The 93-year-old cleric regained his passport, which was confiscated under the Beijing-imposed national security law in 2022, for the trip.
Cardinal Joseph Zen, the 93-year-old retired bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Hong Kong, has been allowed to attend Pope Francis’s funeral being held at the Vatican on Saturday.
The cardinal’s passport was held by the Hong Kong government following the cleric’s arrest under a Beijing-imposed national security law in 2022.
Zen was arrested on charges of “conspiracy to collude with foreign forces,” endangering national security, for serving as the trustee of a fund, which provided humanitarian support to pro-democracy protesters. He was granted bail pending investigation but was prohibited from leaving Hong Kong.
Zen’s secretary said the cardinal successfully applied to a court to regain his passport, allowing him to travel to the Vatican after Pope Francis died on Monday.
The arrangement allows him to leave Hong Kong under conditions the same as when he attended the funeral of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI in January 2023. Among the conditions was that the outspoken cleric could not conduct media interviews before or after leaving Hong Kong.
During the 2023 trip, Zen had a private meeting with Pope Francis.
Zen’s secretary said the cardinal will return to Hong Kong after the pope’s funeral, but the specific date of his return is unknown. Upon return, he must hand over his passport to the police as per his bail conditions.
Given that he is over 80, he is not eligible to vote in the upcoming papal election.
Zen has long criticized the Vatican for signing an agreement with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in 2018 to recognize bishops appointed by the CCP.
After the Hong Kong version of the National Security Law (NSL) was passed, he traveled to the Vatican in September 2020 to meet with Pope Francis, hoping to inform him in person about the situation in Hong Kong and the Chinese diocese and present a letter. However, Pope Francis did not meet with him on that occasion.
Zen has also criticized the Vatican’s secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the official charged with negotiations with the CCP. Parolin is considered one of the possible contenders to be the next pope.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.