VATICAN, Sep. 26, 00 (CWNews.com) - In answer to persistent complaints from Beijing, the Vatican has released a new statement insisting that the canonization of 120 Chinese martyrs this coming Sunday «has no political motivation.»
The canonization ceremony «is not directed against any person, and certainly not against the great Chinese people, whose traditions of civilization have always been recognized and appreciated by the Holy See, and in particular by Pope John Paul II,» the statement read.
Joaquin Navarro-Valls, the chief spokesman for the Holy See, issued the statement on Tuesday. He was responding to a statement released earlier in the day by Chinese foreign minister Sun Yuxi, who said that martyrs honored by the Vatican were actually guilty of «enormous crimes.»
Navarro-Valls said that accusation was «the fruit of a one-sided reading of history, and of mystification, since concrete evidence has not been presented» to back up the Chinese government's charges.
While European powers could certainly be faulted for their treatment of the Chinese people, the Vatican spokesman continued, any such criticisms should not be automatically extended to the missionary martyrs. In fact, he continued, «If one reads the biographies of the missionaries who will be canonized next Sunday without taking sides, objectively, one can only be astonished and filled with admiration at their self-abnegation and their desire to serve the Chinese people.»
Navarro-Valls went on to point out that canonizations and beatifications take place only after «a deep and serious examination, not only of historical witnesses, but also of the heroic virtues» of the candidates.
Catholic World News Service - Vatican Update