HONG KONG CATHOLIC DIOCESE ON SINO-VATICAN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 HONG KONG 002696

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NOFORN
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DEPARTMENT FOR EAP, EAP/CM
NSC FOR DENNIS WILDER

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/26/2032
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM PINR CH HK VT
SUBJECT: HONG KONG CATHOLIC DIOCESE ON SINO-VATICAN
RELATIONS

REF: A. HONG KONG 01889

B. BEIJING 06558

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Classified By: E/P Section Chief Laurent Charbonnet; Reasons 1.4 (b, d)


1. (C) Summary: According to Hong Kong papal representative
Monsignor Eugene Nugent, the Holy See had been consulted on
and approved the September selection of Father Joseph Li Shan
to replace the late Michael Fu Tieshan as Bishop of the
Beijing diocese. Because the issue was "sensitive," however,
the consultation had been handled directly between the
Vatican and Beijing, rather than via the "usual channel" of
Hong Kong. Filling Bishop Fu's other vacated position,
chairman of the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association, will
await appointment of 3-4 additional bishops and a national
conference of mainland clerics sometime after the October
Party Congress. Archbishop Fernando Filoni, until recently
the papal nuncio in Manila and a close friend of Hong Kong
Cardinal Zen, has been appointed to a senior foreign policy
position in the Vatican. Nugent believes Beijing is
concerned about the prospect of normalization of relations
between Vietnam and the Vatican, as the Vatican might cite
its arrangement with Hanoi for appointment of bishops as a
model for China. End Summary.


2. (C) Comment: The apparent exclusion of the Hong Kong
diocese from consultations between the Vatican and Beijing on
the appointment of Bishop Li suggests that the influence of
Cardinal Zen, who is highly disliked and distrusted by
mainland religious affairs officials, may be on the decline.
We believe it likely, however, that the appointment of Zen's
friend and colleague Archbishop Filoni to a senior policy
position in the Vatican could provide Zen with an indirect
but influential channel to the Pope on China policy issues.
End Comment.


3. (C) Monsignor Eugene Nugent, the papal representative in
Hong Kong, recently told us that the September selection of
Father Joseph Li Shan to replace Michael Fu Tieshan as Bishop
of the Beijing diocese was a "positive development." Li had
been ranked fourth on the Holy See's "short list" of
candidates and was a "very good priest" with a strong
pastoral background and ability to connect with his
congregation. His only shortcomings were his relative youth
(42),which Nugent said would require him to "manage
carefully" his more senior colleagues, and a lack of overseas
training or experience. According to Nugent, there was prior
consultation between Beijing and the Holy See on the Li
appointment, but because the issue was "so sensitive" the
consultation was handled from the Vatican rather than Hong
Kong, which Nugent said would have been the "usual" channel.
In July Nugent had told us that Li's appointment was likely,
as he already had been informally approved by the diocese and
was "acceptable" to the Holy See (ref a).

CCPA Chairman Powerless
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4. (C) Although the death of Fu in April left both the
Beijing bishopric and the chairmanship of the Chinese
Catholic Patriotic Association vacant, Nugent said Bishop Li
has not been appointed to the latter position. Selection of
the new chairman would be deferred pending appointment of 3-4
additional bishops to fill vacancies due to deaths. Nugent
said a national conference of clerics probably would be
convened, some time after the October Party Congress. He
also observed that the "real power" in the CCPA was held by
the party secretary rather than the chairman. Nugent
smilingly described a previous bishop who, as chairman, had
been unable to place long distance telephone calls from his
"impressive" office; to do so he had to walk to the party
secretary's office, where his conversations could not be

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private.

Archbishop Filoni
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5. (C) Nugent said he planned to attend ceremonies in Manila
in October for the arrival of a new papal nuncio. The
previous nuncio, Archbishop Fernando Filoni, had been
Nugent's predecessor in Hong Kong from 1992-2001. Recently,
Filoni had been appointed as "Sostituto" for General Affairs

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of the Secretariat of State, in which capacity he would be
one of two deputies to Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio
Bertone. Nugent said this was a very important position, and
that Filoni was an expert on China affairs. Nugent
previously told us that during Filoni's tenure in Hong Kong,
he had been responsible for identifying and vetting all
bishops in China and Hong Kong, including Zen. Nugent
described Filoni and Zen as close friends (ref a).

Vietnam
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6. (C) Asked about the September visit of Vietnamese Cardinal
Pham Minh Man to Beijing (ref b),Nugent said the trip had
gone well but that Beijing was very concerned about the
prospect of normalization of relations between Vietnam and
the Vatican. In particular, he said Beijing was worried that
the Vatican could cite its arrangement with Hanoi for
appointment of bishops as a precedent for China.
Cunningham