Cardinal Zen's Request for Hong Kong

Cardinal Zen on his recent unfruitful trip to the Vatican

Last week the 88-year-old Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun made the long flight from Hong Kong to Rome hoping to have a meeting with Pope Francis.

That never happened.

Instead Cardinal Zen could only hand a letter to Pope Francis' secretary to pass to the pope. In it Cardinal Zen advocated for the installation of a new bishop in Hong Kong that has seen political upheaval particularly in the past year.

Since Bishop Yeung Ming-cheung passed away in early 2019, Cardinal John Tong Hong has overseen the diocese -- replacing his successor. Cardinal Tong himself is 81 years old. While he is a conservative when it comes to LGBTQ rights, he seemed unfazed by the new national security law.

Cardinal John Tong is overseeing the dicocese

In late June before the new law was enacted, he said Article 32 in the Basic Law guarantees freedom of religion, freedom to preach and to conduct and participate in religious activities in public.

He also added that Article 141 of the Basic Law specifies the government does not interfere in the internal affairs of religious organizations and providing of services to the public.

Therefore, Cardinal Tong surmised "collusion with foreign forces" in the new national security law does not apply to the Catholic Diocese of Hong Kong because its direct relationship with the Vatican should be regarded as an internal affair.

In any event, Cardinal Zen is a pro-democracy activist and is anxious for the Vatican to appoint someone "who is trusted by the people".

"As I did last year, I handed a letter to a secretary at Casa Santa Marta, hoping to see the Holy Father. I let him know how urgent it was, and how I was here only for a short time," Cardinal Zen said.

Father Choy has "the blessing of Beijing"

He was concerned that a bishop "who is trusted by the people" be installed as soon as possible,  as the faithful in both Hong Kong and China grow increasingly wary of what is being seen as political posturing by the Vatican.

"The Vatican seems to be guessing the mind of Beijing -- always seeking to anticipate what Beijing will do, always appeasing. It seems they are afraid to nominate Bishop Ha [Bishop Joseph Ha Chi-shing] as doing so may offend Beijing," said Cardinal Zen.

Bishop Ha is currently auxiliary bishop of the diocese and has publicly supported the protesters in Hong Kong, thus possibly perceived as antagonistic to Beijing.

"Bishop Ha has never done anything -- not like me -- to cause trouble," said Cardinal Zen.

However, Cardinal Zen says Father Peter Choy Wai-man has "the blessing of Beijing", and was reportedly identified by Cardinal Tong as the best successor; but Cardinal Zen says Father Choy is "unacceptable to many Catholic faithful", because he would support silencing voices for freedom and democracy.

The Vatican seems to be aware of Bishop Ha's political stance which would offend Beijing, while Father Choy would not be accepted by the faithful, so it is apparently now looking for a third option.

"It seems to be after one and a half years, the Holy Father must hear from his people in Hong Kong. I am afraid, after so long, that Cardinal Parolin and Cardinal Tong have procrastinated in order to try and go back to Beijing's favourite," Cardinal Zen said. "So I have come to Rome once more for my people, and for the Pope."

Bishop Ha's appointment could offend Beijing

But it seems the Vatican is keen on getting relations with Beijing back on track, which may explain why Pope Francis rebuffed Cardinal Zen, who is critical of how the Vatican is being so secretive about the negotiations with Beijing.

"If tomorrow, the Vatican chooses this bishop, blessed by Beijing -- if they appoint this bad bishop for Hong Kong, my job is finished. I will choose to disappear," Cardinal Zen said.

But he will not go down without a last act of defiance.

"My last act of protest will be to do just that, to now disappear with everyone knowing why. I put this in my last will and testament -- that my bones shall not be placed in the cathedral, I do not want to be buried with such men. I will be buried in a simple cemetery with what remains of the faithful people of God."

While Cardinal Zen says this was his last trip to Rome, as he said his legs can't handle the long flights anymore, he is still fiery in spirit. May God bless him for his love of Hong Kong.

Rome: Castel Sant'Angelo

Tourists walk along the bridge to Castel Sant'Angelo

One last place we visited before leaving Rome was Castel Sant'Angelo, or the Castle of the Holy Angel. It has a very interesting history and also construction, that at one point in time was the tallest building in the city.

