Nuns arrested as Beijing turns up heat on Church in Hong Kong

ANXIOUS PARISHIONERS

Tong's parishioners sense the pressure, too. As in churches around the world, masses in Hong Kong have been subdued because of COVID-19 restrictions. The devout still go to pray during quiet moments in the cathedral and the smaller parish churches that dot the city, some in high-rises. Others visit outdoor grottos built into church walls with statues of the Virgin Mary. Even so, some Hong Kong Catholics talk of a particularly ominous sense of darkness.

"I've started to pray for the church for the first time," said one woman, 62, as she left a grotto in the city's Eastern District. "The Hong Kong church has been so strong for us over the years, but now it seems so weak. There is too much secrecy – we don't know what is in this strange deal between the Vatican and Beijing, and we don't know who our bishop will be."

The Vatican has no formal embassy to represent its interests with the Chinese government. By contrast, in countries with which the Holy See has full relations, Vatican missions engage in regular, open diplomacy.

But the Vatican does have the unofficial mission in a suburban corner of Kowloon, across the harbor from the main island of Hong Kong. Though the two monsignors who lead the mission must remain discreet, they do maintain links with local and mainland clerics and missionary organizations, according to Western diplomats.

For the Holy See, the Vatican official said, the mission provides another advantage: leverage. What the Vatican would really like is a presence in Beijing. If China were ever to agree to a Vatican presence on the mainland, then the mission in Hong Kong could be closed, the official said.

The mission's two detained Chinese nuns find themselves caught between Beijing and the Holy See. The nuns, who were extensively involved in the mission's work, have served there for the past five years.

They were detained in Hebei after traveling there to visit their families, two of the clerics said. After their three-week detention, they spent months under house arrest, and their families' homes were under surveillance. The restrictions were eased last month. They are free to attend mass in nearby churches but cannot leave the mainland and return to Hong Kong.

The Church has not publicly mentioned the arrests. The Vatican official in Rome told Reuters he interpreted the move as a way for Beijing to indicate its unhappiness with the mission's presence in Hong Kong.

Cardinal Zen says efforts by government authorities to silence the Church in Hong Kong are inexorable. "I don't know for how long you can still hear my voice," he wrote in his statement to Reuters. "So please pray for us."