VATICAN RADIO: 50 YEARS OF SERVICE TO THE CHURCH IN CHINA

VATICAN CITY, MAY 3, 2000 (VIS) - At 11:30 this morning at Vatican Radio, Cardinal Jozef Tomko, prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, celebrated Mass for the employees of the radio. In his homily he recalled that "today marks the 50th anniversary of the service which Vatican Radio gives to the Church in China."

"For a half century," recalled the cardinal, "Vatican Radio has served as a bridge between the Holy See, the See of Peter, and the Church in China, contributing to keeping alive the link and bond of communion among that portion of the People of God who live in China and the Universal Church which has its visible head and its center in Rome."

"Certainly these have been, and are, 50 difficult years for the Church in China. It has been a time of political and social upheavals, but also of a harsh persecution against various religions, especially against the Catholic Church, accused of not being Chinese enough, of not being faithful enough to that great people. There have been attempts to break her off from her vital center which guarantees her catholicity. ... In this atmosphere, often permeated by fear, the Church in China has passed through 'fire and water' ... but has matured on the Cross and is growing in numbers and in the courage of the faith, sustained by Vatican Radio's transmissions in Chinese."

Cardinal Tomko thanked the radio's collaborators "who, for long years, have sought to keep faith in Christ and love for one's neighbor in the service of the great values of dignity, freedom, integral human development and love of country."

Remarking that this 50th anniversary coincides with the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000, the cardinal said "this is a welcome occasion to greet our brothers and sisters in China. Being unable to personally meet you in your great country, we bring you via radio all of our affection and communion."

"How very much," underscored Cardinal Tomko, "we would like to embrace you and pray with you here in Rome at the tombs of the Apostles, to pass with you and the pilgrims of the world through the Holy Door. ... We thank you for so many examples of fidelity to Christ, to this Church, to the Successor of Peter. Rest assured that the Pope and his collaborators, including those of Vatican Radio, pray for you, admire your fidelity and exhort you to remain ever strong in the faith. ... With you we too firmly profess that the Catholic Church, even in China, is only one."

"This Church is founded on Peter and the Apostles and, today, on their successors, the legitimate bishops. ... No human power can take the place of this constitution of the Church of Christ and no one can ask to change it, as the Church does not wish to take the place of political power and interfere in its sphere."

Then, recalling "how many sacrifices, how many sufferings you have endured to remain in communion with the Pope," Cardinal Tomko pointed out that Sunday, May 7 at the Colosseum there will be the ecumenical celebration of the Commemoration of Witnesses to the Faith in the 20th Century: "Very soon, a goodly number of Chinese martyrs, representing so many others in diverse periods of Catholic history in China and in other countries, will be added to the list of Saints of the Universal Church. They will be proposed to all the faithful of the world as shining examples of Christian life."

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