Retired cardinal hits back at Vatican over deal with China
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The retired archbishop of Hong Kong has slammed the Holy See's negotiations with the Chinese government as a "catastrophe" that would bring suffering to millions of worshippers.
Retired Cardinal Joseph Zen warned in a blog post this week that some Chinese Catholics who follow so-called underground churches are at risk of arrest even while the Catholic Church pushes for a historic breakthrough in relations with China's ruling Communist Party.
Zen is a leading critic of the Vatican's outreach to China. He revealed in an unusual statement last month that the Vatican had asked a legitimate "underground" bishop to stand down in favor of an excommunicated one favored by Beijing.
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The proposed changing of the guard was the clearest evidence yet of the Vatican's effort to reach a deal with China.