VZCZCXRO6324
RR RUEHCN RUEHGH RUEHROV
DE RUEHGH #0214/01 1060748
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 160748Z APR 07
FM AMCONSUL SHANGHAI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 5694
INFO RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 0963
RUEHCN/AMCONSUL CHENGDU 0549
RUEHGZ/AMCONSUL GUANGZHOU 0530
RUEHHK/AMCONSUL HONG KONG 0654
RUEHSH/AMCONSUL SHENYANG 0555
RUEHIN/AIT TAIPEI 0440
RUEHROV/AMEMBASSY VATICAN 0016
RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC
RUEHGH/AMCONSUL SHANGHAI 6076

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 SHANGHAI 000214 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EAP/CM, AND DRL/IRF 
NSC FOR WILDER 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL:  4/16/2017 
TAGS: PGOV PINR KIRF CH VT
SUBJECT: SHANGHAI BISHOP JIN ON CHINA-VATICAN TIES 
 
REF: A) VATICAN 61; B) 2006 SHANGHAI 7097 
 
CLASSIFIED BY: Kenneth Jarrett, Consul General,  , U.S. 
Consulate Shanghai. 
REASON: 1.4 (b), (d) 
 
 
 
¶1. (C) Summary: During a Consul General hosted lunch on April 
13, Shanghai Bishop Jin said that Catholics in China were 
anxiously awaiting the Pope's letter (ref A).  He hoped that the 
letter would not be too strident as this would lead to a strong 
reaction from Beijing and push the Vatican-China relationship 
backwards.  He warned against putting too much emphasis on the 
words of Hong Kong Cardinal Zen and noted that the Cardinal did 
not speak for Catholics in China.  Auxiliary Bishop Xing 
accompanied Bishop Jin to the lunch and appeared to be more 
comfortable in his role as Bishop Jin's successor.  Bishop Jin 
continued to be active and was currently working on his memoir. 
He said that while he took medication to manage his diabetes, 
his heart condition was stable. End Summary. 
 
------------------------------- 
Anxiously Awaiting Papal Letter 
------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (C) On April 13, Consul General hosted a lunch for Shanghai 
Bishop Aloysius Jin Luxian to discuss religious developments in 
China.  Auxiliary Bishop Xing, Pol/Econ Chief and Poloff also 
attended the lunch.  Bishop Jin said Catholics were waiting 
anxiously for the Pope to release his letter to the Catholics of 
China. (See Ref. A.)  He worried that if the letter was too 
strident and forceful, Beijing would react very strongly and 
reject the letter.  This would move the Vatican-China 
relationship backwards.  Thus, hoped that the letter would be 
more conciliatory and provide an opportunity for progress in the 
relationship. 
 
¶3.  (C) Bishop Jin, however, was not optimistic that there would 
be an improvement in the relationship.  According to Bishop Jin, 
Chinese leaders were too focused on other issues and allowed 
mid-level leaders to manage the issue of religion in China. 
Most mid-level leaders were afraid of taking initiatives and, 
therefore, were only interested in maintaining the status quo on 
religion.  He added that Beijing was also still concerned that 
religious groups could overthrow the government.  He said the 
Chinese government should not view Catholics as a threat as 
there were very few Catholics in China.  Less then one percent 
of China was Catholic, compared to seven percent of Vietnam, 
which had recently improved relations with the Vatican. 
 
--------------------------------- 
Models for Appointment of Bishops 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶4.  (C) According to Bishop Jin, there were at least three 
different models that could be used for the appointment of 
Bishops in China.  He said that the Vietnam model was a good 
model, but was not acceptable by Beijing.  In this model, the 
government selected a Bishop from candidates chosen by the 
Vatican.  He said that Beijing would not want to set a precedent 
in which a foreign entity picked religious leaders.  This could 
be seen as a precedent that Tibetan Buddhists might want to use 
for the selection of the selection of the next Dalai Lama. 
Another model was the one used to appoint Auxiliary Bishop Xing. 
 According to Bishop Jin, the Vatican had selected Bishop Xing 
to be his successor.  The Vatican did not propose any other 
candidates.  It then took over a year for Bishop Jin to get the 
agreement of various levels of government, including the central 
government in Beijing.  He noted that while he did not have to 
seek the permission of the Shanghai Municipal People's Congress, 
local municipal congresses were often involved in the process in 
many dioceses. 
 
