null / Screenshot from livestream of Mass Washington D.C., Sep 26, 2022 / 17:00 pm (CNA). As Cardinal Joseph Zen begins his trial in Hong Kong, a number of Catholic leaders and human rights activists have come out with statements of support for the 90-year-old bishop emeritus.Zen and five others are charged with failing to register properly a fund that provided legal aid to pro-democracy protesters. An outspoken critic of Beijing’s communist regime, Zen served as a trustee of the "612 Humanitarian Relief Fund" that helped pay legal and medical bills for protesters arrested and hurt during the 2019 demonstrations in Hong Kong.These are the Catholic leaders, scholars, and human rights activists who have publicly expressed their solidarity with Zen as his trial commences:Cardinal Fernando Filoni, prefect emeritus of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, wrote in support of Zen in Avvenire Sept. 23.“Cardinal Zen is a 'man of God'; at times intemperate, but submissive to the love of Christ, who wanted him to be his priest, deeply in love, like Don Bosco, with youth,” wrote Filoni.He concluded his statement, which he called “a testimony to the truth,” by saying: “Cardinal Zen is not to be condemned. Hong Kong, China and the Church have a devoted son in him, not to be ashamed of.”Bishop Thomas Tobin of Providence made an appeal for prayers on Twitter on Sept. 19 as Zen’s trial was scheduled to begin (it was postponed because the judge contracted COVID-19):“Today be sure to remember our brother in faith, 90-year-old Cardinal Joseph Zen who is on trial in China, and also the Church in China which is regularly attacked and restricted by the government. And pray for Christians everywhere who are being persecuted for their faith,” he wroteBishop Joseph Strickland of Tyler wrote on Sept. 18: Pray for Cardinal Zen 🙏🙏 https://t.co/IyIrnmbnkV— Bishop J. Strickland (@Bishopoftyler) September 19, 2022 Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco shared his prayer for Zen on Twitter on Sept. 26:Mary, Untier of Knots, against all odds we ask you to intercede for our brother Cardinal Zen, that justice might be done and his heart consoled. pic.twitter.com/UZTbjZvDrY— Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone (@ArchCordileone) September 26, 2022 Bishop Athanasius Schneider, an auxiliary bishop of Maria Santissima in Astana, offered his prayers on Twitter Sept. 26:We ask God to protect Cardinal Joseph Zen, a loyal son of the Church, who is facing trial as a defendant in Hong Kong. May his faith always support him and give him strength in this delicate moment. May Mary, auxilium Christianorum, be at his side to inspire him with courage. pic.twitter.com/YbXUd2OFOW— Bishop Athanasius Schneider (@BishopAthanas1) September 26, 2022 On Sept. 1, Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller, prefect emeritus of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, shared his disappointment that Zen was not present at the meeting of the College of Cardinals in August.“Perhaps the Church should be freer and less bound to power-based, worldly logic, consequently freer to intervene and, if necessary, to criticize those politicians who end up

Our Lady Queen of Peace Cathedral in Broome, Australia. CNA Newsroom, Sep 26, 2022 / 07:05 am (CNA). The Vatican has appointed Archbishop Mark Coleridge of Brisbane, president of the Australian Catholic Bishops’ Conference, to oversee an investigation into the former bishop of Broome, Christopher Saunders.The case is understood to be the first application of “Vos Estis Lux Mundi” in Australia, the norms promulgated by Pope Francis in 2019. Saunders stepped aside as bishop of Broome in March 2020 after media reports that Western Australia Police Force had begun an investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct.At the conclusion of its investigation, Western Australia Police confirmed that no charges would be brought against Saunders, prompting critics to call on police to “put up or shut up.”Saunders later tendered his resignation to Pope Francis, which was accepted in August 2021. Saunders has steadfastly denied the allegations, which were made by Aboriginal men from remote communities in the West Kimberley region, according to a report by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.The diocese in Western Australia covers the Kimberley and Pilbara regions of the state — an area bigger than Texas. About 35,000 people live on almost 300,000 square miles, of which just under a third are Catholic. The accused, who has served as priest and bishop in the diocese for almost 50 years, will reside outside the diocese during the Church’s investigation, according to a letter published Saturday by the Australian Catholic Bishops’ Conference that was read at Masses in the Diocese of Broome over the weekend. The document, signed by Apostolic Administrator Bishop Michael Morrisey and Archbishop Coleridge, said the Church investigation “could not happen” until the police inquiries ended.“The Church’s protocols, particularly those enshrined in Pope Francis’ document ‘Vos Estis Lux Mundi,’ mean the outcome of a police investigation does not prevent the Church from conducting its own inquiry,” Coleridge said.He added that “a team of people who are highly qualified to conduct this investigation in a thorough way” had been appointed.Coleridge said with the investigation now underway, it would be improper to make additional comments until the outcome could be announced.Saunders was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Broome in 1976. He was born in Melbourne. In 1989, he became the diocesan administrator and was consecrated as the bishop of Broome in 1995. 

