The 88-year-old bishop accused Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin of 'a trilogy of murdering the Church in China' and 'manipulating the Holy Father.'
The Church 'accompanies you with prayer for a new outpouring of the Holy Spirit,' the pope insisted in a set of brief remarks during his daily Regina Caeli prayer.
The Holy See 'appreciates this generous gesture and expresses its gratitude to the Bishops, the Catholic faithful, the institutions and all other Chinese citizens.'
We can get at the truth by retracing the whole history of the relations between the Holy See and China during the pontificate of Benedict XVI, from 2005 to 2013.
'Given ... the intelligence of His Eminence, it is difficult for me to believe he was deceived, and more probable he wanted to deceive others,' Zen wrote in an open letter.