¶5.  (C) Bishop Jin noted that the most recent ordinations 
followed a different model.  In this model, the Chinese 
government informed future Bishops that they would soon be 
ordained and gave these Bishops time to seek Rome's approval. 
The Bishops then, as a first step, needed to contact the Papal 
Representative in Hong Kong for permission.  If the Papal 
Representative agreed to the request, he would then forward the 
request to the department that handled Asia in the Vatican. 
From there, the request would move next to the Vatican Secretary 
 
SHANGHAI 00000214  002 OF 003 
 
 
of State.  While the Pope would need to sign off on the 
appointment, it was impossible for him to know every person and, 
thus, he often relied on what his staff recommended.  The 
problem with this model was that the Vatican could say no. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
Cardinal Zen Does Not Speak For Catholics In China 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
¶6.  (C) Bishop Jin warned against putting too much emphasis on 
Hong Kong Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun.  He said while Cardinal 
Zen was his friend, the Cardinal did not speak for Catholics in 
China nor for Catholics in Hong Kong.  Because of Cardinal Zen's 
title he had influence on the Vatican's policy towards China, 
but it was not clear how much the Pope actually listened to him. 
 He noted that Cardinal Zen talked a lot, and, perhaps, the 
Cardinal would have greater influence if he said less. 
 
------------------------------- 
Harmonious Society And Religion 
------------------------------- 
 
¶7.  (C) Bishop Jin said his biggest concern for the future was 
that the Catholic Church would become marginalized if there was 
no reconciliation with Rome and the Church continued to be split 
between the underground and official church.  To avoid this, the 
church must become more active in the social arena and find a 
way to take advantage of situations as they arise.  Bishop Jin 
said of all of the theories introduced by the Communist party, 
including Mao's emphasis on class struggle to Jiang Zemin's 
"three represents," Hu Jintao's introduction of the "harmonious 
society" concept was his favorite as it emphasized balance and 
reconciliation.  It also provided space for religious groups to 
become more involved in society.  Religious groups could help to 
build a "harmonious society" by providing social services and 
opening schools and hospitals.  He believed that the government 
would allow the church to open schools and hospitals soon, 
perhaps in five to six years.  He was worried, however, that the 
church would not have the ability to staff these facilities. 
According to Bishop Xing, it continued to be very difficult for 
the Church to attract new members of the clergy.  There were 
only 76 students at Sheshan seminary, most of them from the 
countryside.  In addition, there were more then forty vacant 
Bishop positions in China. 
 
------------------------------------------ 
Xi Jinping: Position on Religion Not Clear 
------------------------------------------ 
 
¶8.  (C) Bishop Jin reacted cautiously to questions about the new 
Shanghai Party Secretary Xi Jinping.  He said that Xi had a good 
relationship with religious groups in Fujian, but it was unclear 
what his relationship with groups was like in Zhejiang province. 
 He added that he had met Xi's father, Xi Zhongxun, and he was a 
good person.  Xi Zhongxun had some responsibilities for 
religious affairs when he served in the NPC and Bishop Jin had a 
relationship with him from those days. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
Comment: Auxiliary Bishop Xing Becoming More Comfortable 
--------------------------------------------- ----------- 
 
¶9.  (C)  Comment: Bishop Xing was much more animated and 
appeared to be more comfortable during this meeting then in the 
past.  Bishop Jin relied on him for information about Sheshan 
seminary and also for information on recent developments, such 
as the illicit ordination of the Bishop in Xuzhou.  Bishop Xing 
noted that he had also been traveling a great deal.  He recently 
returned from Xinjiang and Yunnan where he participated in 
poverty alleviation projects.  He would also travel to England 
and Germany next week on a delegation that consisted of leaders 
of the five main religious groups in Shanghai.  The purpose of 
the trip was to demonstrate to other countries that different 
religious groups in China cooperated.  Bishop Xing noted that 
all of his recent travels were arranged by the government and 
government minders often accompanied him on these trips. End 
Comment. 
 
------------------- 
Bishop Jin's Health 
------------------- 
 
 
SHANGHAI 00000214  003 OF 003 
 
 
¶10.  (C)  Bishop Jin appeared physically and mentally active. 
He has given up learning Spanish, but was remaining active by 
writing his memoir.  He noted that in writing his memoirs, he 
had to take into consideration what would be acceptable to the 
censors.  According to Bishop Jin, his heart condition was 
stable and he was able to travel to meetings during the day. 
His doctor still insisted that he remain in Shanghai in the 
evenings, however, where medical care was readily available. 
Bishop Jin said he had diabetes and was taking shots and pills 
to manage his illness.  Bishop Jin also took daily "sacrosanct 
siestas" to keep up his energy. 
JARRETT