Text: Senator Joseph Lieberman Praises China's Cardinal Kung
(Senator lauds Roman Catholic Cardinal March 30)Senator Joseph Lieberman (Democrat of Connecticut) eulogized China's late Cardinal Kung in a Senate speech March 30, noting how Kung "endured terrible persecution because of his unwillingness to surrender his religious beliefs," at the hands of China's communists.
Cardinal Kung passed away March 12 at the age of 98 in Stamford, Connecticut.
"It is no secret that religious persecution in China, including of underground Catholics, continues," said Lieberman, who is Jewish.
"It is my hope that the spirit of Cardinal Kung will endure and continue to inspire others in China," Lieberman added, "to follow his courageous example. And that one day there will be the complete religious freedom in China that Cardinal Kung lived, worked, and prayed for."
Cardinal Kung was arrested by the communists in 1955, Lieberman said. "Dragged into a stadium in Shanghai for a public confession, the Cardinal, with his hands tied behind his back, instead courageously shouted: `long live Christ the King, long live the Pope,'" quoted Lieberman.
"The security forces rushed him off the stage, and Cardinal Kung was held in detention for another 5 years," Lieberman said.
When Kung was finally brought to trial in 1960, the communists convicted Cardinal Kung, Lieberman said, "and sentenced him to life imprisonment for the so-called counter-revolutionary activity of pursuing his Catholic faith."
Cardinal Kung, Lieberman said, "suffered 30 years of isolating imprisonment, during which time he was denied visits from family and concerned representatives of the international community."
Kung, Lieberman said, was put under house arrest in 1985 and finally released in 1987. Shortly after that he went to the United States for medical treatment and to live with a nephew in Connecticut.
Earlier, Lieberman related, when told that he could win his release by denouncing the Pope and cooperating with the government-sanctioned Catholic Patriotic Association, Kung responded: "`I am a Roman Catholic Bishop. If I denounce the Holy Father, not only would I not be a Bishop, I would not even be a Catholic. You can cut off my head, but you can never take away my duties.'"
Following is the text of Lieberman's statement from the Congressional Record:
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TRIBUTE TO CARDINAL KUNG
(Senate - March 30, 2000)Mr. LIEBERMAN. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to Cardinal Kung, who passed away on March 12 in Stamford, CT, at the age of 98. Cardinal Kung was a historic figure in the Roman Catholic Church and a symbol of strength and hope for all of us who care about religious freedom. In China, his native land, the Cardinal endured terrible persecution because of his unwillingness to surrender his religious beliefs. My state, Connecticut, had the great honor and privilege of welcoming him as a resident for the final years of his life.
Born in Shanghai in 1901, and ordained a priest in 1930, Cardinal Kung's heroic story began soon after the Communists took power in China. In 1949, he became the Bishop of Shanghai and, in 1950, the Apostolic Administrator of Soochow and Nanking. Resisting the new regime's attempt to control the Catholic Church, he refused to join the government-sanctioned Catholic Patriotic Association, which cut ties to the Vatican. Instead, Cardinal Kung remained loyal to the Pope and led the devoutly Catholic Legion of Mary, which the Communists declared to be counter-revolutionary.
After 5 years of tension, the Chinese Government in 1955 arrested Cardinal Kung and several hundred other people involved in the unofficial Catholic Church. Dragged into a stadium in Shanghai for a public confession, the Cardinal, with his hands tied behind his back, instead courageously shouted: `long live Christ the King, long live the Pope.' The security forces rushed him off the stage, and Cardinal Kung was held in detention for another 5 years. When he was finally brought to trial in 1960, the authorities convicted Cardinal Kung and sentenced him to life imprisonment for the so-called counter-revolutionary activity of pursuing his Catholic faith.
Cardinal Kung was a prisoner of conscience whose plight became known around the world. He suffered 30 years of isolating imprisonment, during which time he was denied visits from family and concerned representatives of the international community, and other forms of contact such as written correspondence. Despite this tortuous experience, he refused to renounce his beliefs or give in to his oppressors. In fact, when told that he could win his release by denouncing the Pope and cooperating with the government-sanctions Catholic Patriotic Association, he responded: `I am a Roman Catholic Bishop. If I denounce the Holy Father, not only would I not be a Bishop, I would not even be a Catholic. You can cut off my head, but you can never take away my duties.' The Vatican has recognized Cardinal Kung's extraordinary devotion and sacrifice to the Roman Catholic Church. In 1979, while he was still serving his life sentence, Pope John Paul II secretly elevated Kung to Cardinal, in pectore (in his heart), and the Pope announced this to the world in 1991.
In 1985, after sustained pressure from his family, human rights organizations, and foreign governments, the Chinese Government moved Cardinal Kung to house arrest, and in 1987 finally released him, though they notably did not exonerate him. He soon traveled to the United States for medical treatment and lived with his nephew, Joseph Kung, in Connecticut. In 1998, the Chinese Government refused to renew Cardinal Kung's passport, effectively exiling him, and the Cardinal never returned to his country.
Cardinal Kung's life demonstrates, I believe, the power of an individual's faith and will to resist the repression of the state, and thus replenish the wellspring of human liberty for others. He refused to bend, to abandon his commitment to his Church, and his example inspired millions of his countrymen to hold firm in their beliefs and to their rights. When the Communists took power, there were an estimated 3 million Roman Catholics in China. According to current Chinese government statistics, there are now 4 million persons registered with the official Catholic Church. However, according to China's unofficial Catholic Church, for whom Cardinal Kung was the greatest symbol, the number of underground Catholics has swelled to as many as 9-10 million.
It is no secret that religious persecution in China, including of underground Catholics, continues. It is my hope that the spirit of Cardinal Kung will endure and continue to inspire others in China and around the world to follow his courageous example. And that one day there will be the complete religious freedom in China that Cardinal Kung lived, worked, and prayed for.
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(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State - www.usinfo.state.gov)
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