Cardinal Joseph Zen, one of Asia's highest-ranking Catholic clerics, arrives at a court for his trial in Hong Kong on Sept. 26, 2022. / Peter Parks/AFP via Getty Images Rome Newsroom, Sep 26, 2022 / 02:40 am (CNA). Cardinal Joseph Zen and five others stood trial in Hong Kong on Monday for failing to properly register a fund to provide legal aid to pro-democracy protesters. The 90-year-old cardinal and retired bishop of Hong Kong arrived at the court in West Kowloon on Sept. 26 using a cane to walk. He was arrested in May along with other democracy activists under Hong Kong’s strict national security law.In addition to Zen, who has been free on bail since early May, several others have been charged for failing to apply for local society registration for the 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund between 2019 and 2021. Those accused with Zen are lawyer Margaret Ng, singer-activist Denise Ho, cultural studies scholar Hui Po-keung, activist Sze Ching-wee, and ex-legislator Cyd Ho.All the defendants have pleaded not guilty. Cyd Ho is already jailed for a different charge. The fund helped pro-democracy protesters pay their legal fees until it dissolved itself in October 2021. On the first day of the trial, the prosecution said that the 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund had raised a total of $34.4 million and used part of the fund for “political activities and non-charity events” such as donations to protest groups, AFP reported.The defense argued that this was irrelevant to the charge as to whether the humanitarian fund had registered correctly. The defendants’ lawyers previously said they had the right to associate under Hong Kong’s Basic Law — the legal framework created when Great Britain handed over Hong Kong to China in 1997.The defendants have not yet been indicted under Hong Kong’s national security law, which broadly criminalizes “sedition” and “collusion with foreign forces,” which would have carried much more severe penalties.If convicted under the current charge, Zen and the others could face a fine of about $1,200 but no jail time. Zen’s trial, delayed by one week after the presiding judge tested positive for COVID-19, is expected to conclude in November, according to AFP.Vatican responseThe Vatican has remained mostly silent on Zen’s trial apart from issuing a statement after the cardinal’s arrest in May expressing “concern” and that it was “following the development of the situation with extreme attention.”The cardinal’s trial comes as the Holy See and Beijing are determining the terms of the renewal of an agreement on the appointment of bishops in China. Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin said in an Italian television interview on Sept. 2 that a delegation of Vatican diplomats has returned from China and that he believes that the agreement will be renewed this fall.Zen has been one of the most outspoken critics of the Vatican’s agreement with China since it was first signed in 2018, calling it “an incredible betrayal.”Pope Francis did not directly respond to a question about Zen’s trial during an in-flight press conference on Sept. 15.He said the Vatican had

President of the People's Republic of China, Xi Jinping during the G20 summit in Hangzhou, China. / Gil Corzo/Shutterstock Denver Newsroom, Sep 16, 2022 / 12:00 pm (CNA). Pope Francis expressed his “availability” to meet with Chinese president Xi Jinping while both men were in Kazakhstan this week, but China declined, according to a Reuters report citing an unnamed Vatican official. Pope Francis was in Nur-Sultan, the Kazakh capital formerly known as Astana, Sept. 13–15 for an interreligious meeting, while Xi was in the same city to meet with Kazakh president Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, one day after the pope did.According to Reuters, the source said the Vatican made “an expression of availability,” and the Chinese side said they “appreciated the gesture” but that there was no free time in Xi’s schedule. A meeting of the two leaders would have been momentous; there has never been a meeting between a pope and a president of China. Pope Francis has said he is willing to visit China, saying on the flight from Rome to Kazakhstan on Sept. 13: “I’m always ready to go to China.”The coinciding visits of Francis and Xi also comes as the Holy See and China determine the renewal of a provisional agreement on the appointment of bishops in China and a cardinal