Posted on 03/21/2008 1:49:41 PM PDT by kellynla
The Vatican yesterday was accused of currying favor with China by "censoring" the Easter reflections for tonight's solemn Good Friday service at the Colosseum that Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun of Hong Kong wrote at the request of Pope Benedict XVI.
But many commentators insist the choice of the outspoken Shanghai-born bishop for the task reflects the full support he enjoys from the pontiff.
The pope asked Cardinal Zen, 76, to write the reflections, or special prayers, for the Way of the Cross ceremony, which will be beamed on live satellite television to millions of Christians around the world.
The prayers will be recited at each of the 14 "stations of the cross" as specially chosen participants join a torch-lit procession led by the German pontiff carrying a large wooden cross in a liturgy recalling the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.
"I understood that the Holy Father wanted me to bring the voice of China to the Colosseum," the cardinal told the Vatican Radio on Wednesday. "The memory of the passion of Our Lord naturally refers also to the present suffering still today in the Church, and in China there are many who still are suffering for their faith."
Cardinal Zen said he hoped the Chinese leadership in Beijing will "understand that religious freedom, also for the Catholic church, is not harmful at all. On the contrary, it is to the advantage of our homeland."
However, the left-leaning La Repubblica newspaper noted that there was no reference to the suffering of Chinese Catholics in a text of the cardinal's prayers made available in advance.
"Was this forgetfulness, self-censorship or prudence?" asked Orazio La Rocca, Vatican correspondent for the Rome newspaper.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
Did Pope Benedict "blink?"
ping
No, he never does.
Wow, tougher than Dick Cheney and Chuck Norris rolled into one!
Ha, good one, and smarter too.
No.
:-). The Vice President is smart. Mr. Norris seems to be very well-intentioned.
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