Mob threat in Italy imperils the Church and the Vatican too
- Jan 17, 2021
Several days after Chinese Cardinal Joseph Zen, an outspoken critic of the Vatican’s approach to China, received a prize from the U.S. government for defending democracy in communist China, the Vatican’s foreign minister had an historic meeting with his Chinese counterpart.
As protests continue to unravel in Hong Kong, the Vatican has maintained its silence and Catholics appear split about what exactly their role is and just how political they ought to be.
Catholic leaders in Hong Kong have widely supported nearly seven months of anti-government protests, except when they turned violent.
Cardinal Joseph Zen, a vocal opponent of Pope Francis’s approach to China, in a new interview has called his contact with the Vatican in his time as a cardinal “disastrous,” particularly on the issue of engagement with Beijing, and criticized two former top Vatican officials.
The Diocese of Hong Kong has made a rare foray into politics, issuing a statement urging the city’s government “not to rush to amend” the city’s controversial extradition treaty.
Tens of thousands of people commemorated the 30th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre at a candlelight vigil in Hong Kong’s Victoria Park.