This was originally Emperor Hadrian's mausoleum

We got there in the late morning and didn't have to wait too long to buy tickets. From then onwards visitors follow the arrows to cover most of the building.

Originally it was commissioned by Emperor Hadrian to be a mausoleum for himself and his family, which is the cylindrical part of the complex. It was built between 134-139AD.

His ashes, stored in an urn, were placed there in 138AD, along with his wife and first adopted son, as well as other emperors who succeeded him. It is believed the urns were placed in now what is known as the Treasury Room.

Then in 401, the building was converted into a fortress, with walls added around it, as well as a moat. There are some interesting defensive architectural details, such as trap doors and such for protection against invaders.

Popes turned it into a castle for their own use

There is a legend that the Archangel Michael appeared at the top of the mausoleum, sheathing his sword that was interpreted as a sign the plague was over in 590, which gave the castle its present name.

And so at the top of the tower is a large bronze statue of the Archangel Michael, looking as if he's about to sheath his sword. He has the best view of Rome, and a fantastic view of the Vatican.

This is important because in the 14th century, popes took over the structure and converted it into a castle. For example, Pope Nicholas III connected the castle to St Peter's Basilica by a covered corridor called the Passetto di Borgo.

Paul III built a rich apartment in the castle, and visitors can see his living quarters. While his bedroom may look modest, the room next door he entertained in was very lavish. It was completely covered in murals with gold leaf, while the Papal insignia was created out of marble in the floor.

St Peter's Basilica can be seen clearly from the roof

The Papal state also used Sant'Angelo as a prison, and executions were done in a small inner courtyard. For those who love opera, the castle is the setting for the third act of Giacomo Puccini's Tosca -- the eponymous heroine leaps to her death from the castle's ramparts.

We went through the castle almost room by room, up and down stairs, and saw lots of empty rooms, but also others with examples of swords and canons, as well as armour. Visitors are finally rewarded with a view from the roof, and it's a stunning panoramic view of the city.

The Archangel Michael unsheathing his sword

It was a tiring over three-hour tour of the place, but it was well rewarded with blue skies and dramatic clouds. Very memorable!

Rome: The Vatican

St Peter's Basilica where this outdoor area can hold 100,000 people

When in Rome, the Vatican is a must. We bought tickets in advance online and then set off early this morning to get there with plenty of time to spare.

A collection of Roman busts in one of the galleries

We took the metro to get there, and getting a ticket is easy at the machine. For a ride (or more) within 100 minutes it's 1.50 euros. We just happened to catch the rush hour period so the trains were quite packed, but by the time it was our stop the commuter crowd had thinned out considerably.

Stationed near the metro stations and around the vicinity of the Vatican are volunteer guides who explain the best way to get there and pass out maps. It's a few blocks' walk from the metro station to the entrance and already there were many people there.

The Gallery of Maps from the 16th century

Following a security check and getting an audio guide we were set to go. The audio guide is good in some parts, tedious in others, or didn't have information on things we wanted to know more about.

Nevertheless it's about soaking up as much as you can and also how long your legs and feet can carry you.

Lots of the art in the Vatican was either collected by popes or given to the institution as gifts. Many are artists who hope their works will be received by the Pope; in return they are forever remembered in their association with the papacy.

One modern artist is sculptor Arnaldo Pomodoro, who created a giant bronze sphere within a sphere to show the Vatican is a city within a city that's placed in the middle of a garden.

Nearby are galleries filled with lots of Roman marble statues; they remind me of characters from stories in my Latin textbooks from high school. The mosaics are also very impressive, some with intricate designs, others telling stories of mythic proportions.

A Chinese text of "The Pope's Decrees"

We had to go room by room, slowly moving our way around the museum in order to get to the main event -- the Sistine Chapel. Everywhere you look there is art with some kind of religious meaning, or made in hopes of exalting Christ.

Meanwhile in the Gallery of Maps, the latest in science and cartography was displayed here, as friar and cartographer Ignazio Danti painting sections of Italy in as accurately geographically as he could as well as artistically from centuries ago.

