#BreakingNews 90-Year-Old Cardinal Zen is Released on Bail in Hong Kong after Vatican Expresses Concern over Arrest

Cardinal Joseph Zen was arrested in Hong Kong on Wednesday, May 11, 2022 by the police.  He was charged with “collusion with foreign forces” in connection with his role as administrator of the 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund. In a Vatican News release by Salvatore Cernuzio, it was revealed that the Vatican expressed concern. 

“The Holy See has learned with concern the news of Cardinal Zen's arrest and is following the evolution of the situation with extreme attention,” said the Director of the Holy See Press Office, Matteo Bruni, while responding to journalists’ questions.

Ninety-year-old Cardinal Joseph Zen, was the Bishop of the Diocese of Hong Kong from 2002 to 2009.

The Cardinal has been released on bail, as reports indicated via Twitter by Hong Kong Free Press with photos of Cardinal Zen outside the Wan Chai police station. (see below)

As he left the police station around 11 PM Hong Kong time, the Cardinal reportedly got immediately into a car, without offering any comments. 

The Cardinal was detained on Wednesday evening by the police section set up to monitor China's national security.

He arrest was due to his role as administrator of the 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund, a fund that supported pro-democracy protesters in paying for the legal and medical expenses they faced.

Cardinal Zen was one of the trustees of the organisation, established in 2019 and dissolved in October last year.

Authorities also arrested other promoters of the fund, including well-known lawyer Margaret Ng, a former opposition MP; academic Hui Po-keung; and singer-songwriter Denise Ho. 

The charge leveled against those arrested is one of four offences under the city's National Security Act, intended to stop pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong. The new law has been internationally condemned. 

Some Hong Kong media outlets have accused Cardinal Zen of inciting students in 2019 to revolt against a series of government measures. Cardinal Zen has criticized the Chinese Communist Party for persecuting religious communities.

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