Cardinal Joseph Zen, retired Bishop of Hong Kong and critic of the Holy See’s attempts at a rapprochement with China, flew to Rome for a hastily arranged meeting with Francis to discuss the case of Bishop Peter Zhuang, 88, who has been replaced by Bishop Huang Bingzhang, who was excommunicated in 2011 and has close ties with the Communist party.
Along with asking Bishop Zhuang of Shantou to stand aside there are reports the Vatican also wants Bishop Joseph Guo Xijin, in communion with Rome, to become a co-adjutor, or assistant, to the illicitly ordained Bishop Vincent Zhan.
Raising both matters during a 12 January audience with Francis, Zen said the Pope told him he had warned aides about “creating another a Mindszenty case”.
Cardinal Jozef Mindszenty was the Archbishop of Esztergom and leader of Catholic Church in Hungary who sought asylum in the US embassy in Budapest following his outspoken opposition to communist rule. But under pressure from the communist government the Holy See ordered him to leave the country in 1971 and resign his position.
“I was there in the presence of the Holy Father representing my suffering brothers in China. His words should be rightly understood as of consolation and encouragement more for them than for me,” the cardinal wrote in a Facebook post.
“I think it was most meaningful and appropriate for the Holy Father to make this historical reference to Cardinal Josef Mindszenty, one of the heroes of our faith.”
Under Pope Paul VI the Vatican adopted a policy of Ostpolitik, which was an attempt to deal make with Soviet powers in order to improve conditions for Catholics.
The Holy See has taken a similar approach with Beijing in its attempts to re-establish diplomatic ties with China, although it has come under harsh criticism from Cardinal Zen and others in the process.
Writing on Monday, the 86-year-old Salesian bishop asked if there can “be anything really ‘mutual’ with a totalitarian regime”, saying that “either you surrender or you accept persecution, but remaining faithful to yourself.”
He stressed he is “more than happy” to be an obstacle to any deal with Beijing adding that the Vatican was on the verge of “selling out” Catholics in China. "Can you imagine an agreement between St. Joseph and King Herod?” Zen writes.
The major hurdle for any deal between the Holy See and China is over the appointment of bishops, with any agreement likely to involve Vatican recognition of illicitly ordained bishops for the state-sanctioned arm of the church, known as the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association.
Cardinal Zen and his supporters are speaking out for the underground Catholics - those loyal to Rome - who have suffered persecution for their faith.
The Holy See is keen to emphasise one Church in China rather than two churches in attempts to normalise the situation for Chinese catholics.
Zen said both cases were also raised by Archbishop Savio Hon Ton Fai, during an audience he had with the Pope before leaving to become papal ambassador to Greece. Francis was apparently surprised to hear the news.
Archbishop Hon, a Salesian and critic of appeasement with China, was previously a high ranking official at the Vatican’s powerful “propaganda fide” congregation but was recently moved off his job and named nuncio to a country with a small number of Catholics.
While Benedict XVI’s papacy took a tougher line with the Catholic Patriotic Association, this Pope has repeatedly praised China and declared his interest in visiting the county. Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Secretary of State, has also worked for years on trying to re-establish diplomatic relations with China.
PICTURE: Cardinal Joseph Zen discusses issues of Sino-Vatican relationship and a variety of topics relating to political freedom in Hong Kong, during an event ''A Talk with Cardinal Joseph Zen'' in Los Angeles, on Friday, August 25, 2017. Image from PA Images/Ringo Chiu.
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