Hong Kong Cardinal Joseph Zen says his last act of protest would be refusing to be buried in the cathedral if the Vatican appoints a bishop blessed by Beijing.
The retired bishop flew to the Vatican last week, seeking to meet with Pope Francis to discuss the seat of the Hong Kong bishop — which has been vacant for almost two years since Michael Yeung’s death — but he was not granted one during the three-day trip.
Zen, 88, told the National Catholic Register that his legs were not in good shape for long trips and it would likely be his last journey to the Vatican. Zen gave a letter to Francis’ personal secretary, and said “there is nothing more to do other than prayer.”
The former bishop said his job was finished if the Vatican chose a pro-Beijing bishop, and he would choose to disappear. His last act would be a protest where he would not want to be buried in the cathedral with such a bishop.
“I will be buried in a simple cemetery with what remains of the faithful people of God,” he said.To have “the blessing of Beijing” means to support mainland China’s goal to silence any voice claiming freedom and democracy, under the new circumstances following the enactment of the national security law in Hong Kong, Zen said.
He said the Holy See initially chose auxiliary bishop Joseph Ha as the new leader for the Hong Kong Catholic church, but did not confirm the appointment as it might have offended Beijing.Ha publicly supported human rights and was perceived by some to be antagonistic to Beijing, but unlike himself, Zen said Ha had never done anything to cause trouble.The Vatican then chose bishop Peter Choy before retracting the decision because he would not be accepted by Hong Kong Catholics, according to Zen. This has resulted in the Vatican putting aside both options, and is instead searching for a third candidate.
Zen said this was the main motivation in his trip to the Vatican to try to speak to Pope Francis, fearing that Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin and Hong Kong church leader Cardinal John Tong would procrastinate in order to reintroduce Beijing’s preferred choice.
Parolin doubled down on the Vatican’s intent to pursue continued dialogue with China over bishop nominations on Saturday. The Vatican signed a provisional deal with Beijing in 2018 over the matter, and the both sides are said to be renewing it soon.
