Cardinal Zen Offers Mass, and a War Cry for the Church, by Jim Hale

February 17, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) – It would be easy to understand if 88-year-old Cardinal Joseph Zen had been weary and less than eager for an interview. He had traveled to New York after a grinding schedule of long flights, interviews, and meetings. But he was joyful and relaxed when he showed up for his interview with LifeSite’s Claire Chretien in Manhattan.

Cardinal Zen, the Bishop Emeritus of Hong Kong, was 15 minutes early. The only hint of his age is when he cups his ear and leans forward, but it doesn’t take long to see that Cardinal Zen has no interest in taking it easy for the rest of his life. He sits up straight and answers all of Claire’s questions with lengthy, impressive, and passionate responses. His volume and intensity increase as Claire hones in on the severe oppression of the Church in China and Hong Kong, and the betrayal by the Vatican ceding power to the Communist regime.

Until recently, Cardinal Zen held back from making critical comments about Pope Francis, but that has changed, and now for the first time, Cardinal Zen had strong words of criticism for the Pope.

“Unfortunately in all these years he never had any critical word about what’s happening in China, always praising the Chinese government,” he shared.  ….