The room was commissioned by Pope Gregory XIII in 1580 and it took Danti three years to complete the 40 panels in the 120 metre-long gallery. However, the ceiling is more impressive, painted by several artists, including Cesare Nebbia and Girolamo Muzanio, featuring "paintings" complete with frames and decorations covering the curved ceiling.

One room featured books that were elaborated decorated, presumably religious texts. In the corner of one display case had a book covered in Chinese fabric with a white crane with cloud motifs and flowers, and written in Chinese "The Pope's Decree".

The Sistine Chapel still looks vibrant and meaningful

Getting ever so close to the Sistine Chapel, we then went into the Raphael Room, where he painted the famous The School of Athens fresco from 1509-1511. Here he connects science with the heavens, and there are several well known figures in here, such as Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Pythagoras, Euclid, and Raphael himself. On the opposite side is the depiction of the father, the son and the Holy ghost together as represented by the eucharist.

Another room was called the Matisse Room, featuring several of the French artist's works, that look simple but figuratively clearly show their deep meaning.

Finally we made it to the Sistine Chapel -- security constantly told the crowd in there to be quiet. We stood in the middle, trying to soak up as much of Michelangelo's amazing work as possible. Even after the restoration many years ago, the colours are still vibrant, the facial and muscular expressions impressive.

This is where the cardinals gather after the pope has died in order to vote for the next one. They make four votes per day, two in the morning, two in the evening until there is a clear winner.

The Bramante Staircase at the end of the Vatican Museum

The last few galleries feature numerous gifts popes have received over the years until we finally arrived at the Bramante Staircase, designed by Giuseppe Momo in 1932. The staircase has a double helix and is more like a ramp than a staircase. It's so beautiful to look at from above and below.

We then took a break in the downstairs cafeteria before heading to St Peter's Basilica. It was really hot in the early afternoon waiting to get inside. We went through yet another security check before being able to go inside. Our priority was to see The Pieta by Michelangelo. It's behind bullet-proof glass, but is still an amazing sight to behold despite the figures not being proportionally correct and Mary looking much younger than her years.

The Pieta by Michelangelo in St Peter's Basilica

Everywhere you look in the basilica there is so much to take in, it's overwhelming but beautiful and magnificent. You feel so privileged to see all this beautiful architecture and art work in one place. But six hours later, our legs and feet were giving way and we slowly made our way out and back to the metro station to get back to the hotel for much-needed nap!

Movie Review: Spotlight

Spotlight follows the team that uncovered sex abuse in the Catholic Chuch

I just came back from seeing Spotlight, which is nominated for six Academy Awards, though pundits are saying its chances of winning golden statues are slim because it's all dialogue and no dramatic chase or sex scenes.

It has won a host of other awards from Bafta, Critics Choice Movie Award, National Society of Film Critics Award and others, though we hope the film will get an Oscar nod -- or two.

Like All The Presidents Men that inspired a generation or two of people to become journalists, Spotlight will hopefully do the same, though the economic conditions of running the paper takes more precedence than the stories it runs these days.

Nevertheless, Spotlight is based on true events about an investigative team at The Boston Globe called Spotlight. A new editor in chief comes in, Marty Baron, who is Jewish and new to Boston.

The actors in Spotlight with the real reporters of The Globe

He finds it curious that there was no follow up on a case about a priest molesting children and gets the Spotlight team to work on it. And what they uncover is not just one, but many more priests in Boston who committed the same horrific crime.

The church's pervasive influence over Boston is evident, with a code of silence the reporters must break, in some cases ruining friendships and connections to get the truth.

At first the dialogue flies fast with lots of names to follow, but soon we grasp what's going on and especially the magnitude of the case, as we discover the facts as the reporters do.

They talk to lots of victims, hearing their stories which corroborates with what a former priest, now academic who has studied pedophile priests for three decades, they badger the lawyers who represented the church, and finally get the trust of a lawyer who has been trying to prosecute the church for years.

In their investigation, the reporters uncover that The Globe was also complicit -- hardly questioning what was going on, and dismissing victims as weak sources.

