Document Seems to Derail Beijing's Accusations Against New Saints
ASSISI, Italy OCT. 4, 2000 (ZENIT.org).- The Beijing government has accused some of the new Chinese martyr-saints of having trafficked in opium. But a letter on display here indicates the facts were otherwise.
A pastoral letter written by Franciscan Bishop Gregorio Grassi of Shansi, one of the new martyr saints, specifically asks Christians "not to use, cultivate or buy opium." In the original letter, signed in Chinese and in the form of a public notice, the line about opium is underlined in red.
Bishop Grassi, one of 120 China martyrs canonized Sunday by John Paul II, was killed during the Boxer Rebellion in 1900.
His pastoral letter is being exhibited, along with other historical documents, in the "Franciscan Martyrs in China" exposition, in the Porciuncula Museum of Assisi.
As pastor, Bishop Grassi educated Christians to make moral choices that were consistent with the faith, which implied specific social commitments, such as combating the use of drugs, which then, as today, was the source of profit but also corruption.
Another document in the exposition is a congratulatory note embroidered on red cloth, addressed to a Father Fan, described as "the benevolent" because of his love for the people and his assistance in times of calamity.
The information on this note is insufficient to identify the priest with certainty. It might be one of the new saints, Bishop Antonino Fantosati, who was known as "Fan-hoae-te, "Fantosati the Virtuous," because of his affability.
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