VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis voiced hope that the church in China operates in “freedom and tranquility,’’ but didn't mention a 90-year-old cardinal who was recently arrested in Hong Kong.
“I follow with attention and participation the life and the matters of the faithful and pastors, often complex, and I pray every day for them.”
Cardinal Joseph Zen was arrested in May 11 along with at least three others on suspicion of colluding with foreign forces to endanger China’s national security. He was released later that night.
Francis in his remarks invited the faithful in the square to join him in prayer, “so that the church in China, in freedom and tranquility, can live in effective communion with the universal church and can exercise its mission to announce the Gospel to all, offering, thusly, a positive contribution to the spiritual and material progress of society.”
The arrests, including that of Zen, in Hong Kong expanded a blanket crackdown on all forms of dissent, penetrating further into the city’s long-respected economic, religious and educational institutions.
The Vatican has said it learned of Zen’s arrests with “concern” and was following “the situation with extreme attention.”