The archbishop of Hong Kong: “I expect a change of pace from Francis”
Just turned ninety-one, a proud traditionalist and very close to Ratzinger, Cardinal Joseph Zen, archbishop emeritus of Hong Kong, has always criticized the provisional agreement on the appointment of bishops that the Holy See signed with China in September 2018, renewed the last october. He speaks of Ratzinger’s sanctity, agrees with Monsignor Gaenswein on the subject of the Latin Mass, asks Bergoglio for a change of pace, and tells how he experiences this moment of trial, after the police arrested him last May and then released him on bail – for “collusion with foreign forces” in the management of a fund that helped protesters arrested during pro-democracy and anti-China protests in 2019 pay legal and medical costs.
On the occasion of Benedict XVI’s funeral, you met the Pope. What did you talk about?
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«It was a wonderful meeting, very warm. I thanked the Pope for the good bishop appointed to Hong Kong in 2021. He replied: ‘I know it well, he is a Jesuit!’. I then recounted my pastoral experience in Hong Kong prisons. In these 10 years I have baptized several prisoners. Francis said he was very happy for this ministry of mine”.
The death of Benedict XVI has brought about the re-emergence of conflicts between traditionalists and progressives. What do you think of Monsignor Gaenswein’s statements in his latest book?
“I haven’t read the volume yet but I think it will be interesting. I agree with Archbishop Gaenswein on the subject of the Latin Mass. The biased generalizations in Francis’ Traditionis custodes have hurt the hearts of many people. Reading the motu proprio and the Pope’s letter to the bishops, one notices an ‘easiness’ and a ‘tendentisivity’ in linking the desire to use the extraordinary form of the Mass with a negative judgment on the ordinary form of the Mass, or a tendency to link the refusal to accept the liturgical reform with a total and profound rejection of the Second Vatican Council. Can’t the anti-Ratzingers of the Vatican wait patiently for the Tridentine Mass to die together with the death of Benedict XVI, instead of humiliating him in this way?”
Will Francesco change his line?
“I don’t know, but I hope there is a change. We are very concerned about what could happen with the Synod of Bishops. And I fear that the Synod is repeating the same mistake of the Dutch Church of 50 years ago, when the bishops backtracked and accepted the faithful to lead the Church; then their number decreased. Let us pray that our Pope will have greater wisdom”.
Could Bergoglio also resign?
«I think so, if the Pope has serious health problems he should consider the idea of resigning. Benedict XVI offered an excellent example”.
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“Resignation? The Pope does as Ratzinger does” – ilGiornale.it
“Resignation? The Pope does as Ratzinger does” – ilGiornale.it
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