Bishop Joseph Zen, retired Bishop of Hong Kong, has said that if the Vatican appoints a pro-China bishop to the Catholic Diocese of Hong Kong, his body will not be buried in the Cathedral after his death.
Retired Bishop Joseph Zen, 88, visited the Vatican earlier in the day, hoping for an audience or a phone call with Pope Francis to discuss his successor, but he was not granted an audience.
In an interview with the National Catholic Register, Chen said, “If the Vatican chooses to appoint someone who has the blessing of the authorities in Beijing, my work will be over and I will choose to disappear.” He also said that it would be his last protest, and that his last will and testament would be that “my bones will not be buried in the Cathedral, and I do not want to be buried with these people, but with the faithful people of God in a simple cemetery.
Chen Riquan said that the trip to the Vatican was probably the last one in his life and that he would not return to the Vatican, noting that his legs were not well and he could not stand the long flight. He also said that Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Hsia should have been the new bishop, but said that the Vatican feared that such a move would offend the authorities in Beijing, and that the bishopric of Hong Kong was therefore still vacant. He also said that there was no other way but to pray.
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