Easter Greetings 2004

During this hope-filled Easter season, the words of Saint Paul are unmistakably timely: “Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his Body, that is, the Church.” (Colossians 1:24) As part of the Body of Christ, the underground Church rejoices because, through their suffering, Jesus continues to redeem the world. Let us pray for them with gratitude and celebrate with them a blessed Easter.

I want to apologize to all our readers for this newsletter’s lateness, caused by my own recent illness as well as the passing of my mother-in-law, Anna Young. I request your prayers for the repose of her soul. Also, please pray for the repose of the souls of Brother Paul Ambrose Fontaine, FMS and Archbishop Stanislaus Lo-Kuang.

Brother Paul Ambrose Fontaine was the founder of Marist College, Poughkeepsie, NY and a founding-director of the Cardinal Kung Foundation, died in Florida on Dec. 27, 2003, at the age of 90. He spent more than 75 years of his life as a Marist Brother, and led Marist College’s effort to receive its charter as a bachelor’s degree-granting institution. He also was among the first to greet the late Eminence Ignatius Cardinal Kung upon his arrival in the United States in 1988 and volunteered his service for approximately eight years to the Cardinal Kung Foundation before he retired in 2000.

In 1943 at the age of 29, Brother Paul was called by his provincial to become the new master of scholastics at the Marist Brothers’ Normal Training School. Three years later, he successfully petitioned the New York State Education Department to grant a charter, transforming the Training School into a four-year institution then called Marian College. Brother Paul remained at the college an additional 13 years to build the campus, the faculty and the academic program. In 1960, the charter was amended to change the name from Marian to Marist College.

In 1989, while serving in Liberia, Brother Paul contracted malaria. Marist College President Dennis Murray asked him to return to Marist College to recuperate and make the Kieran Gate House his retirement home. Brother Paul returned to the college but never retired. He continued to be a strong presence on campus and

around the world until moving to Florida in 2001. He once told a reporter, “My philosophy is, ‘You rest, you rust.’ Look at a plow. If it’s being used every day, it’s nice and shiny. If it sits idle for any length of time, it gathers rust. People are the same way.”

In 1972, Marist College awarded him an honorary doctor of humane letters degree. In 1997, Pope John Paul II awarded Brother Paul one of the highest honors of the Roman Catholic Church, the “Cross Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice” (for the Church and the Pontiff). In 2000, Fontaine Hall, the home of the Marist Institute for Public Opinion and Marist’s School of Liberal Arts and Office of College Advancement, was named in honor of Brother Paul Ambrose Fontaine. Sadly, having decided to invite a pro-abortion speaker to its campus, Marist College is no longer a Catholic institution, according to the declaration of the archbishop of New York in May of 2003.

Archbishop Stanislaus Lo-Kuang was the retired Archbishop of Taipei in Taiwan. He was also the founding Advisor to Cardinal Kung Foundation and was among the first to greet the late Cardinal Kung upon his arrival in the United States. He, representing the Fu Jen Catholic University, awarded Cardinal Kung an honorary doctor of humane letters degree in 1989.

After being bedridden for years, Archbishop Stanislaus Lo-Kuang died February 28 at age 93. According to his own wishes, the church displayed no photo of him and there were no flowers. His coffin was placed on the floor. Placed next to his coffin were a crucifix and Easter resurrection candles.

In his homily during the Mass, His Eminence Paul Cardinal Shan, S.J., Bishop of Kaohsiung, said that in order to adhere with and respect the will of the late Archbishop, no mention will be made for his achievements and dedications; rather, the Archbishop wanted us to use the spirit of Christian faith

to remember him and pray for him. The Cardinal pointed out that his coffin's being placed on the floor is to symbolize "Thou art dust and unto dust thou shalt return." (Genesis 3:19) The crucifix and Easter candles being placed next to the Archbishop's coffin is to symbolize, emphasize, and reconfirm the foundation of our faith that the miracle of the crucifix and Easter saved all people on earth.