Cardinal Law is now an archpriest in The Vatican

In the end Spotlight wrote 600 stories about priests abusing people in 2002 and Cardinal Bernard Francis Law who did nothing about it, except shift the priests around, finally resigned in the same year.

The Vatican didn't punish him, but instead transferred him to be archpriest of one of Rome's four papal basilicas, Santa Maria Maggiore.

Law is in his mid-80s and hasn't spoken publicly about the expose, or his part in it; instead he remains cloistered in The Vatican. Law gets the last laugh.

But the reverberations of the original breaking story are not over -- Pope Francis is trying to tackle the issue now, though as delicately as possible, but at least has acknowledged the pain of the victims, many who turned to drugs and alcohol or even suicide.

Being in the same occupation, I was riveted watching the movie from beginning to end. We don't see much of the team's dynamics except that they are completely focused on their goal, and they like being able to keep their work confidential even to their colleagues.

Nevertheless, Spotlight reminded me of my job -- to inform the public of what's really going on. Hong Kong is an interesting city because it too is like Boston in how the wealthy and powerful determine how much a story can be reported.

And with the growing cold climate that President Xi Jinping is casting over the media sector these days, more restrictions will be an added challenge. We must have courage.

Quote of the Day: Hong Kong's Catholic Church on Gays

Bishop John Tong Hon claims gays are like drug addicts

Pope Francis has been hinting he is more open to homosexuals in general. But the Bishop in Hong Kong is dead fast against anyone who is gay.

Cardinal John Tong Hon has suggested to his flock of 379,000 Catholics here that when they vote on November 22, they should keep in mind candidates' views on gay rights.

Tong wrote a pastoral letter on November 5, lamenting that the city's core values on marriage and family "are continually being challenged and misinterpreted" by sexual liberation and gay rights movements.

Speaking in defense of Tong, Auxiliary Bishop Michael Yeung Ming-cheung equated homosexuals with drug addicts.

"The church doesn't have any enemy and it wouldn't criticize anyone. It was only talking about a wrongdoing. For example, it was wrong to take drugs and we would say no, but we still love drug addicts."

He added Tong was not suggesting who the pastoral flock should vote for, but that it is their responsibility to vote.

Uh huh. And saying that voters should keep in mind which ones are for or against gay rights isn't really instructing them when they cast their ballot, then what is the church saying then?

Why are they politicizing the gay rights issue?

And where do they get the idea that gays are like drug addicts? Where does it say that in the Bible?

Homophobic rants don't help unite the community but instead divide them further. And is that what the church wants people to do?

Can someone please tell Tong we're in 2015...

The Papal Palace in Avignon and Following Van Gogh

Walking towards the Palais des Papes or papal palace in Avignon

It's really hot in the south of France today, hitting 34 degrees, but a friend back in Hong Kong told me temperatures are between 33 to 35 degrees plus humidity. However mornings and evenings are nice here in en Provence, though it's scorching hot during the day.

The Avignon Bridge inspired by Saint Benezet

Before going into the papal palace or Palais des Papes, we saw the Avignon Bridge that spans the Rhone River. It was built due to the inspiration of Saint Benezet, a shepherd boy who heard the voice of Jesus Christ tell him to build a bridge over the river.

He was ridiculed at first, but was soon believed after Benezet miraculously lifted a giant boulder. The bridge was built from 1177 to 1185 and when Benezet died, his body was interred in the chapel above the bridge. It has since been moved to another chapel.

The papal palace was also a fortified fortress

However, the bridge does not go across the river completely -- the water there runs so fast that it was difficult to keep rebuilding the bridge and the lack of funds resulted in giving up on completing the bridge and it has been left as it is since 1669.

The bridge is also famous for the song, Sur le Pont d'Avignon... but I barely remember the lyrics from when I sang it in elementary school!

After a few pictures of the bridge, we visited the papal palace that began construction in 1252. Pope Clement V was elected in 1305 and at the time two Italian families sparked a civil war in Italy, making it unsafe for the pope, and so he chose another place that was a state for the church, that happened to be Avignon.

