Joseph Zen Ze-kiun isn’t your typical retired bishop. At 93, he's still making people in power—both in Rome and Beijing—extremely uncomfortable. Most guys his age are long since settled into a quiet life of prayer, but the "Conscience of Hong Kong" is still out there, fighting legal battles and calling out the Pope.
It's a wild story, honestly.
Born in Shanghai in 1932, Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun fled to Hong Kong when the Communists took over the mainland. That experience? It shaped everything he did for the next seven decades. He didn’t just observe the rise of the CCP; he felt it in his bones as his family was displaced. By the time he was ordained a Salesian priest in 1961, he already knew what it meant to live in the shadow of a regime that views religion as a competitor to the state.
Fast forward to his time as the Bishop of Hong Kong (2002–2009). He wasn't just a religious leader. He was a fixture at pro-democracy rallies. People call him the "new 6.4" figure because he refused to let the memory of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests die. While other diplomats were trying to play nice with the mainland, Zen was on the streets.
The 2018 Secret Deal That Changed Everything
If you want to understand why Zen is so ticked off these days, you have to look at the 2018 provisional agreement between the Holy See and China.
Basically, the Vatican and Beijing struck a deal on how to appoint bishops. For decades, the Catholic Church in China was split: there was the "official" state-sanctioned church (the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association) and the "underground" church that stayed loyal to the Pope despite persecution.
Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun saw this deal as a total betrayal. A "sell-out."
He argued that by giving the Chinese government a say in bishop appointments, the Vatican was essentially throwing the underground martyrs under the bus. He even flew to Rome in the middle of winter, waiting in the cold just to get a letter into Pope Francis’s hands. He didn't get a private audience that time. He just waited. Imagine that—a Prince of the Church, in his late 80s, standing in St. Peter's Square like a tourist, just trying to warn the leadership about what he saw as a "suicide" for the faith in China.
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The nuance here is tricky. The Vatican, led by Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin, argues that a bad deal is better than no deal. They want "Ostpolitik"—dialogue over confrontation. Zen thinks that's naive. He's seen what happens when you give an inch to an authoritarian regime.
Arrests, Courtrooms, and the 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund
Then things got really heavy in 2022.
Hong Kong had changed. The National Security Law (NSL) was in full effect. Zen was arrested by the national security police. The charge? "Collusion with foreign forces."
Actually, the specific legal trouble that landed him in court was related to the 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund. This was a fund that helped pay for legal and medical fees for pro-democracy protesters. Zen was a trustee. Along with singer Denise Ho and others, he was eventually convicted and fined for failing to properly register the fund.
It wasn't a prison sentence, but the image of a cardinal in a cage-like dock in a Hong Kong courtroom sent shockwaves through the world.
- The US State Department condemned the arrest.
- Human Rights Watch called it a "new low" for the city.
- The Vatican? Their response was... muted. They expressed "concern." That's about it.
That silence from Rome is exactly what drives Zen's supporters crazy. They feel like the man who stood up for the Church is being left to hang out to dry for the sake of diplomatic "stability."
Is He a Rebel or a Prophet?
It depends on who you ask.
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Inside the Vatican, some see him as a "bitter old man" who doesn't understand the complexities of modern diplomacy. They think he's stuck in a Cold War mindset. They argue that the 2018 deal, which was renewed in 2024, is the only way to prevent a total schism in the Chinese church.
But for the "underground" Catholics in provinces like Hebei? Zen is a hero. To them, he's the only one who remembers their names. When priests are "disappeared" or churches are demolished, Zen is the one shouting about it from the rooftops—or at least from his very active blog.
Honestly, his energy is terrifying. He writes constantly. He travels when his health (and the courts) allow. He attends the funerals of fellow activists.
He’s also been a vocal critic of the Synod on Synodality. He’s worried about the "democratization" of the Church's moral teachings. He joined other conservative cardinals in filing dubia (formal questions) to the Pope about things like the blessing of same-sex couples and the role of women in the church.
He’s a traditionalist through and through. Not just in politics, but in liturgy and doctrine.
What Most People Get Wrong About Zen
The biggest misconception is that he hates China.
He doesn't. He loves it. He considers himself a patriot. He just distinguishes between the Chinese people and the ruling Party. He often says that the true "Chinese" identity is found in its culture and its capacity for faith, not in a political ideology imported from Europe (Marxism).
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Another mistake? Thinking he’s a "pawn" of the West. While he's supported by many in the US and Europe, his criticisms of Western secularism are just as sharp. He’s not a fan of the "woke" West either. He’s a man of the Gospel, and that makes him an equal-opportunity offender.
The Reality of His Current Status
Currently, Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun lives in a Salesian house in Hong Kong. He’s limited in what he can do, but he hasn't been silenced. His presence is a constant reminder of the "China problem" that the Vatican would probably prefer to manage quietly.
His legacy is already written. He’ll be remembered either as the last holdout of a dying era of confrontational Catholicism or as the prophet who warned the Church about a deal that cost it its soul in Asia.
History usually vindicates the people who refuse to be quiet.
How to Follow the Situation in Hong Kong and the Church
If you want to understand the impact of Zen's work, don't just read the headlines. Look at the data and the primary sources.
- Read the "Dubia": Look up the formal questions sent by Zen and the other four cardinals to Pope Francis in 2023. It shows his theological concerns are just as deep as his political ones.
- Track the 2018 Deal: Monitor the news coming out of the Vatican's press office regarding bishop ordinations in China. Every time a new bishop is "jointly" appointed, you can bet Zen has a blog post coming.
- Support Legal Aid: While the 612 Fund is gone, several international NGOs still track the legal status of activists in Hong Kong. Following groups like Hong Kong Watch provides context on the legal environment Zen is navigating.
- Study the Salesian Tradition: Zen is a Salesian of Don Bosco. Their mission is often centered on youth and education. Understanding this helps explain why he was so involved in the 2012 protests against "National Education" in Hong Kong schools.
The story of the Church in China is far from over. As long as Zen is breathing, he's going to make sure the world is watching.