When they are not busy voting against Nigerian Catholics who have been massacred or voting to make abortion a ‘right’, the EU Parliament manages to do something honourable and productive.
In a resolution last week, they condemned the arrest of Cardinal Zen by degenerate thugs in the Chinese Communist Party, stating that it:
Condemns the arrests of Cardinal Joseph Zen, one of the strongest advocates of the city’s pro-democracy movement, and of the other four trustees of the 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund in Hong Kong, which constitute an attack on the freedoms guaranteed in the Hong Kong Basic Law, including the freedom of religion or belief, particularly following the closure of over 60 civil society groups, and are symptomatic of the continued efforts of the People’s Republic of China to systematically destroy the last remnants of Hong Kong’s autonomy and freedoms and to suppress the pro-democracy movement; believes that the arrest is a clear demonstration of John Lee Ka-Chiu’s stated intention to oppress all critical voices even more strongly and to further intensify the crackdown;
Calls on the authorities of the Hong Kong SAR to drop all charges against Cardinal Zen and the other four trustees of the 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund – Cyd Ho, Denise Ho, Hui Po-Keung and Margaret Ng – and to release Cyd Ho; urges the authorities of the Hong Kong SAR to allow the 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund to resume its financial, legal and humanitarian support of those who benefited from it;
It also specifically called on the Vatican to support Cardinal Zen:
Calls on the Member States to step up efforts to implement the Council conclusions of July 2020, including ‘lifeboat schemes’ for Hong Kong pro-democracy activists and political leaders, for example by facilitating the issuing of emergency visas and providing temporary shelter; calls on the Vatican to give full support to Cardinal Zen and other religious leaders who face persecution or the risk of detention under the national security regime in Hong Kong; further calls on the Vatican to strengthen its diplomatic efforts and its leverage on the Chinese authorities, and to demand that all charges against Cardinal Zen be dropped and an end to persecution and human rights violations;
In a recent interview with Reuters, Pope Francis admitted that the controversial Sino-Vatican deal agreement was ‘not ideal’ but that it was helping the situation, hoping to renew it in October.
Francis told Reuters:
Diplomacy is like that. When you face a blocked situation, you have to find the possible way, not the ideal way, out of it.
Diplomacy is the art of the possible and of doing things to make the possible become a reality. Many people said so many things against John XXIII, against Paul VI, against Casaroli (the architect of the church’s policy under Communist rule in Europe)
You can read the EU’s full resolution here: