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: 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!

Taiwan's New Chapter

Tsai Ing-wen is Taiwan's first female president who was inagurated today

Today is a historic day with the inauguration of Tsai Ing-wen, Taiwan's first female president.

She wore a straight-forward white jacket and black slacks, which reflected her speech that aimed to get Taiwan back on track and become less reliant on the mainland, much to the ire of Beijing.

Tsai campaigned on this platform which won her and the Democratic Progressive Party a decisive victory, and so she was keen to continue on this theme. She said Taiwan would pursue a new economic model of sustainable development based on the core values of innovation, employment and equitable distribution.

She also stressed the importance to building ties regionally and globally.

Former president Ma Ying-jeou looking sombre with Tsai

However what everyone was listening for was how Tsai would deal with relations with Beijing.

While she acknowledged discussion between the two sides, she stopped short of endorsing the so-called 1992 consensus, where at the time, China and Taiwan agreed they were part of "one China", with each side having its own interpretation of what that meant.

Agreed upon by the previous Kuomintang government, it was the basis on which the two sides began having warming relations, resulting in the start of direct flights, more tourism and investment.

However in the last few years, many Taiwanese felt that former President Ma Ying-jeou sold out and they were fed up with being overwhelmed with mainland tourists, a similar refrain with Hong Kong.

As a result, the Taiwanese wanted someone who would take a stand against the mainland and Tsai was the chosen one.

Nevertheless, the point of contention is that Tsai doesn't endorse the so-called 1992 consensus, instead recognizes it as a "historic fact", which annoyed Beijing immensely.

Paraphernalia featuring Tsai's face on inauguration day

"The two governing parties across the strait must set aside the baggage of history and engage in positive dialogue, for the benefit of the people on both sides," she said.

This led to Beijing issuing a statement via Xinhua, saying Tsai did not go far enough in acknowledging the so-called 1992 consensus, calling her remarks "an incomplete examination paper", as if she were a petulant student.

Since her election, Beijing has taken a more aggressive stance on Tsai and her administration, and renew challenges to the island's recognition by 22 states including the Vatican.

Tsai seems ready to deal with Beijing's combative style with her own way of doing things. The former law professor and trade negotiator knows exactly what she's up against and it remains to be seen how deftly she deals with the hisses and criticisms across the Taiwan Strait.

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.