#Cardinal Joseph Zen
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Cardinal Zen fined by Hong Kong court over pro-democracy fund
Cardinal Zen fined by Hong Kong court over pro-democracy fund
Retired bishop, Cardinal Joseph Zen, 90, was convicted and fined along with five others after being found guilty by a Hong Kong court of failing to register a fund for pro-democracy protesters.
Zen was first arrested in May on suspicion of colluding with foreign forces under a Beijing-imposed National Security Law.
While Zen has not yet been charged with national security-related charges, he and…
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Vatican Renews China Deal for Second Time
After the China deal was signed in 2018, state officials in different regions of China removed crosses and demolished church buildings, and underground Catholics and clergy have reported harassment and detention.
Hannah Brockhaus/CNA Vatican October 22, 2022
The Vatican announced Saturday it has renewed its 2018 deal with China on the appointment of Catholic bishops for an additional two years.
“After appropriate consultation and assessment, the Holy See and the People’s Republic of China have agreed to extend for another two years the Provisional Agreement regarding the appointment of Bishops,” the Vatican said in an Oct. 22 press release.
“The Vatican Party,” it continued, “is committed to continuing a respectful and constructive dialogue with the Chinese Party for a productive implementation of the Accord and further development of bilateral relations, with a view to fostering the mission of the Catholic Church and the good of the Chinese people.”
The provisional agreement between the Vatican and China was first signed in September 2018 and renewed for another two years in October 2020. The terms of the deal have not been made public.
Pope Francis said in July that he hoped the agreement would be renewed for a second time.
In an interview with Reuters published July 5, the Pope defended the Vatican-China deal against its critics, saying, “Diplomacy is the art of the possible and of doing things to make the possible become a reality.”
He compared today’s critics and those who spoke negatively about the Vatican’s diplomatic decisions during the Cold War, when the popes struck deals with Eastern European communist governments in an attempt to protect the interests of the Catholic Church.
“Diplomacy is like that. When you face a blocked situation, you have to find the possible way, not the ideal way, out of it,” the Pope said.
Speaking to Vatican News Oct. 22, Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin said the Vatican-China deal is “still in the experimentation phase.”
“As is always the case, such difficult and delicate situations require adequate time for implementation in order to then be able to verify the effectiveness of the result and identify possible improvements,” he said in the new interview.
After the China deal was signed in 2018, state officials in different regions of China removed crosses and demolished church buildings, and underground Catholics and clergy have reported harassment and detention.
A 2020 report from the U.S. Congressional-Executive Commission on China found that Chinese Catholics suffered “increasing persecution” after the agreement came into effect.
While introducing more restrictive rules on religious practice, China’s President Xi Jinping has been outspoken about his goal of the “sinicization” of religions.
Chinese authorities have sought to diffuse “religious theories with Chinese character” into the five official religions supervised by the government, including the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association. This has included instructing Christian churches to remove images of the Ten Commandments and replace them with the sayings of Chairman Mao and Xi.
Cardinal Parolin said “Pope Francis — with determination and patient foresight — has decided to continue along this path not under the illusion of finding perfection in human rules, but in the concrete hope of being able to assure Chinese Catholic communities, even in such a complex context, of the guidance of pastors who are worthy and suitable for the task entrusted to them.”
The provisional agreement with China on the appointment of bishops is “a limited but significant part,” Cardinal Parolin said.
“Of course,” he continued, “we do not hide the numerous difficulties that affect the concrete life of the Catholic communities, which enjoy our utmost attention, and for the good solution of which new steps forward are necessary in a collaborative relationship that has multiple protagonists: the Holy See, the central authorities, the bishops with their communities, and the local authorities.”
“The ultimate goal of this journey is for the ‘little flock’ of Chinese Catholics to advance in the possibility of living serenely and freely their Christian life,” he said.
Cardinal Joseph Zen, retired bishop of Hong Kong, has been an outspoken critic of the Vatican’s China deal.
The cardinal, 90, was arrested in May along with other democracy activists under Hong Kong’s strict national security law.
He is standing trial for failing to properly register a fund to provide legal aid to pro-democracy protesters. The trial is scheduled to resume Oct. 26.
vatican china agreement
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The Chinese Communist Party escalated its persecution of Christians throughout 2022 as the country clamped down on churches and online religious content while demanding allegiance to Chinese President Xi Jinping, according to a watchdog group.
A report released last week by the U.S.-based non-governmental organization ChinaAid warned that the Chinese government is using charges of "fraud" to financially suffocate the house church movement, which consists of Christian congregations that have not registered with China's official Protestant church.
Authorities are using the traditional Christian practice of giving tithes and offerings to trump up charges against house churches under the "Measures for the Financial Management of Religious Activity Venues," which were updated last June, according to the report. The report noted that multiple house church pastors and elders have been jailed and potentially face years in prison.
CARDINAL JOSEPH ZEN, 90, BEGINS TRIAL IN HONG KONG ON CHARGES OF FOREIGN COLLUSION
ChinaAid president and founder Bob Fu said in a statement that his organization is also "gravely concerned" with how state-sanctioned churches are being treated in China, which has approximately 96.7 million Christians, according to persecution watchdog Open Doors.
