liu Bainian, Vice Chairman of the Chinese
Patriotic Catholic Association, who said that China would
benefit from a new cardinal. As Liu's statement was made
prior to the Vatican's official announcement, he did not
mention Zen by name.

HONG KONG 00000755 002.2 OF 002



The Best Candidate
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7. (C) Father Peter Barry, a researcher at the Holy Spirit
Study Center (HSSC) told "Asianews," an online Catholic
newsletter, "Zen is the best candidate because he knows
China, he is known among Chinese Catholics...Zen can
represent the voice of the Chinese Church in the universal
Church and with the Holy Father." Nugent confided to poloff
that one of several reasons why the Pope selected Zen was for
his expertise on the mainland Catholic Church -- both the
official and underground communities. As for his character,
Professor Gianni Criveller of the HSSC told poloff that Zen's
direct and outspoken approach was simply a part of his
personality, and would not change as a consequence of his
elevation.

Shifts towards Sino-Vatican Normalization?
--------------


8. (C) Separately, during a meeting with John Kamm, Dui Hua
Executive Director on February 22, Kamm told us that he had
heard from one of his sources that Shanghai Bishop Aloysius
Jin had told the source that the Minister of Public Security
was now in favor of normalizing Sino-Vatican relations. The
PSB, according to Bishop Jin, has enough work dealing with
"cults" and would prefer to let the Catholic Church manage
its own underground adherents. According to Kamm's source,
the key holdout to an improvement of relations remains Ye
Xiaowen, the Director of the State Administration of
Religious Affairs.

Biographic Information
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9. (SBU) Zen was born in Shanghai in 1932 and moved to Hong
Kong in 1948. He joined the priesthood in 1961 and beginning
in 1971, taught at Hong Kong's Holy Spirit Seminary College.
From 1989-1996, Zen became the first theologian from the Hong
Kong diocese to lecture in mainland seminaries. In 1996, Zen
was appointed as Coadjutor Bishop of Hong Kong. In 2002, he
was named as the Bishop of the Hong Kong Catholic Diocese
after the death of Cardinal John Baptist Wu.


10. (C) In addition to his criticisms of the central
government's religious policies, Zen has also been an
outspoken critic of Hong Kong government policies on national
security legislation, universal suffrage, and educational
reform. More recently, Zen was a signatory to a full-page
advertisement in several newspapers calling on Chief
Executive (CE) Donald Tsang to exercise "courageous
leadership" by asking mainland leaders to set up a timetable
for universal suffrage in Hong Kong. According to Monsignor
Nugent, when Bishop Zen encountered CE Tsang at a recent
function, the Bishop sensed that Tsang had taken the
criticism personally and still felt hurt. During protests at
last December's World Trade Organization Ministerial meeting
in Hong Kong, Zen criticized the Hong Kong police for their
handling of anti-globalization protestors, sparking anger
among the police, who later sent letters of protest to the
Vatican. Despite speculation that the Pope might ask Zen to
serve in the Vatican, our contacts say that Zen is most
likely to remain in Hong Kong as the head of the Catholic
Diocese for the next several years.
Sakaue