is preparing to stand trial in Hong Kong for his role in a pro-democracy legal fund.Xi has been harshly criticized for overseeing the persecution of religious believers of many stripes in China, including Christians and the Uyghur Muslims of the Xinjiang region.Kazakhstan and China, which are neighbors, have close ties, with large-scale Chinese investments in the Central Asian country’s natural resources through its Belt and Road Initiative. Xi announced his plan for a “new silk road” in the Kazakh capital in 2013. The Chinese leader met with Vladimir Putin in Uzbekistan on Thursday as part of Xi’s first trip outside China since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.Pope Francis has said little about China’s human rights violations since the Vatican first entered into a provisional agreement with China in 2018. That deal was meant to unify the country’s 12 million Catholics, divided between the underground Church and the Communist-administered Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association, and clear a path for the appointment of bishops for Chinese dioceses. Despite the deal, persecution of the underground Church has continued and, according to some, intensified. That deal is expected to be renewed for another two years at the end of the month. 

Pope Francis speaking at the Seventh Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions in Nur-Sultan (Astana), Kazakhstan, Sept. 13–15, 2022. / Vatican Media CNA Newsroom, Sep 16, 2022 / 07:52 am (CNA). A sensitive passage in the final declaration of the congress that brought Pope Francis to Kazakhstan Sept. 13–15 appears to have been changed after it found the approval of attendants.Initially, point 10 of the declaration said: “We note that pluralism and differences in religion, skin color, gender, race, and language are expressions of the wisdom of God’s will in creation. Thus any incident of coercion to a particular religion and religious doctrine is unacceptable.”A changed wording — apparently made after the approval of the declaration by its participants and the subsequent publication — instead said the following:“We note that pluralism in terms of differences in skin color, gender, race, language and culture are expressions of the wisdom of God in creation. Religious diversity is permitted by God and, therefore, any coercion to a particular religion and religious doctrine is unacceptable.”This new wording was published by the congress website and local media on Sept. 15, apparently hours after the previous version, which was streamed by Vatican News and EWTN — and can still be found online.Pope Francis speaking at the 7th Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan, Sept. 15, 2022. Vatican mediaThe congress declaration almost verbatim drew on the Document on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together, signed by Pope Francis and a prominent sheik in Abu Dhabi in February 2019, which states: “The pluralism and the diversity of religions, colour, sex, race and language are willed by God in His wisdom, through which He created human beings,” as per the version published by the Vatican.Speaking to EWTN on Sept. 14 in Kazakhstan, Bishop Athanasius Schneider said the congress attended by Pope Francis risked giving the impression of a “supermarket of religions.”While praising the congress for promoting “understanding, harmony, and peace,” Schneider warned, reported the National Catholic Register, “there is also a danger that we the Catholic Church should not appear simply as one of the many religions.”“We’re not one of the many religions, we’re the only one true religion which God commanded to all people to believe,” Schneider told EWTN’s Alexey Gotovskiy. “There is no other way to salvation.” Bishop Athanasius Schneider in Nur-Sultan (Astana), Kazakhstan, Sept. 14, 2022. Rudolf Gehrig / CNASchneider is auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Astana, Kazakhstan, and actively took part in the papal visit. He has previously raised concerns about the wording of the Abu Dhabi document that God wills a “pluralism of religions.”In what appears to be an answer to these concerns, Pope Francis said in a general audience in April 2019: “Why does God allow many religions? God wanted to allow this: Scolastica theologians used to refer to God’s voluntas permissiva. He wanted to allow this reality: there are many religions. Some are born from culture, but they always look to heaven; they