VZCZCXRO0492
OO RUEHCN RUEHGH
DE RUEHHK #1817/01 1221006
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 021006Z MAY 06
FM AMCONSUL HONG KONG
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 6445
INFO RUEHOO/CHINA POSTS COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RUEHROV/AMEMBASSY VATICAN IMMEDIATE
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC IMMEDIATE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 HONG KONG 001817 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EAP AND EAP/CM 
NSC FOR DENNIS WILDER 
 
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 
 
 
HONG KONG 00001817  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
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 
 
HONG KONG 00001817  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
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 
 
HONG KONG 00001817  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
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