The Scottish Cardinal Keith O’Brien will visit China at the end of the month. There he will meet the new Archbishop of Beijing, Joseph Li Shan, who was invested last month with the approval of the Holy See and the Chinese government. The visit, which will last from 19 to 31 October, has been organized by the “Cultural Exchange”, a religious organization for the promotion of culture and education. Cardinal O’Brien will go to Xian, the city twinned with the Scottish capital Edinburgh, Beijing and Shanghai. “Visiting China will be a very interesting experience”, declared the cardinal. “I have hoped to do so for many years”. O’ Brien will also travel to Vietnam where he will give a lecture on social justice in Hanoi. In his talk the cardinal will refer to “The Social Agenda – A Collection of Magisterial Texts”, a collection of documents of the social doctrine of the Popes and Councils, which was published by the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace when its President was Cardinal Francis Xavier Nyugen Van Thuan. Pope Benedict XVI has announced that the process for the beatification of Cardinal Van Thuan will begin shortly. During his visit to Vietnam, Cardinal O’Brien also hopes to meet Cardinal Jean-Baptiste Pham Min Man in Ho Chi Minh City.
