HK cardinal decries Vatican deal with China, says it would 'betray Christ'

Cardinal Joseph Zen, the most senior Chinese Catholic, has warned against a potential deal between the Vatican and China, saying that the Church would be "betraying Jesus Christ" if it signs an agreement with the Communist government.

Zen, the former bishop of Hong Kong, has strongly opposed the possible deal, stating that an agreement with China to give them power to approve clergy would be "a surrender."

"You cannot go into negotiations with the mentality 'we want to sign an agreement at any cost,' then you are surrendering yourself, you are betraying yourself, you are betraying Jesus Christ," Zen told The Guardian.

"If you cannot get a good deal, an acceptable deal, then the Vatican should walk away and maybe try again later," he added.

Zen, who spent seven years teaching across China after the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, argued that those who are supporting the deal had no first-hand experience with the state of the church under the Communist regime.

"The pope used to know the persecuted Communists [in Latin America], but he may not know the Communist persecutors who have killed hundreds of thousands," said the cardinal.

Chinese Catholics are allowed to attend mass but evangelism is forbidden. The China Catholic Patriotic Association, which is controlled by the government, appoints bishops without the Vatican's approval.

The underground Catholic church, which is believed to be larger than the official church, faces persecution from the authorities.

Zen predicted that the proposed deal would allow priests to preach and open more churches but it only gives the Catholics an impression of freedom. He added that people would soon realize that the official bishops are not really part of the Church but "puppets of the government."

"The official bishops are not really preaching the gospel. They are preaching obedience to Communist authority," Zen said told The Guardian.

In an interview with the Wall Street Journal earlier this month, Zen pointed out that churches in former communist countries in Eastern Europe were not saved by negotiating with the government but through the faith of the Catholics. He believes that the same thing would happen in China if the Church refuses to surrender to Communist Party.