Beijing Says Canonizations Will Hurt Ties With Rome

Patriotic Church Bishop Joins in Harsh Criticism

BEIJING, OCT. 1, 2000 (ZENIT.org).- The Chinese government expressed "the height of indignation" over today's canonization of 120 martyrs, killed in China between 1648 and 1930.

In a statement published by the New China agency, the Beijing Foreign Affairs Ministry said that it is "an evident provocation and an attempt to distort the verdict of history on colonialism and imperialism."

The canonizations "will have a grave negative impact on the process of normalization" of relations between the Vatican and Beijing, the statement continued. China broke its diplomatic contacts with Rome in 1951.

For his part, the bishop of the state-controlled Patriotic Church also condemned the canonizations that took place in Rome.

Bishop Michael Fu Tieshan spoke in Tiananmen Square, in the ceremony of raising the flags for the celebration of the 51st anniversary of the birth of the People's Republic.

"To choose today's date to canonize those so-called saints is a clear insult and humiliation," he said. "Today is a great holiday that celebrates the liberation of the Chinese nation from the invader and from the violent robbery of the imperialists and colonialists."

Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls said recently that the canonization date was not due to political motives. Oct. 1 is the feast of St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus, universal patroness of the missions.

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