Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun, Bishop Emeritus of Hong Kong, speaks at the Pontifical Urban University in Rome, Nov. 18, 2014. / Bohumil Petrik/CNA.

Hong Kong, China, May 11, 2022 / 06:32 am (CNA).

Cardinal Joseph Zen has been arrested by the authorities in Hong Kong, according to local media reports.

The 90-year-old former Catholic bishop of Hong Kong was reportedly detained in his role as a trustee of the 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund, which helped pro-democracy protestors to pay their legal fees.

The Standard newspaper reported that the trustees were arrested on Wednesday evening local time, according to sources.

The fund, which was founded in 2019, disbanded last year after the national security police ordered it to share operational details, the newspaper said.

Zen, who stood down as Hong Kong bishop in 2009, is an outspoken supporter of the pro-democracy movement.

In 2020, a sweeping National Security Law criminalizing previously protected civil liberties under the headings of “sedition“ and “foreign collusion” came into force.

Before the law’s implementation, many Catholics, including Zen, warned that it could be used to silence the Church in Hong Kong.

More to follow.