The 90-year-old cardinal was detained May 11 under China’s national security law for “conspiracy to collude with foreign forces,” but he has not been charged with that.

A Vatican-approved Chinese bishop remains in detention more than one year after his arrest for allegedly violating the communist country’s repressive regulations on religious affairs.

“You realize that the rest of the world is looking toward Pope Francis as maybe the one person who could end this [war], who could bring peace,” Ambassador Donnelly told Gerard O’Connell.

Catholics in China in recent years have experienced greater difficulties in the practice of their faith as a result of the crackdown on religion being carried out under the regime of President Xi Jin-ping.

On “Inside the Vatican,” veteran Vatican reporter Gerard O’Connell and host Colleen Dulle explore why Cardinal Joseph Zen appears to pose such a grave threat to the Chinese government.

While the arrest was widely denounced by governments and human rights groups, Catholic entities offered varying degrees of condemnation, reflecting the gravity and delicacy of a situation that has escalated dramatically.