The former Bishop of Hong Kong, Cardinal Joseph Zen, has said that the Catholic Church’s efforts to negotiate an extension to the 2018 provisional agreement with China are harming the evangelisation of that country.

In an interview with CNA, Cardinal Zen said that the Church’s silence on Communist human rights abuses, including the detention of more than 1 million Muslim Uyghurs in a network of concentration camps in Xinjiang Province, was damaging the ability of the Church to play a role in shaping the future of the country.

“The resounding silence will damage the work of evangelisation,” the cardinal said. “Tomorrow when people will gather to plan the new China, the Catholic Church may not be welcome.”

While Cardinals Zen, Charles Muang Bo of Burma and Ignatius Suharyo of Indonesia have repeatedly denounced China’s human rights violations, the Vatican, including Pope Francis, have remained silent on what human rights groups have called a “genocide” and campaign of “ethnic cleansing” against the Uyghurs as diplomatic talks continue on the future of the Vatican-China agreement.