自 一九四九年中華人民共和國成立，中國天主教會跟其他宗教一樣受到中國政府的控制，因此出現了所謂「愛國會」這樣的「宗教團體」。這些團體表面上看來是重視 民眾的團體，其頭目其實都是中共的官員和黨員。他們所做的事實在與他們的政治利益息息相關，不容否定。這一年內，中國官方教會好幾次擅自祝聖幾名天主教主 教，並沒有得到梵蒂岡的同意，更說這些主教的是教友民主選舉出來，然後每次又透過外交部發表意見，要求教庭不要干預中國的內部事務，這些舉動反映了這些主 教祝聖的做法是如何充滿政治性，而且最近在徐州的主教祝聖更涉及哄騙和強迫兩名河北的主教參加祝聖禮。
作為教會的一分子，我感到非常憤慨，國內教友的宗教自由被剝奪，難道我們身在 香港的教友便只能為他們祈禱？曾經有一位我非常敬重的香港神父跟我說，國內教會很多事情不要報導出來，否則好像與中國政府對著幹，對國內教會沒有好處，難 道我們真的就因為害怕而默不作聲？沉默對國內教會人士被侵犯人權有幫助嗎？
Since the People’s Republic of China was established in 1949, like other religions, the Catholic Church in China has been under control of the PRC government. As a result, “religious groups” like the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association were set up. On the surface, these groups seem to emphasize the participation of ordinary people, but in fact, their leaders are officials of the Communist Party. What they do are always related to their political interests.
This year, the Chinese official church has ordained several Catholic bishops without the approval of the Vatican. It even claimed that the bishops were elected democratically. Every time after the ordination, the Chinese Foreign Ministry always said that the Vatican should not interfere with China’s internal affairs. It just shows how political are the ordinations of the government-appointed bishops. The most recent bishop ordination in Xuzhou, Jiangsu province, even involved deceiving and pressuring two bishops from Hebei province to attend the ordination ceremony.
As a member of the Catholic Church, I feel outraged about these actions taken by the Chinese Catholic Association and the State Administration of Religious Affairs. Is praying for them the only thing we can do for our fellow Catholics in mainland China? A Hong Kong priest who I respect very much once told me that it is better for us not to report about the situation of the Catholic Church in China, saying that it can’t help the church people in China and it would only be portrayed as confrontational to the Chinese government. So, does it mean that we should be silent about the plight of our fellow Catholics in China? Can silence help them?