July 2002

Dear Friends:

Remembering Bishop Peter Joseph Fan Xueyan:
Tenth Anniversary Of His Martyr Death

“The Good Shepherd Lays Down His Life For The Sheep” John 10:11

It was not the kind of news that we were totally unprepared for.  Bishop Peter Joseph Fan Xueyan, the Bishop of Baoding in Hebei, China for about 41 years, was pronounced dead in jail on April 13, 1992 by the Chinese communist government.  He was incarcerated for 34 years in jail and labor camp. Accustomed to so many martyr deaths of other faithful, we were too numbed to be stunned by the news, but overjoyed by the fact that China gained one more martyr in its long struggle to remain faithful to the Roman Catholic Church.  

The newspaper Avvenire in Italy published a photo of Bishop Fan’s corpse.  Reuter news quoted the newspaper: “There was a large bruise on the right side of the man’s face.  The bones of his legs appeared to be broken.  The two legs were tied so tightly together with white cloth that it was difficult to untie them.  There was obviously something they wanted to hide.” 

In Stamford, Connecticut, the late Bishop Walter Curtis of Bridgeport and Chairman of the Cardinal Kung Foundation, offered a Mass of Resurrection for Bishop Fan. He wore red vestments, signifying the blood of the martyr.  In his homily, Bishop Curtis said: “Bishop Fan is not resting in peace.  He is working very hard in heaven, jockeying to God for the end of the persecution of the Roman Catholic Church in China and elsewhere.  Bishop Fan will not rest in peace until China enjoys the true freedom of religion.”  I might as well add here Bishop Fan now has a powerful friend, Cardinal Kung, working with him together for the free China of tomorrow.

According to St. Thomas Aquinas International Center, Bishop Fan was born in Baoding Diocese on December 29, 1907.  After his ordination in Rome, Italy on December 22, 1934, he returned to China and worked in parishes, schools, seminaries, and in the Catholic Relief Agency during 1937-1951.  His work took him to several provinces in China.  Ordained Bishop in Hankow, Hubei Province on June 24, 1951, Bishop Fan returned to his home diocese of Baoding. He spent all 41 years as a Bishop under surveillance, custody, detention, arrest in prison or in labor camps. With patience, humility, charity and perseverance, he endured painful sufferings for the love of God and for His people. In 1990, he totally disappeared from sight when he was led away with other prisoners who were sentenced to die.  He was thought to have died that year.  However, the Press reported that Government officials had hesitantly assigned April 13, 1992 as the date of his death.  On April 16, security officers returned his frozen and broken body in a plastic sack from Cheng-teh City (north of Beijing) to Siao-Wang-Ting (in the south) where he was buried.  Local bishops and priests conducted novena prayers for the Bishop.  Defying the government’s order to have a simple quiet burial, a sea of more than 30,000 mourners attended the funeral of this saintly bishop.  He died as he had lived, a martyr and a Confessor of the Faith.  He was known as one of the longest serving prisoners of conscience worldwide. Let us honor God in remembering the gift of fidelity with which Bishop Fan served the Church and the Holy See for the salvation of the world. Let us also pray for Bishop Fan’s canonization.

The persecution of the Roman Catholic Church is still continuing.  In its issue dated April 7, 2002, the National Catholic Register reported that International Christian Concern declared in February, 2002 that as many as 23,686 Christians have been arrested in China since 1983; 20,000 have been beaten, and 129 have been killed in an effort to stamp out the underground churches.  Freedom House has published seven secret Chinese government documents providing irrefutable evidence that China is determined to use extreme force to eradicate all underground churches that refused to register with the government.  At present, every one of the approximately 50 bishops in the underground Roman Catholic Church is either arrested, or under house arrest, or under strict surveillance, or in hiding, or on the run.

We therefore wish to express our deep gratitude to those who continue to pray for the freedom of religion in China.  In this regard, I urge you to participate in our Annual Mass to be held on September 29, 2002, the weekend before the national day of China.  All you have to do is to offer a Mass at your parish for the persecuted Roman Catholic Church in China on or close to September 29, and let us know when such Mass is offered, so that we can tally the total number of Masses offered.

I also wish to let you know that there is a good article on the Cardinal Kung Foundation in the Connecticut section of the New York Times on May 12, 2002.  Those who are interested in receiving a copy, please let me know.  My speaking engagements in the last three months include the Congressional-Executive Commission in Washington, D.C., Harvard Law School in Cambridge, MA, the Asia Society in New York, NY, and the IHM Home School Conference in Washington, D.C.  I am scheduled to speak at the National Wanderer Forum in November, 2002 at the Holiday Inn in Sterling, VA.

Yours sincerely in Christ,

Joseph Kung
President

From Our Mail Box We are grateful for many notes that we received from our friends, and would like to share with you some of their thoughts, experiences and initiatives for the underground Roman Catholic Church in China.

“I have a special devotion to this Holy, gentle, and saintly man, the Cardinal, and am praying to him for my son, through his powerful intercession, my son may be cured from his illness.”  Barbara, MN

“Cardinal Kung continued to inspire me in my spirituality…As a seminarian, I always remind myself to open myself to the task of working …for the unity of the Catholic Church in China in my future ministry.” A seminarian in Canada

“Please use the donation for the support of the persecuted Chinese Catholic.  I often think of these imprisoned priests and bishops – so many elderly and frail – and yet so strong and courageous in their faith.”  Maureen, KS

On boycott of Chinese made goods – “There just are no alternatives in many cases, except to do without.  And that I must learn to do.”  R.L.

“Good gracious, when the Beijing government tears down Catholic churches and incarcerates bishops and priests, doesn’t that tell us something about Beijing’s intentions!”   C.A., AR

“Our family is interested in praying for an underground priest/seminarian. He will be a part of our daily rosary.” Ron, KS

“Our parish has a sacrificial giving/tithing program. This check is an expression of our parish outreach and participation.” Father Tim, CT

“Please send me Cardinal Kung’s relic. I have just been diagnosed with lymphoma-class 3. I begin chemotherapy Monday.” Mary, MN

“We took up a Lenten collection for you from our small parish.  God bless you in your work”  Father D.K. KY

“There was a meeting with Michael Fu, Catholic Bishop of China, after the resurrection Mass with a high level MP-delegation of an Austrian Provincial Parliament…. Could you tell me who and where this man belong, if he is a Roman Catholic bishop or a Patriotic bishop?  I do not know if this delegation knows the difference and I wish to write to them.   L. K.,  Austria

(Note from CKF: Michael Fu is the Patriotic bishop of Beijing, married, and the President of the Patriotic Bishop Conference.  He makes goodwill visits in Europe and America frequently.)