KUNMING CATHOLIC NUNS TRY TO REBUILD

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CHENGDU 000286 SIPDIS SIPDIS EAP/CM AND DRL E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/7/2032 TAGS: PGOV PHUM KIRF CH SUBJECT: KUNMING CATHOLIC NUNS TRY TO REBUILD REF: 2005 CHENGDU 000548 CHENGDU 00000286 001.2 OF 002 CLASSIFIED BY: James A. Boughner, Consul General, U.S. Consulate General, Chengdu, China. REASON: 1.4 (d) ¶1. (C) Summary: According to a nun presiding over a group of ten sisters at the Kunming Sacred Heart Church in southwest China's Yunnan Province, local religious affairs authorities are in general more difficult to work with than their counterparts to the north in Sichuan. The church was able, however, to obtain official permission to accept new nuns and novices three years ago, is currently undergoing a rebuilding program, and intends to bring in foreign Maryknoll nuns to train its new local recruits "secretly." End Summary ¶2. (C) Congenoff visited the Sacred Heart Catholic Church (9 Beijing Road near center city) in southwest China's provincial capital of Kunming in November). The Church is the seat of the Bishop of Kunming. The last bishop of Kunming died eight years ago and has not since been replaced. Sister Yang Shuyuan, who leads a group of ten sisters at the church, told Congenoff that a bishop from Beijing, Joseph Ma, devotes about one-third of his time to the Kunming diocese. Yang said that Bishop Ma has not yet been recognized by the Pope but "he is well thought of by the Chinese bishops" (Note: With some notable exceptions, most of China's official "Catholic Patriotic Church" are currently recognized by the Vatican. End note). Yang said that negotiations between the Chinese and the Vatican are making slow progress, but hopes they will be completed within a few years. Inside the church, Congenoff noted a large poster with a picture of Pope Benedict XVI above a Chinese translation of the Pope's 2007 Easter Message. ¶3. (C) When Congenoff mentioned meeting Bishop Chen of Yibin two years ago (ref),she asked about the bishop and commented that the religious affairs authorities in Yunnan were much tougher in handling Catholic affairs than their counterparts in Sichuan Province. She mentioned a priest, a member of the "Legion of Mary", who had spent 28 years in prison as an example of the suffering of the priesthood. After leaving prison, he was unable to sit up straight due to his prison experience. Yang also mentioned a Kunming priest currently in a training program in France as a hope for the future. Nuns Help Rebuild -------------- ¶4. (C) Sister Yang, originally from Kunming, spent 17 years as a nun in Hong Kong and twenty in Taiwan before returning to her native Kunming. She arrived just as the Yunnan religion authorities were returning Church properties in the late 1980's. Sister Yang supported herself as a Chinese-English translator for the Yunnan Province S&T Commission while helping out at the church until she was allowed to organize and lead a group of nuns. She is now draws a pension from her translation work. The Yunnan local Religious Affairs Bureau authorities three years ago allowed the nuns to accept new members three years ago. Currently there are ten nuns and two novices at the Kunming Sacred Heart Catholic Church. Restoring Communities and Buildings -------------- - ¶5. (SBU ) The Sacred Heart Church was built in the Gothic style but lost its spires during the years it had been confiscated for non-religious uses. The properties adjacent to the church -- an apartment building built on Church property and the Bishop's residence were returned six and ten years ago. The Kunming Church plans to tear down the current structures and rebuild the church in several years once funding has been assured. Restoration work on Sacred Heart Church will cost about RMB six million, said Yang. Yang hopes eventually to build a religious community for nuns in the countryside. ¶6. (C) Yang says education and training the clergy and nuns are CHENGDU 00000286 002.2 OF 002 a top priority. Some of the clergy wanted to send the nuns out to the countryside so they will be tempered by difficult living conditions. Yang had argued, successfully, that education is the first priority. She is arranging for Maryknoll nuns to help train a new generation of nuns. When Congenoff asked if permission could be obtained for foreign nuns to train Chinese nuns in China, Yang replied "We will do it secretly." ¶7. (C) Comment: As Congenoff has noticed in other Catholic Churches in China, the Roman Catholic identity at Sacred Heart Church remains strong beneath the patriotic church veneer. The Catholics at Sacred Heart hope that the Vatican-Beijing talks will help resolve their church's painful double life. BOUGHNER