SW News: Cardinal Joseph Zen of Hong Kong posted on his blog that “the Church in Rome and the Church in China now have a powerful intercessor in heaven”, referring to the late pope emeritus. He prayed that the Chinese authorities might be transformed by the grace of God to bring lasting peace to the Church and his homeland.

In his blog, the cardinal wrote, “As a member of the Chinese Church, I am immensely grateful to Pope Benedict for things he has done that he did not do for other Churches.”

The top prelate, who was arrested by the authorities under the national security law, has secured permission to travel to Rome to take part in the funeral of Benedict XVI on January 5. He is slated to take a flight to Rome on Wednesday, January 4, and return on Saturday, January 8.

On January 3, a local magistrate gave the verdict that the confiscated passport of the former bishop of Hong Kong be returned to him so that he can fly to the Vatican. He has been granted permission to be outside the country for five days.
According to sources, the 90-year-old cardinal’s application of altering the bail condition with regard to his travel documents was approved by the West Kowloon Court on Tuesday in a closed-door hearing. The Department of Justice did not object to it.

It was Pope Benedict XVI who made the prelate a member of the Sacred College of Cardinals in 2006. Two years later, the same pontiff asked the cardinal to pen the meditations for the papal Stations of the Cross at the Colosseum.

The cardinal was arrested in May last year after being charged with conspiracy to jeopardize national security by way of collusion with foreign forces. He was among the five trustees of the now-defunct 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund and was accused of failing to register it.