Cardinal Joseph Zen – a long-standing critic of the Vatican’s accommodation with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) – has now has his trial date set for September 19, following his earlier arrest under China’s national security law. He and four others face charges of failing to properly register a now-defunct fund to help anti-government protesters in Hong Kong.

As Ed Condon argued in the Pillar in May: “According to senior Catholics on the ground, it is widely believed that the authorities will charge that many of the 621 Fund’s donations come outside Hong Kong, and can be tied to non-state actors linked to the U.S. government.” This could see Zen convicted as a foreign agent.

Meanwhile, earlier this year, Condon added, “the Vatican quietly transferred out its senior diplomats in both Hong Kong and Taiwan. In the latter post especially, the Holy See has three possible options: leaving the role vacant, which would be the preference of Beijing; replacing the now-departed chargé d’affaires, resorting the status quo; or announcing the first full nuncio to Taiwan in decades – which would be taken as a rebuke in Beijing.”

Meanwhile, keeping “the diplomatic post in Hong Kong empty, on the other hand, would likely be more of a defensive move.” Therefore, publicly filling it “could be presented as a vote of confidence in the political situation in Hong Kong.” It should be noted however that, as of July, Monsignor Stefano Mazzotti is the new interim charge d’affaires in Taipei, while Monsignor José Luis Diaz Mariblanca Sanchez arrives on a ‘study mission’ in Hong Kong. It seems the Vatican is trying to maintain its Chinese balancing act.

To put it mildly, the deal with the CCP has been bad for the Vatican and Zen one of its sharpest critics. Through the agreement, the Vatican and the CCP agreed to cooperate in the selection of bishops of a united Catholic Church in China. The objective is a merger of the Underground Catholic Church into the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association (CPCA). Yet one report by the US Congressional-Executive Commission on China found that Chinese Catholics suffered “increasing persecution” after the deal was actually signed.

It seems unlikely that Zen’s arrest and trial are merely coincidental to the looming renewal of the deal which effectively turns CPCA clergy into apostates. Worse still, the CCP has reneged on a deal which – it should be said – effectively permits Beijing to accuse underground clergy of defying the Pope, with the threat of sacraments withheld for those who refuse to register.

In late 2020, according to Nina Shea, writing in National Review, “China thoroughly negated” the deal “in a dry public posting by the state bureaucracy”, with Order No. 15 making “no provision for any papal role in the process” of selecting bishops, without “even a papal right to approve or veto episcopal appointments in China”.

CPCA-aligned clergy must instead “support the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party”, with their registration tracked in a database which lists the names of legal clergy, and regulates conduct through a system of “rewards” and “punishments.” The CCP gets what it wants, but it is increasingly hard to see what the Church gets out of the deal.

Meanwhile, Cardinal Zen has said he thinks Cardinal Parolin – key to the deal – is “manipulating” the Pope and may be acting out of “vainglory”, according to an interview with New Bloom Magazine. For his part, Parolin recently said the Church is pacifist because it believes in peace, telling Italy’s Limes magazine: “The diplomacy of the Holy See is not linked to a state but to a reality of international law that has no political, economic, military interests.”

Regarding the deal, Parolin said “steps forward have been taken, but that not all obstacles and difficulties have been overcome and therefore there still remains a way to go for its good application and also, through sincere dialogue, for its refinement.” However, should the Vatican go ahead with the deal without demanding release of detained clergy at the very least, it will almost certainly guarantee the ongoing persecution of Chinese Catholics.

It is hard then not to see Cardinal Zen as a bargaining chip for the CCP. Should the Vatican renew the deal – and Zen is found not guilty or faces only mild punishment – this suspicion may be reinforced. On the other hand, if the deal is not renewed or held up with conditions attached – and Zen faces a harsh punishment – it would similarly raise questions. Overall, if the Vatican bends the knee, it will send a message that Beijing’s bullying works. No Catholic, in good conscience, can accept renewal of the deal without conditions attached.

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