'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.
Churches throughout China have been forced to remove displays of the Ten Commandments and religious imagery and replace them with quotes and portraits of President Xi Jinping.
Several of the faithful involved in the protest believe the government has been emboldened in its persecution of religious groups by the Sino-Vatican agreement.