The palace was also a fortress, and the tower in particular is very protected, as the pope's living quarters were there, as well as the treasury where gold, jewellery and his clothing were kept, and the other "treasury" was the wine cellar.

The Langlois Bridge that van Gogh painted

The pope's living quarters were very lavishly decorated -- there are lots of blue colour on the walls, which originated from lapis lazuli, a semi precious stone, and the floral motifs include lots of birds, as it was believed these creatures were symbols of paradise. Green colours were made from vegetables, notably spinach. His library also contained 2,000 books which was a lot during the 14th century.

Seven popes stayed here and during this time it led to the Papal Schism, where there was a pope in Avignon and one in Rome. Our guide said the two popes had similar outlooks so it wasn't too much of a problem.

But the last pope, Antipope Benedict XIII (antipope meaning the opposition to the pope in Rome), finally returned to the Vatican after Catherine of Siena convinced him to return, and the next pope was elected in 1378.

The amphitheatre is still being used for events like bullfights

The papal palace also has a large austere room where the cardinals gathered to elected the next pope. Instead of smoke, the bells were rung to signal a new pope was elected.

While the last pope took all the tapestries, gold, wine and furniture back to the Vatican, it was sad to hear that during the French Revolution the papal palace was severely damaged, with frescoes destroyed and statues beheaded.

We also got to see the "haute cuisine", or a large room with holes where spits would have been to roast up to seven or eight whole cows at a time to feed 300 people. The French came up with the word "barbecue", as barb means "head" and queue for "tail".

The hospital in which van Gogh stayed in and painted

In the dining area, there was a fireplace to heat up food, and the pope sat opposite the fireplace. He also had an instrument to test food for poison. The pope also figuratively didn't sleep lying down -- it meant death -- so he slept in a chair...

Our next stop was Arles, which was one time was a Roman colony in the 1st century BC. We saw some reminders of the town's Roman history -- the amphitheatre, circus and arc of triumph are still standing and continue to be used today.

Theatres are still used for performances, while the amphitheatre, formerly the location for gladiator fights and races, is now the place for bull fights, with one coming up on July 18.

At the asylum in St Remy is van Gogh's bedroom

But the other important historical importance of Arles is that Vincent van Gogh spent a year here in 1888 and was inspired by the brilliant colours he saw here, and felt the sky was bluer here than in Paris.

He painted such works as Bedroom in Arles, The Night Cafe, Cafe Terrace at Night, Starry Night Over the Rhone, and Still Life: Vase with Twelve Sunflowers. We also saw the Langlois Bridge that van Gogh also painted.

Painted Paul Gauguin visited van Gogh, who hoped the two could paint together, but after a while they quarreled, and Gauguin left, due to personal differences (Gauguin was arrogant and domineering, while van Gogh admired him and desperate to make their friendship work).

This was the view from his studio across from the bedroom

Van Gogh ended up in a hospital here, a yellow and blue-trimmed building with a nice courtyard filled with colourful flowers. However he didn't stay there long as other patients felt he was too crazy.

He then went to Sainte Remy in 1889, in an asylum that was a former monastery. It's set in the middle of nowhere really, some Roman ruins nearby, and olive trees. Inside there is an arched hallway and another pretty floral courtyard.

Then upstairs we saw the small bedroom van Gogh lived in, the small bed and the tiled rustic floor, and the window had a view of the countryside -- and in our case we saw a small patch of lavender in the backyard.

The fragrant lavender bushes grown behind the asylum

He also had a small room across his bedroom in which he could paint, and it looked down on the courtyard, though he was also allowed to paint outside with an escort. It's a pity the small museum only houses photographic reproductions of his paintings, not even decent copies like Monet's house in Giverny.

Nevertheless, it gave us a good idea of where van Gogh spent another year here, seeing what he saw, and imagining how he was inspired by his surroundings.

Tragically a year later, van Gogh's mental state deteriorated and on July 27, 1890, he apparently shot himself in the chest, though the gun was never found and there were no witnesses. He died 29 hours later.

A bronze statue of van Gogh with sunflowers

In the last few years of his life van Gogh was prolific, making 43 self-portraits and a number of his now famous works that can be found in Musee d'Orsay, and MOMA to name a few.