Cardinal Joseph Zen. / Iris Tong via Wikimedia (Public Domain).The European Parliament urged the Holy See to “strengthen its diplomatic efforts and its leverage on the Chinese authorities” and urged the Vatican to “provide 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 arrest 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 infringement on the freedoms enshrined in the Hong Kong Basic Law, notably the freedom of religion or belief” in the non-binding resolution it voted on Thursday.
The cardinal was also acknowledged by the parliament as a major proponent of democracy in Hong Kong, and the 612 fund was urged to begin operations.
It gave Roberta Metsola, a Maltese Catholic and President of the European Parliament, instructions to inform the Holy See and other parties of their plea.
“The European Parliament has stood with Hong Kong and will do so in the future. According to the South China Morning Post, Reinhard Buetikofer, the head of the European Parliament’s China mission, said, “This parliament continues to actively demonstrate solidarity with Hong Kong democrats and against Chinese communist oppression.
Zen was detained by the law on May 11 in Hong Kong but later that day was freed on bail. He is accused of failing to register a pro-democracy organization, to which he has entered a not guilty plea.
Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin expressed his confidence that the cardinal’s arrest would not obstruct the Holy See’s negotiations with China the day after Zen was detained by Hong Kong authorities.
The temporary accord between the Holy See and Beijing on the appointment of bishops has drawn harsh criticism from Zen.
This week, after Pope Francis indicated the pact was “going well” and should be renewed, human rights campaigners expressed their worries.
Zen stated that the Holy See “made a foolish judgment” to engage into a temporary accord with the Chinese Communist Party government at the time that it did on the World Day of Prayer for the Church in China.
In our Church, martyrdom is common, Zen added. “We might not have to do it, but we might have to put up with some suffering and fortify our commitment to our beliefs.”
On September 19, the trial against Zen and the other citizens who were detained is expected to start.