When Fr Lazzarotto blessed Catholics, who had kept the faith alive in Peking
The funeral of the PIME missionary, a pioneer of dialogue with the Church in China after Mao’s persecution, was held today. In his last book, he told the story of one of his first trips to the Chinese capital where he met with some elderly people forced to quit the religious life. They understood that he was a priest, and asked him to bless some sacred images. He was moved when he bid them goodbye.
Milan (AsiaNews) – Fr Angelo Lazzarotto, a PIME missionary priest who died on Tuesday at the age of 99, was laid to rest today, Holy Thursday, at the cemetery of PIME missionaries in Villa Grugana, Merate (Lecco), following the funeral service in Rancio di Lecco.
Today's services provided an opportunity to read the many tributes to a man who led a long and passionate ministry pioneering contacts with mainland China. Card Piero Parolin, Vatican Secretary of State, wrote that he was sure that Fr Lazzarotto, from his place “close to God, will intercede for all those who, in his footsteps, seek to consolidate relations of knowledge and friendship with China.”
In his message, Card Luis Antonio Tagle, pro-prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelisation, mentioned the service carried out by this PIME missionary as rector of the Pontifical Urban College from 1985 to 1990, who left an “"indelible print" in the education of many seminarians from countries of first evangelisation, to whom he passed on “not only solid theological knowledge, but also the missionary spirit that always characterised his ministry.”
Mgr Claudio Giuliodori, General Ecclesiastical Assistant in the Theology Department of Milan’s Università Cattolica and bishop emeritus of Macerata (Italy), the diocese where the great Jesuit Matteo Ricci was born, described Fr Lazzarotto as a “true giant of dialogue, in love with China. I received and learnt a lot from him".
Fr Lazzarotto wrote extensively about China: stories, analyses and reflections, many of which were published in AsiaNews. In saying goodbye to him, we want to remember him with a page from his latest book published in 2019, titled: Un forte impegno per il Vangelo in Cina (A strong commitment to the Gospel in China).
These are not his words, but from a great friend, the late Italian Senator Vittorino Colombo, thanks to whom he himself, with the first overtures by Deng Xiaoping, was able to visit the People's Republic of China in the late 1970s, not long after the nightmare of the Cultural Revolution.
In his book, Fr Lazzarotto talks about Colombo’s deep Christian commitment to opening new political and cultural channels of communication to China. In many pages, he adds personal memories of meetings in China, during official missions by Italian institutions that included the missionary as an “expert in religious problems".
One example is the story below about a trip to Beijing in 1981 when, after talking to patriotic Bishop Michael Fu Tieshan, the missionary found himself in the home of Catholics. Forced to abandon their religious life years earlier during the waves of the persecution by the Communist Party, they welcomed the blessing of a priest again.
On Sunday, 13 December 1981, after the 9:30 am Mass at Beijing’s Nan-Tang (southern) church Vittorino Colombo and our group met with the new bishop Michael Fu Tieshan, who said that Saint Paul defended the right of non-Jews to refuse circumcision. Chinese and Confucian culture were not always respected In the last four centuries of the spread of Christianity in China; “today, we want to adapt to our historical and cultural conditions," he said.
Colombo asked if this meant changing the principles of Christianity. Fu replied that no one wanted to change the apostolic tradition; the Church of China, like that of Rome, derived from the twelve apostles.
“Among the Apostles there was one," Colombo added, "who was the first among them: Peter, who was not Roman but Asian. We too today, Romans and Italians, bow to him, whoever he is.” Fu noted that this point was still debated. A person’s choice does not matter, it is necessary to see the politics they follow. The Apostles used to discuss together, theirs was a collective leadership.
“Our relations with Rome broke down in 1958, when we asked the Vatican to allow us to choose our bishops, a request that was denied." I noted that a distinction was made in that first congress of 1958 between the Vatican’s political positions and religious stance, recognising a priority with regard to doctrine. Taiwan was also mentioned. When Colombo asked, "What if the Holy See were to break off (diplomatic relations)?, the bishop remained silent.
Bishop Fu later told us with satisfaction that a dozen young men were preparing for the priesthood in Beijing. He reiterated that the Chinese Church had had friendly relations with other Churches for many years; that he had recently been in Montreal for an ecclesial conference, and had met there with various priests and faithful. “As for relations with the Vatican,” he added, “we want to see facts.” Despite the diversity of positions, the meeting ended amicably.
On my way out, I noticed on the blackboard the announcement that two new bishops had been elected, for Xi'an and Taiyuan. In the afternoon, I walked back to the Dong-Tang area, and in the square in front of the church I found, as expected, a little man who had greeted me in French the day before. He, inconspicuously, came to my side, walking for a while in silence and then asked me if I would agree to visit his house, which, since it was outside the centre, he said, is not well monitored.
We changed public transit twice and arrived near a railway station; since he worked for the railways, he had a flat on the third floor of a building reserved for railway employees.
Along the way he told me about himself. He said that his name was James; that he belonged to a family of martyrs who had lived the faith for three centuries; that he had studied with the Vincentians, completing his theological studies and making his vows in 1957. Forced to quit, he spent several years in a labour camp. He later managed to obtain a dispensation and marry. He had two children, a teenage daughter who studied out of town, and a boy in his tenth grade. When we arrived at the house, I noticed that, in addition to his wife and child, there was another elderly woman with a lucid gaze.
As soon as we entered, even though I had not said who I was, James said: “He is a priest!” and they all knelt for a blessing. They asked me if I came from Rome and if I had seen the Pope. His wife knew that he had been hurt, but that he was better now. The old woman introduced herself as Aloysia, a nun from the Congregation of the Holy Spirit (connected with the Verbites), who had spent several years in a labour camp with James’s wife. She spoke a little French and German. She confided to me that she had prepared a letter for her congregation, and had placed it in an envelope made by herself with wrapping paper. She was very happy when I told her that I could take it to Hong Kong in person.
James’s wife, who was a nurse at the local clinic, filled a bottle with water and asked me to bless her. Then they made me sprinkle the flat and the sacred images. James proposed to send a greeting to the Pope and wrote a few lines in Latin himself, under which everyone put their signature. I said goodbye to them, moved, leaving rosary beads, a few medals and a booklet that I had with me.
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03/09/2012
