Cardinal Joseph Zen Archives

Vatican and China renew debated deal on picking bishops

Oct 22, 2020

Amid a chorus of criticism, the Vatican announced Thursday the highly-anticipated renewal of its provisional agreement with China on the appointment of bishops meaning that for the next two years, the door is still open to possible diplomatic ties.

By Elise Ann Allen

Is this the end of the College of Cardinals as a polite society?

Oct 20, 2020

To call a public blast by one cardinal against another “rare” is to traffic in understatement. To find any sort of precedent we have to go back a decade, and a public conflict between Cardinal Christoph Schönborn of Vienna, Austria, and Italian Cardinal Angelo Sodano.

By John L. Allen Jr.

Ex-Hong Kong bishop calls Vatican line on China ‘sickening’

Oct 19, 2020

“Parolin knows he himself is lying. He knows that I know he is a liar. He knows that I will tell everyone that he is a liar,” wrote Cardinal Joseph Zen, a former bishop of Hong Kong and a longtime critic of appeasement when it comes to China’s Communist authorities.

By Crux Staff

Hong Kong cardinal: Keep opinions on political issues out of sermons

Sep 2, 2020

Cardinal John Tong Hon of Hong Kong asked priests not to resort to using “slanderous and offensive statements” in their sermons.

By Catholic News Service

Catholic Hong Kong media tycoon’s arrest sparks fear Church could be next

Aug 13, 2020

The arrest of prominent Catholic millionaire and media tycoon Jimmy Lai in Hong Kong along with two of his sons and two executives of his Next Media company under China’s new national security law has raised concerns that prominent Catholic leaders he has supported could be next.

By Elise Ann Allen

Hong Kong cardinal says current bishop in an ‘impossible situation’

Jul 3, 2020

Cardinal Joseph Zen, bishop emeritus of Hong Kong and a longtime critic of the Chinese Communist Party, has called a new national security law the end of democracy and said he does not envy the area’s current Church leaders, who he said will be walking a tightrope as Beijing exerts more control.

By Elise Ann Allen

Cardinal Zen says he’s prepared for arrest under Hong Kong security law

Jul 1, 2020

Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun has said that while he will remain prudent, he is prepared to suffer arrest and trials under Hong Kong’s sweeping new national security law.

By Catholic News Service

‘We need a miracle,’ retired Hong Kong cardinal says on security law

Jun 4, 2020

Cardinal Joseph Zen, archbishop emeritus of Hong Kong, has said a new security law puts the city’s autonomy at risk, and condemned the Vatican’s silence on the issue as political pandering with disregard to the faith.

By Elise Ann Allen