Cardinal Joseph Zen has published a blog post accusing the Vatican’s secretary of state of manipulating Pope Francis, and continuing his ongoing criticism of the Holy See’s approach to the Catholic Church in China.
“My personal impression is that [Cardinal Pietro] Parolin manipulates the Pope, at least in things regarding the Church in China,” Zen, the emeritus bishop of Hong Kong, wrote in a post published on his personal blog.
The post “Supplement to my answer to Cardinal G.B. Re,” was dated March 10, although it was actually published March 21. It seemed to be an addendum to a March 3 open letter Zen wrote to Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re.
Zen’s March 21 and March 3 letters came in response to a Feb. 26 letter from Re, dean of the Church’s College of Cardinals, to the Church’s cardinals, which claimed that that the China-Vatican deal represents the minds of St. John Paul II and of Benedict XVI, and that Zen’s opposition to the deal is misguided.
Even before it was signed, Zen has been a zealous critic of the Vatican’s 2018 provisional agreement with the People’s Republic of China. He says the agreement, which has not been publicly released, concedes a deliberative role to the Chinese government in the selection of bishops, and puts at risk of persecution many of the Catholics in China.
In his March 3 letter, Zen wrote to Re that “if you want to prove to me that the recently signed agreement was already approved by Benedict XVI, you just have to show me the text of the agreement, which I am barred from seeing till now, and the archival evidence which you say you could verify.”
Zen’s more recent post claimed that while he has been critical of Re over the China deal, “The problem is not between me and Re. The problem is with Cardinal Parolin.”
“It’s difficult to understand how this man has become so powerful to dominate the whole Roman Curia. He could dismiss the Commission for Church in China without a word and nobody stood up to protest against such impoliteness.”
Zen has previously alleged that Parolin closed the Vatican’s commission on the Church in China, which was established under Benedict XVI and included Vatican officials and Church leaders from the region, in order to silence criticism from Zen about the Church’s engagement with the Chinese government.
The cardinal’s March 21 post also criticized Parolin for assigning Archbishop Savio Hon, formerly the secretary of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples and the only high-ranking Chinese cleric in the curia, to a diplomatic post in Greece….
The above comes from a March 21 story on Catholic News Agency.
Ah, the ‘politics’ of it all.
Why the Vatican will not release the document signed with the Chinese government is baffling, to say the least. It has the appearance of at least a lack of transparency, if not another cover up. And, certainly, it seems a heroic Chinese Cardinal should be permitted to see the agreement. Especially since the predator prelate McCarrick was a part of these negotiations, many have difficulty with the standard “trust” the Church leaders line. We need honesty and accountability.
Why the Vatican will not release the document.
My guess is embarrassment and pride.. It’s the same reason most people rarely go to confession. Very simple:embarrassment, pride and possible self righteousness..We all need the Church’s gifts of reconcilation and Lent to clean out our junk. Otherwise we are like Satan who won’t admit he made the wrong choice in choosing himself over the Almighty. It’s food for thought for all of us.
God bless Joseph Cardinal Zen, many of us are praying for him. I am reading his book and underlining important parts.
May Ignatius Cardinal Kung, through the mercy of God, rest in peace, and if he is already with Our Heavenly Father may he pray for us too… Many saintly priests have been buried in Santa Clara County, CA. May they all and their followers rest in peace.
And, U.S. bishops were told late last year that the Vatican report on McCarrick would be released “soon.” It’s April. With Rome in virtual quarantine, those in the Vatican should have plenty of time to do whatever they plan to do before they release it. Any connection between the McCarrick report and the China agreement? No one outside of the Vatican appears to know, since neither have been released. The lay faithful and clergy won’t just forget.
Well Pope Benedict XVi seemed to have ‘quarantined” Mc Carrick, and Pope Francis set him free to go to China. We shall see who the Judas be. We shall see.
Francis, not Parolin, threw Zen under the rickshaw. Zen will get the same reply that the Dubia Cardinals and Vigano got.
Our parish would need about 50 eucharistic ministers to deliver the sacrament to 400 prisoners. How feasible is or isn’t that? Nothing can take the place of the Holy Eucharist in this lifetime and the crisis is taking too long for the current state of affairs to endure all the confusion. Pray for us and God’s peace.