Cardinal Zen, the retired archbishop of Hong Kong, affirmed this May 28 at a Mass marking the June 4 anniversary of the massacre.
His homily reflected on the Beatitude, «Blessed are the persecuted.»
The 78-year-old cardinal affirmed that Catholics who commemorate the event are not seeking revenge, but rather justice and clarification.
«The truth about this massacre must be clarified and that decision can no longer be delayed,» he said.
The victims and their mothers are patriots, not rebels, the cardinal contended.
He recalled his recent pilgrimage to Italy to see the Shroud of Turin, affirming that there he prayed for the persecuted.
In Hong Kong, there are traditionally two events to mark the June 4, 1989, anniversary of the massacre: a march held the Sunday before and a vigil on the evening of the anniversary.
This year, the events were blotted by police who seized two replicas of statutes of the goddess of democracy, which students erected in Tiananmen Square in 1989.
