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Cardinal Zen backs Cardinal Bo over China claims

Hong Kong prelate hits back at French theologian who accused Bo of 'spitting in China's face'
Cardinal Zen backs Cardinal Bo over China claims

Cardinal Joseph Zen has supported Cardinal Charles Bo's attack on China over the Covid-19 pandemic. (Photo: AFP)

Published: May 06, 2020 09:58 AM GMT
Updated: May 06, 2020 09:58 AM GMT

Cardinal Joseph Zen has come out in support of Cardinal Charles Bo over China’s responsibility for the Covid-19 pandemic.

The retired bishop of Hong Kong has published a blog backing Myanmar's Cardinal Bo, who held China primarily responsible for the spread of the virus, and attacking French theologian Michel Chambon.

Here is the full text of Cardinal Zen’s May 6 article:

Cardinal Charles Bo made a dramatic intervention in the international debate about the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic (UCA News, April 2), laying the primary responsibility squarely at the door of the Chinese Communist Party.

His courage surprised me, but the article is very accurate and fair. I am happy that The Tablet reported it very positively.

On the same UCA News (April 20), French “theologian” Michel Chambon came out to attack the Myanmar cardinal: “Cardinal Bo spits in China’s face

I could not find anything theological in the article of this “theologian,” with such an emotional title, and its content is gratuitous and even self-contradictory.

He says: “I agree with Cardinal Bo that lies and propaganda have put millions of lives around the world in danger.” That’s precisely the main substance of Cardinal Bo’s article.

But Chambon says “it is inaccurate” because “Western governments are also responsible, they refused to take [the available information] seriously.” Again, Cardinal Bo said the same thing: “Criticisms can be made of authorities everywhere. Many governments are accused of failing to prepare when they first saw the coronavirus emerge in Wuhan.”

But Cardinal Bo says also that “there is one government that has primary responsibility for what it has done and what it has failed to do [they suppressed the news and silenced the whistleblowers].”

Chambon accuses Bo of “politically dividing the world.” That is gratuitous. The one who inflicts calamity on people and his victims are rightly put on two opposed sides of the division, but there is nothing political in this.

And here comes the astonishing statement in Chambon’s article: “Insulting the China regime is also spitting in the face of the nation which supports it.”

Anybody with a little knowledge of China would laugh at it and consider the time wasted in reading this “theologian” and “anthropologist studying the Church in China.”

With people like Michel Chambon, there would never have been a French Revolution.

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