I was grateful to see that Cardinal Joseph Zen was able to attend the funeral of Pope Benedict XVI this morning. That means Hong Kong’s government gave him his passport again, temporarily.

Here’s an excerpt from the AP report:

In recent years, the democracy advocate has been sharply at odds with Francis over the Vatican’s agreement with Chinese authorities on the appointment of bishops. Zen contends the deal betrays pro-Vatican Catholics in China and the clergy who have suffered persecution there.
He appeared in court Tuesday to apply for a leave from the city, his secretary said. His passport had been confiscated by authorities after his controversial arrest in 2022.
He and five others were fined in November after being found guilty of failing to register a now-defunct fund that aimed to help people arrested in widespread 2019 pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong.
Zen was first arrested in May on suspicion of colluding with foreign forces under a Beijing-imposed national security law. His arrest sent shockwaves through the Catholic community, although the Vatican only stated it was monitoring the development of the situation closely.

It’s an odd week. The Roman Church’s personal, political, and theological divisions are on display for those who have eyes to see them.