Vatican warns Catholics in Hong Kong of coming persecution, says 'You better be prepared'

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Monsignor Javier Herrera-Corona, the Vatican's de facto point man in Hong Kong, gave the city a stark warning for Catholic missionaries — expect further persecution.

Herrera-Corona spoke in a meeting of the island city's mission projects, most of which have been deeply affected by growing hostility from the Chinese government. 

With arrests, intimidation and legal restrictions from the CCP suppressing even apolitical Catholics' religious practices, Herrera-Corona appears less than optimistic. The clergyman warned his audience that things could get much worse.

"Change is coming, and you'd better be prepared," Herrera-Corona warned the missionaries, according to a Reuters interviewee. "Hong Kong is not the great Catholic beachhead it was."

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Believers take part in a weekend mass at an underground Catholic Church in Tianjin November 10, 2013. (REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/File)

The Vatican's warning carries a heavier weight after the arrest and imprisonment of key Catholic leaders within the city, both clergy and laity.

Cardinal Joseph Zen, former archbishop of Hong Kong, was imprisoned in May after his unceremonious arrest by Chinese Communist Party officials.

The 90-year-old cardinal, arrested with four other pro-democracy advocates, was a trustee of a relief fund used to bail out protesters and pay legal fees. The five arrestees are charged with not registering the charity with the government.

In addition to Zen, the arrested include singer-actress Denise Ho, lawyer Margaret Ng and scholar Hui Po-Keung, according to Hong Kong Watch. Each individual was arrested for allegedly supporting protests against the CCP's destruction of democracy in Hong Kong. All five have submitted pleas of not guilty.

Zen previously dismissed fears that he was a target for arrest, stating that he tries not to provoke the CCP. However, he later acknowledged that "no public person who dares to speak freely can feel safe anymore."

(L to R) Cardinals John Tong Hon, Cardinal Joseph Zen, Bishop Stephen Chow, Bishop Joseph Ha and Dom. Paul Gao pose for a photo at the Episcopal Ordination of the Most Reverend Stephen Chow in Hong Kongs Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception on December 4, 2021. (Photo by Bertha WANG / AFP) (Photo by BERTHA WANG/AFP via Getty Images)

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At the center of the Vatican's long game against China is Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin.

Zen has been an outspoken critic of Parolin, who he blames for keeping church leaders in the dark about ongoing turmoil in Chinese religious communities. Zen has gone so far as to speculate that Parolin may intentionally withhold details from the pope about Chinese hostility towards the church.

Parolin refused to condemn the Chinese government even after Zen's arrest and release.

The secretary of state's controversial foreign policies has led to frustration with the Vatican — even amongst clergy that vehemently support Pope Francis.