More on Cardinal Zen

A model of human rights — and of holiness

By: Father Raymond J. de Souza 
in the National Post
From Rob Ford to Mike Duffy, it has been a surreal period in Canadian public life: A cure for cancer would have been hard-pressed to get press coverage. Nonetheless, it was a shame that no attention was paid to the awarding of the Diefenbaker prize to Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kuin last week in Vancouver.
Formally called the John Diefenbaker Defender of Human Rights and Freedom Award, it was instituted by Canada’s department of foreign affairs and first awarded by foreign minister Lawrence Cannon in 2011. The decision to offer an international prize for human rights, with a strong emphasis on religious liberty, is part of the government’s commitment to raising the importance of human rights in Canada’s foreign policy.
Naming the award after the Conservative John Diefenbaker was partly a partisan balancing of the ubiquity of the Liberal Lester Pearson in foreign policy lore, but also a good reminder of Diefenbaker’s Bill of Rights, the first Canadian statutory protection for human rights. The constitutional protections offered by the Charter of Rights in 1982 were not the beginning of human rights in this country.
Last year, the current foreign minister, John Baird, gave the prize posthumously to Shabbaz Bhatti, the Pakistani minister for minorities who was assassinated for his opposition to Pakistan’s anti-blasphemy laws, often used to persecute Pakistan’s Christian minority. The Diefenbaker award is thus a concrete sign of Canadian solidarity with those persecuted for their faith.
For Canada to give potential offense to the Pakistani government is one thing; to do the same in regard to China requires rather more foreign-policy courage. And so John Baird ought to be congratulated for giving the award to Cardinal Zen, the retired Catholic bishop of Hong Kong and a leading global advocate for religious liberty in China. China does not permit Cardinal Zen to enter the mainland anymore, but they cannot silence his voice in Hong Kong. Thanks to his status as a cardinal and recognition from governments such as Canada’s, his voice is amplified throughout the world.
The importance of his voice was made clear in 2008, when Pope Benedict XVI chose Zen to write the meditations for the Good Friday stations of the Cross at the Colosseum in Rome. At one of the most dramatic Holy Week ceremonies, an event broadcast worldwide, Benedict wanted Cardinal Zen to bring the voice of China’s Christians to the whole world.
“Obviously, we are not alone at the Colosseum this evening,” wrote Cardinal Zen in his introduction. “Present in our own hearts are all the ‘living martyrs’ of the twenty-first century. When we think of persecution, let us also remember the persecutors. As I was drafting the text of these meditations, it frightened me to realize how un-Christian I am. I had to make a great effort to purify myself of uncharitable sentiments towards those who caused Jesus to suffer and those who are causing our brothers and sisters to suffer in the world today. Only when I confronted my sins and my own lack of faithfulness, did I succeed in seeing myself among the persecutors, and then I was moved to repentance and gratitude for the forgiveness of our merciful Master.”
Cardinal Zen is known for his courageous honesty in denouncing the Chinese regime. Here, though, was another kind of honesty: acknowledging that the persecution of the body can lead to a corruption in the soul of the persecuted. Purification is necessary, as difficult as it is to extend charity and mercy to one’s persecutors. In that, Cardinal Zen, is a model not only of human rights but holiness.
“Pilate appeared powerful, he was in a position to determine the life or death of Jesus,” wrote Zen in 2008. “He enjoyed that ironic reference to the ‘King of the Jews,’ but in truth he was weak, wretched and servile. He was afraid of the Emperor Tiberius, he was afraid of the people, he was afraid of the chief priests, while nevertheless despising them in his heart. He handed Jesus over to be crucified, knowing that he was innocent. In his vain attempt to save Jesus, he ended up granting freedom to a dangerous murderer. To no avail he sought to wash those hands, dripping with innocent blood. Pilate is the image of all those who wield authority as an instrument of power, having no regard for justice.”
So it is in China, and Cardinal Zen is one of those willing to say so. It is a matter of pride for Canadians that our government is willing to stand with him.

Peace