Archbishop Lo-Kuang was born in 1911 in Hunan province, central China. He has served as the first advisor to the ROC, otherwise known as Taiwan's ambassadorial mission to the Holy See, until he was appointed bishop of Tainan in 1961. He headed the Taipei archdiocese from 1966 until his retirement in 1978. The archbishop is also remembered for his dedication to Fu Jen Catholic University in Taiwan and was the second president of the University from 1978 to 1992. During his 14 years as president, the university doubled its departments and student enrollment.

Recently Arrested…and Released Underground Roman Catholic Bishop.
Vatican's Historically Unprecedented Protest. A New Vatican Policy?

On March 8, this Foundation press released to the world media that Bishop WEI Jingyi, the underground Roman Catholic Bishop of Qiqihar, Heilongjiang, was arrested on March 5, 2004. He was then released on the afternoon of March 14.

Bishop WEI was born in May 1958, ordained a priest on November 21, 1985, and consecrated a bishop on June 22, 1995. He was detained in a Chinese labor camp from 1987 - 1989, and from 1990 - 1992. He was last arrested on September 9, 2002. He was the secretary of the underground Roman Catholic Bishops Conference from 1993-1995.

The bishop had gone to the airport to pick up some foreign friends. But on leaving the airport and paying the toll, he and the driver of the car were stopped and arrested. His two foreign guests (both French citizens) were arrested as well, but released just a few hours later.

The news of Bishop Wei's arrest provoked strong reaction from the Vatican. The director of the Holy See's press office, Dr. Joaquin Navarro Valls, said the Vatican was "worried and saddened" and asked Chinese authorities to reveal their accusations against the bishop "as occurs in any lawful state." "The Holy See," the statement concluded, "has no reason to doubt the bishop's innocence." The next day an indirect response came from Beijing via the country's foreign ministry spokesman, who specified that the prelate was being held "for questioning" about falsifying a document to leave the country. Catholics in the Qiqihar diocese feared the bishop would be released only after Easter in order to avoid unauthorized Holy Week gatherings and festivities. In addition, the head of the U.S. Bishops' Committee on International Policy, Bishop John H. Ricard of Pensacola-Tallahassee, Florida, sought an explanation from China's ambassador to the United States as to why Bishop Wei was arrested.

Bishop Wei's sudden release, according to AsiaNews sources in Rome, was particularly due to the Vatican's quick and strong reaction and at a time when the National People's Congress was in session. The annual meeting of Chinese parliament found Chinese leaders debating whether to introduce the terms "freedom of faith" and "protection of human rights" into the country's constitution. The bishop's release saves the government from embarrassment, as it is often criticized for stating things in theory but not backing them up in actual practice. Moreover, with the annual meeting of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in Geneva in March/April 2004 (at which the undersigned was also invited to speak, but could not do so because of illness), the Chinese government is perhaps fearful that the world community will pay more attention to the ongoing persecution of the underground Roman Catholic Church by the Chinese government.

In any case, to the best of my memory, this is the very first time that the Vatican has intervened with the Chinese communist government on behalf of an arrested underground bishop, even though countless bishops and priests were arrested in the past. This is historically unprecedented. We hope and pray that this signals a new approach on the part of the Vatican to both the plight of the underground Church and the Chinese government's policies and behavior. This would certainly be good news for the approximately 50 underground bishops and priests still detained in jails or prevented from effectively practicing their ministry.

Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen

News has reached us that Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen is one step closer to becoming the first American-born male saint in the Roman Catholic Church. The Vatican's internal inquisition regarding Sheen's vices and virtues has been given holy confirmation to proceed to the next step. Accordingly, we link below to an article about Archbishop Sheen with the underground Roman Catholic Church in China.

Yours sincerely in Christ ,
Joseph Kung, President

Please remember that the annual Mass for the persecuted Roman Catholic Church in China for this year is on October 3, 2004. We invite you to offer a Mass on this day in your parish for this intention. Thank you.