The European Parliament urged the Holy See to “strengthen its diplomatic efforts and its leverage on the Chinese authorities” and urged the Vatican to “give full support to Cardinal Zen.”
The 90-year-old former bishop of Hong Kong was detained by Chinese authorities, and in a resolution voted on July 7 the parliament denounced the detention and urged that the allegations against him be abandoned.
On May 24, Cardinal Zen and four other well-known proponents of democracy who were trustees of the 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund, which assisted pro-democracy demonstrators in paying their legal bills, were accused in a Hong Kong court.
The EU parliament condemned Zen’s detention as “an attack on the freedoms guaranteed in the Hong Kong Basic Law, including the freedom of religion or belief” in the non-binding resolution it voted on Thursday.
The resolution also acknowledged the cardinal as a strong supporter of democracy in Hong Kong and gave the Maltese Catholic President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, the task of informing the Holy See and other institutions of the resolution.
“The European Parliament has stood and still stands and will continue to stand with Hong Kong. This parliament continues to actively show solidarity with Hong Kong democrats and against Chinese communist oppression,” said Reinhard Buetikofer, the leader of the European Parliament’s China delegation according to the South China Morning Post.
Zen was arrested by the authorities on May 11 in Hong Kong but later that day was freed on bail. He is accused of failing to register a pro-democracy organisation, to which he has entered a not guilty plea.
Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin expressed his confidence that the cardinal’s detention would not obstruct the Holy See’s negotiations with China the day after Zen was detained by Hong Kong police.
The temporary accord between the Holy See and Beijing on the nomination of bishops has drawn harsh criticism from Zen.
Following Pope Francis’ comments that the agreement was “moving well” and should be extended, human rights activists expressed their concerns this week.
Zen stated that the Holy See “made an unwise decision” to enter into a preliminary accord with the Chinese Communist Party government at the time it did on May 24, the World Day of Prayer for the Church in China.
“Martyrdom is normal in our Church,” Zen said. “We may not have to do that, but we may have to bear some pain and steel ourselves for our loyalty to our faith.”
On September 19, the trial against Zen and the other individuals who were detained is expected to start.