HONG KONG (SE): A Mass marking Pro-Life Day was celebrated by John Cardinal Tong Hon at the Cathedral of Immaculate Conception on May 31, the feast of the Visitation of Blessed Virgin Mary. The diocese has been marking the occasion since 2017.
Cardinal Tong blessed an image of Our Lady of Guadalupe, patron of the unborn, and urged people to pray for the world that respects life, as life is a blessing from God.
In his homily, Father Dominic Lui Chi-man, supervisor of the Bioethics Resources Centre of the Holy Spirit Seminary College, reflected on the gospel passage recounting the Mary’s visitation to Elizabeth.
He said, “We may feel helpless and that our lives are vulnerable in the Covid-19 pandemic. And social distancing measures may have made it hard for us to approach others,” but, citing the example of Mary, he reminded people of their responsibility to show concern for vulnerable lives—including the unborn—even though we ourselves may feel helpless.
He said medical practitioners have the right to refuse to take part in surgical abortions. “We also need to pray more for struggling mothers so that they can make the wise choice,” he added.
Father Lui felt that the lives of the elderly are especially threatened by the Covid-19 coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2). He expressed gratitude to the medical practitioners who faithfully rendered medical care in the time of pandemic. However, he noted that patients, who suffered from physical pain as well as loneliness during quarantine, needed spiritual support.
Quoting Cardinal Tong’s Message for Pro-life Day 2021, Father Lui invited people to be part of a ‘healing community’ to care for the weakest and most vulnerable. After Communion, Cardinal Tong led a prayer for the respect of life and blessed the congregation
Quoting Cardinal Tong’s Message for Pro-life Day 2021, Father Lui invited people to be part of a “healing community” to care for the weakest and most vulnerable. After Communion, Cardinal Tong led a prayer for the respect of life and blessed the congregation.
The Mass was livestreamed by Diocesan Pastoral Commission for Marriage and the Family. Afterward a short film about the struggle of mothers discovering abnormalities in their babies during pregnancy was screened online.
Daniel Wong Kei-yan, a specialist in obstetrics and gynecology, who was the executive producer and an actor in the film, said he refuses to do any surgical abortions because no one has the right to end the life of others, which is a principle he has upheld for 14 years as a specialist.
Working in a public hospital, he said he often shares the joy when a baby is born, but at the same time he often comes across women who want to terminate their pregnancies for various reasons.
He shared that he once met a pregnant woman who came to him together with four children. She told him she wanted an abortion. He told her his reason for not doing this kind of surgery and that her baby, a life loved by God, looked active and lovely through the ultrasound scanning.
A year later, he met the mother who came to him for a post-pregnancy check up and she told him she gave up her plan to abort the baby thanks to his words.
Wong was born into a Catholic family and he said his father, also a specialist in obstetrics and a gynecologist, often told him about the value of life and that a doctor has to protect lives.
Now as a member of a pro-life ministry of the Diocesan Pastoral Commission for Marriage and the Family, he is dedicated to promoting the culture of life.
