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By Root 233 0

of the twenty-first year of his incarceration, Father Zhang was released. When he returned to his native Zhangerce Village, he received letters from the Vatican and the Italian government. The Vatican had been monitoring his situation for two decades. After China and Italy established diplomatic relations, Italian officials attempted to address the issue through diplomatic channels. Neither the Vatican nor the Italian government received a response from Chinese authorities. When Chairman Mao died and the Cultural Revolution was over, a large number of Christians in China had been asked by the Vatican to gather information about Father Zhang and it was learned that he was imprisoned in Shaanxi province. Our new leader, Deng Xiaoping, who had studied abroad when he was young, granted Father Zhang’s release. Deng even allowed Father Zhang to make a pilgrimage to the Vatican, which he had not seen in thirty-five years. Rome was packed with tourists and pilgrims, a sharp contrast with the nearly deserted wartime city he remembered. The buildings were the same, but the people were different. The new pope, John Paul II, was busy and, after waiting for three days, Father Zhang met with a Vatican official, and their conversation went something like this:

The Vatican official greeted him, “On behalf of the pope, we welcome you. We understand that you have suffered tremendously in the past three decades.”

Father Zhang remained silent.

The official continued, “Your situation in China should improve fast. We have long known that the Chinese government has set up patriotic church organizations that are independent of the Vatican. You can join the church and offer your service, if you are willing.”

Father Zhang asked, “Is this what the new pope wants?”

The official nodded, “Since Deng Xiaoping assumed power, religious activities in communist China have resumed. You should go tend the church of your nation and people under the leadership of the Communist Party.”

“Are these also the words of the new pope?” Father Zhang asked.

The Vatican official nodded.

Father Zhang stood up with anger, “Then please go and tell him there is only one center. It is the Vatican. The Vatican is the spiritual capital for Catholics around the world.”

Father Zhang’s outbursts stunned the official, who stood up and embraced him. “On behalf of the pope, welcome home.”

Father Zhang was gripped with emotion when Pope John Paul II received him. He said to Father Zhang during their meeting, “We thought you could have been brainwashed by the Communists. We are glad you haven’t changed.”

Father Zhang quoted a line from the Bible. “Those who honor me I will honor.”

The news of the papal meeting spread quickly and Father Zhang once again became famous in the Catholic communities in China. He had reached an advanced age but his mind remained sharp. After he returned, he went back home, vowing to continue on a path considered as heresy in China. He built a church in his village with money the Italian government had awarded him for his heroic actions during World War II, and built roads for the village. Father Zhang’s activities triggered a series of controversies in the region. The local Party featured articles accusing him of spreading superstition. Deng Xiaoping ordered the local government to be tolerant. He didn’t want to derail the country’s overall reform movement.

Liao: In the early to mid–1980s, China experienced a revival of religion.

Liu: Yes, Catholicism, previously considered “the spiritual opium of foreign imperialists,” was allowed to expand. Catholic preachers could practice in the open. In 1980 about three hundred Catholic leaders in China met in Shanghai, the first such meeting after the Cultural Revolution. The Vatican requested through diplomatic channels that a papal envoy be allowed to attend. The Chinese government rejected the request. Because the Catholic Church was under the jurisdiction of the Religious Affairs Bureau, the premise for any type of religious freedom was patriotism. Father Zhang was outraged and asked government officials