"By using the new measures against religious content online and the infamous 'zero-COVID' policy, authorities limited or eliminated Christian gatherings," said Fu.
The Chinese government is also cracking down on Christian websites and apps in an attempt to "remove Christianity from cyberspace," according to ChinaAid.
Following the implementation of the "Administrative Measures for Internet Religious Information and Services" in 2022, censorship of online Christian content — including even in group chats — has reached an "unprecedented" level, the report warned.
PASTOR FACING 10 YEARS IN PRISON FOR PREACHING AT CANADA TRUCKER BLOCKADE PROTESTING VACCINE MANDATES
CathAssist, which became China's first Christian phone app in 2013, was among those that were shut down under the new regulations because they were unable to obtain a license. ChinaAid's report said the app "did not meet the government's requirements for the license, despite having taken various actions including suspending sharing, changing its name, and modifying content."
Fu also noted that while the Chinese government has long demanded sole allegiance to the Communist Party, in recent years it has been emphasizing allegiance to Jinping.
"Before, during, and after the opening of the Congress, China's state-run religious groups lavished compliments and praise on Xi with more extravagant words and phrases than China's state-run media, showing that religious Sinicization is evolving from supporting the CCP to worship and allegiance to Xi Jinping," the report said.
"Their goal is not only to curate a ‘socialist-friendly’ church; they hope to erase it," said Fu. "The international community needs to know about these trends and developments as China continues to rise on the global stage."
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Cardinal Joseph Zen says Cardinal Fernandez has written heresy, he must ...
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Cardinals dissatisfied by Pope Francis' answers on LGBT blessings and ordination of women, demand 'yes or no'
A group of cardinals is concerned about the development of Catholic doctrine ahead of the upcoming Synod on Synodality.
Cardinals Raymond Burke, Walter Brandmüller, Joseph Zen Ze-kiun, Juan Sandoval Íñiguez and Robert Sarah submitted a set of dubia, formal requests to the pope and Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith for clarification on doctrine, in July.
The dubia requested clarification on five specific issues the cardinals believe have lacked clarity from the Holy See: the inability to reinterpret divine revelation, the inadmissibility of blessings for same-sex couples, the hierarchical authority of bishops, the ordination of women to the priesthood and the necessity for repentance for sacramental absolution.
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Pope Francis responds to dubia submitted by five cardinals
Pope Francis has responded to five Dubia [questions; lit. “doubts”] that were sent to him last July by Cardinals Walter Brandmüller and Raymond Leo Burke supported by three other Cardinals, Juan Sandoval Íñiguez, Robert Sarah, and Joseph Zen Ze-kiun. The questions, in Italian, and the Pope’s responses in Spanish, were published on Monday on the…Pope Francis responds to dubia submitted by five…
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[Editor's note: This story originally was published by Real Clear Wire.] By Eric Felten & Carl M. Cannon Real Clear Wire On Thanksgiving Day, 90-year-old Cardinal Joseph Zen, a Hong Kong priest, was convicted, along with five others, of failing to register a defunct charitable...
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Why China feels threatened by the moral authority of a 90-year-old Catholic bishop
Why China feels threatened by the moral authority of a 90-year-old Catholic bishop
Cardinal Joseph Zen trial began on Sept. 19, 2022, in Hong Kong for his role as a trustee of the 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund. This organisation paid legal fees and medical bills for Hong Kongers protesting the Extradition Law Amendment Bill.
This 2019 legislation would have allowed extradition to the People’s Republic of China. Many residents viewed this as a subversion of Hong Kong’s…
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How Pope Benedict XVI Stood Up for Chinese Catholics#Pope #Benedict #XVI #Stood #Chinese #Catholics
How Pope Benedict XVI Stood Up for Chinese Catholics#Pope #Benedict #XVI #Stood #Chinese #Catholics
The presence of the persecuted Cardinal Joseph Zen at the late pontiff’s funeral was a reminder of Benedict’s welcome firmness on this issue.
#Pope #Benedict #XVI #Stood #Chinese #Catholics
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Hong Kong allows Cardinal Zen to attend Benedict's funeral
Hong Kong allows Cardinal Zen to attend Benedict’s funeral
HONG KONG — Hong Kong’s outspoken Roman Catholic Cardinal Joseph Zen was allowed to leave the southern Chinese city to pay his respects to the late Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI in Vatican City, his secretary said Tuesday.
Zen, a 90-year-old retired bishop, will attend the funeral Mass, led by Pope Francis, at St. Peter’s Square on Thursday and return to Hong Kong on Saturday, the secretary…
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Hong Kong allows Cardinal Zen to attend Benedict's funeral
Hong Kong allows Cardinal Zen to attend Benedict’s funeral
HONG KONG — Hong Kong’s outspoken Roman Catholic Cardinal Joseph Zen was allowed to leave the southern Chinese city to pay his respects to the late Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI in Vatican City, his secretary said on Tuesday.
Zen, a 90-year-old retired bishop, will attend the funeral Mass, led by Pope Francis, at St. Peter’s Square on Thursday and return to Hong Kong on Saturday, the secretary…
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Cardinal Joseph Zen has filed an appeal with Hong Kong’s High Court following his conviction last month for failing to register a pro-democracy fund.
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