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Tai Pei (Agenzia Fides) - “I am like the Lord’s kangaroo, that hops to wherever he is needed,” “the tumor is my second guardian angel that reminds me to cherish every moment I have left in ‘my race,’ as Saint Paul says: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.’” These were some of the words of Cardinal Paul Shan, Emeritus Bishop of Kaohsiung, in his speech entitled “A Timeless Dialogue - farewell parting from life (on the earth) of Cardinal Paul Shan.” The Cardinal’s singular motive in the conferences he has been having since May 2007 is “to present my faith and my life, sowing the seed of Love.”
Cardinal Shan received the inspiration when he was diagnosed with a tumor. He immediately felt moved to use his “remaining” time to “proclaim to all Christians the message of my 60 years as a Jesuit, our Catholic faith that is simple, that is Love,” the Cardinal said in a recently released interview he granted to UCAN news agency. The fact that an 85 year-old man that has had a tumor in his lung for almost 2 years, withstands the fatigue of a speech lasting about 3 hours and supports tiresome traveling schedules, has left nearly 100 tumor specialists dumbfounded. Cardinal Shan’s initial statement surprised them as well, when he explained to doctors that he was able to withstand it all “thanks to a medicine that you have not yet thought of: my faith.” As the fifth Chinese Cardinal, the first in the Regional Church of Taiwan, Cardinal Shan lives in utmost awareness of his own mission in bringing the Gospel to the Chinese world that “wants to hear and wants to know.” “As my time is limited, I have chosen three main subjects to focus on,” the Cardinal said. “University students and intellectuals, prisoners, and religious, without any distinction of belief or race, so that includes Protestants, Buddhists, Daoists...” As of now, Cardinal Shan has given some 50 speeches in 14 universities, 8 prisons, and in the presence of many organizations present in the 7 dioceses of the island of Taiwan. Television stations, radios, and periodicals have all done reports on his speech.
Cardinal Shan was born 85 years ago (December 3, 1923) in Puyang, in the province of He Nan, continental China. At 25 years of age, he entered the Jesuits. He was ordained a priest on March 18, 1955. On November 15, 1979, he was elected Bishop of Hwalien. On February 14, 1980 he was ordained a Bishop and took possession of the diocese. He also plays an important role in the Chinese Regional Bishops' Conference. On March 4, 1991, he was appointed Bishop of Kaohsiung. He has held many important positions in the Holy See and in the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences. He was created Cardinal by John Paul II in the Consistory of February 21, 1998. (NZ) (Agenzia Fides 28/4/2008; righe 35, parole 487)
