When Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun, the honorary bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Hong Kong and ex-trustee of the 612 Humanitarian Support Fund, was in Rome to attend Pope Benedict XVI’s funeral, he also had a meeting with Pope Francis.
Cardinal Zen, who was in jail on suspicion of violating the National Security Law, was given bail and flew to Rome on Jan. 5, the day of the Vatican funeral.
The monthly Christian publication America Magazine reported that on Jan. 6 Pope Francis privately received Cardinal Zen and Father Cheung Sun-yuet of the Salesians of Don Bosco at his Santa Marta residence. During an interview with American Magazine, Cardinal Zen said he shared his decade of visiting Hong Kong prisons with Pope Francis during the visit.
According to the report, Cardinal Zen thanked Pope Francis for arranging a good bishop for Hong Kong and appointing Stephen Chow Sau-Yan in 2021.
