VATICAN, Oct. 2, 00 (CWNews.com) - Despite the rain that fell on St. Peter's Square, some 80,000 people gathered there on Sunday for ceremonies marking the canonization of 120 Chinese martyrs and three religious women.
Among the Chinese martyrs, 87 were native Chinese, while 33 where European missionaries. Their canonization had roused controversy when the Chinese government charged that the Vatican was engaged in a deliberately political ploy, since (Beijing argued) many of the martyrs were contemptuous of Chinese culture and independence.
During the ceremony, Pope John Paul II responded directly to those complaints, reiterating the Vatican's statement that the canonization was not a comment on any political regime, but an affirmation of the saints' holiness and zeal.
The Chinese martyrs, who lived and died at the end of the 19th or beginning of the 20th century, were caught up in «difficult and complex» political and social issues, the Pope acknowledged. For that very reason, he suggested, «Today's celebration is not the right time to form judgments on those historic periods. That can and should be done, at another time and place. Today, with a solemn proclamation of their holiness, the Church simply wants to recognize these martyrs as examples of courage and coherence for all of us, and thus to honor the noble Chinese people.»
To illustrate his point, the Holy Father mentioned two of the Chinese martyrs. One of them, Anna Wang, was only 14 when she was beheaded. On the point of death, she told all who could hear her that «the door to heaven is open to everyone.» Similarly Chi Zhuzi, who was 8 when he died, told his persecutors, «Every drop of my blood will testify that I am a Christian.»
As for the 33 foreign missionaries among the martyrs, the Pope pointed out that that had left their homelands in order to minister to the Chinese people, and never returned. «The tombs are there» (in China), he observed; «as a show of their definitive tie with China-- a country which they loved, through all their human weaknesses, and for which they spent their energies.»
At the conclusion of the ceremony, Pope John Paul issued a statement to Chinese Catholics, indicating that he hoped the canonizations would be «a special moment of grace for the whole Church and for the entire Chinese Catholic community.»
The Pope concelebrated the Eucharistic liturgy with Cardinal Shan Kuo-hsi of Kaohsiung, Taiwan; Archbishop Joseph Ti-kang of Taipei, Taiwan; and Bishop John Ton Hon, an auxiliary for the diocese of Hong Kong.
Catholic World News Service - Vatican Update