CHINESE PRIEST ENCOURAGES POTUS WORDS ON FREEDOM

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 VATICAN 000031

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT. FOR EUR/WE (JLARREA),DRL (PKELLY, EKAO)

E.O. 12958: DECL: 2/23/2016
TAGS: PHUM KIRF PGOV VT CH
SUBJECT: CHINESE PRIEST ENCOURAGES POTUS WORDS ON FREEDOM

REF: BEIJING 2984, BEIJING 3007

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CLASSIFIED BY: Peter Martin, Political Officer, POL, STATE.
REASON: 1.4 (b),(d)
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Summary
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1. (C) Fr. Shu-Jie Chen of the Chinese Patriotic Church said
February 21 that he appreciated the President's speaking out
recently in China on religious freedom issues. Chen offered
mild criticism of the Chinese government on human rights issues,
but offered a generally positive view of religious life in his
country. He downplayed persecution of the underground Catholic
Church and emphasized the lack of education among its clergy.
Chen was convincing in describing his reasons for choosing to
work for the Patriotic Church, but we found his ability to
rationalize the government's positions on religious freedom and
his denigration of the underground church unsettling. End
summary.

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Praise for President
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2. (C) Fr. Shu-Jie Chen, Vice Rector of the Catholic Seminary
in Beijing and member of the Chinese Patriotic Church, told the
Ambassador during a visit to Rome February 21 that he
appreciated the President's speaking out recently in China on
religious freedom issues. "We have to keep these issues in the
public view," he said. Chen noted how important it was for the
Chinese to see one of the most powerful men in the world attend
church. "Most of our politicians would instead go to
receptions," he commented.

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Positive View
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3. (C) Chen allowed that priests and sisters could be abused
in China, and said that there were insufficient protections for
religious personnel from the government. But overall, he
painted a relatively positive picture of religious life in
China. He said that he was "king" in his seminary and could do
what he wanted within its walls and in the parish where he
works. Chen claimed he himself - and not the government - set
any limits on the number of students enrolling at the seminary.
He told the Ambassador he had invited laypeople from ten Chinese
provinces to come to the seminary for lay formation, and the
program had come off without incident. Although Chen noted that
evangelization was not an option for religious personnel, he
seemed unconcerned. "We have to take things slowly" with the
government, he said.


4. (C) Chen described twice hosting the archbishop of
Washington, D.C., Cardinal Theodore McCarrick at the seminary in
Beijing. Chen said that on one occasion the government
interpreter was clearly befuddled by the religious terminology
being used. He finally allowed Chen to speak directly in English
to McCarrick, thus facilitating communication. Chen's point:
the government does not understand religion, but coexistence is
possible. He noted that the government had given him permission
to speak at a local university about the Catholic Church in the
coming months, the first time he had been allowed to make such
an appearance. (Chen offered to send the Ambassador a copy of
his remarks.)

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Poor View of Underground Church
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5. (C) Turning to the underground church, Chen said he was
working for unity. "We [Catholics in the official and
underground churches] all suffer," he said. Chen claimed to
have been active in the underground Church before becoming a
priest, but said he had then gone in a different direction. In
his opinion, the only viable option for a healthy Catholic
Church in China is for underground church members to join the
Patriotic Church. According to Chen, underground clergy are
uneducated and adherents are usually elderly. "The young are
all going to church," he said, making the clear distinction
between "churches" and the "house masses" of the underground
church.


6. (C) When asked about imprisoned or missing clergy, Chen
said that one could not believe everything one read on the Kung
Foundation web site. He recounted reading about the arrest of
seven priests in Hebei province. When he investigated, he found
that they hadn't been arrested at all - in fact, they had joined
the Patriotic Church and simply had not yet returned to the
diocese after a trip to Beijing. Chen also pointed out that
many times underground bishops were only under house arrest -
sometimes even in hotels. In any case, he said, all these

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people have to do is register with the government and there
would be no danger of arrest.

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U.S. Trained
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7. (C) Chen was referred to us by a high-level Vatican
contact. He studied at St. John's Seminary in Boston in the
early 90s before obtaining degrees from the Jesuit-run Weston
School of Theology in Boston, and Boston College. He recently
visited Boston, and told us he feels more at home there than in
Beijing. He had considered staying in Massachusetts, but
ultimately decided he wanted to work to help the Chinese church.
While in Rome, Chen met with Vatican officials, and clearly
maintains an allegiance to the Vatican. He told us he had been
mentioned for a possible episcopal appointment, but would only
accept a government appointment if he would be recognized also
by the Holy See.

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Comment
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8. (C) Chen was convincing in describing his reasons for
choosing to work for the Patriotic Church. "That is the best
way that I can make a difference," he insisted, by slowly
influencing the government toward more open views on religion.
"In the underground church, you can't have an impact," he
reasoned. On the other hand, we found Chen's ability to
rationalize the government's positions on religious freedom and
his denigration of the underground church and its members
unsettling. We defer to Embassy Beijing and DRL to put Chen's
story in the context of our efforts on the ground in China.
SANDROLINI