HONG KONG (SE): The Diocese of Hong Kong celebrated the elevation of Stephen Cardinal Chow, SJ, to the College of Cardinals with a reception on November 10, held at the Caritas Community Hall on Caine Road. Among the guests were the chief executive of Hong Kong, John Lee Ka-chiu, government officials, legislators, members of the diplomatic corps, Hong Kong’s religious leaders, priests and religious of the diocese and other guests. In his remarks, Cardinal Chow spoke of building trust and respecting differences and stated that the Catholic Church is ready to collaborate with people of goodwill.
The cardinal told the guests present that the mission of acting as a bridge between China and the universal Church is “a delicate but most important mission … But I can take solace in the goodwill of the Vatican and the Chinese government. As long as there is goodwill, other challenges, even distrust, can be overcome with reasonable risk-taking and God’s grace. Building trust is, indeed, a risky business, but irreplaceable if we want to move forward as a body.”
Having recently returned from the Synod of Bishops on Synodality in Rome, which gathered together a variety of views from 400 participants, a majority of whom were cardinals and bishops, Cardinal Chow expressed his view that the synod had been an experience of “in-depth listening”, a journey of building on convergences while respecting divergences. “Divergence is, in fact, an invitation for us to go deeper with greater openness in search for possible common ground while holding tensions from those divergences with respect in the meantime. Honestly, we need to learn, and we are learning. Many of us find the process itself transforming,” he said.
Finally, the cardinal said the Church is willing to cooperate with people of goodwill to bring healing to a society, deeply loved by all. “Not being naïve about its negative impacts, religion does carry positive moral influence with which the government and institutions can join forces, combating life-sapping ailments, such as hatred, loss, helplessness, self-destruction, etc. And I want to assure you that the Catholic Church with the mission of sharing the inclusive love of God has been doing our part and is ready to collaborate with people of goodwill,” he said.
Financial secretary, Paul Chan Mo-po, expressed his heartfelt congratulations to the cardinal, “I look forward to Cardinal Chow’s leadership of our many Catholic friends and the continuation of his positive contributions to the Lord and the community, showing warmth and light,” the secretary said.
Venerable Kwan Yun, president of Hong Kong Buddhist Association, congratulated the cardinal and expressed his appreciation to him for his leadership talents. “He has done a lot of things in the past two years,” he said, adding that he was also impressed by the cardinal’s kindness and concern for the environment and health, as proved by his vegan lifestyle.
As long as there is goodwill, other challenges, even distrust, can be overcome with reasonable risk-taking and God’s grace. Building trust is, indeed, a risky business, but irreplaceable if we want to move forward as a body
Cardinal Chow
Father Dawoud Hanna, from the St. Mark and St. Thomas Coptic Orthodox Church in Hong Kong, said, “Today I came to congratulate him on his efforts. This last more than one year he did a amazing job and amazing service for all community, for all people,” the Coptic priest said, expressing gratitude for the cardinal for his quick reply to their invitations and the chance to have happy gatherings together.
Reverend Wong Ka-fai, chairperson of the Hong Kong Christian Council, said that he was delighted to share the cardinal’s happiness as his calling in the Church has entered a new stage. “In fact, we as a group of Church leaders, are like brothers, and we feel that having the opportunity to have the service of the cardinal in Hong Kong is a blessing and a great encouragement to many of our Church members, brothers and sisters.”
He shared that the Protestant leaders have a close connection with Cardinal Chow and were among the first group of people informed by the cardinal himself about his appointment in July.
He hopes that the cardinal will be assured of their constant prayers as they respond to the calling of God together.
Bishop Stephen Lee Bun-sang of Macau, said he is happy to see another Chinese bishop has been elevated to cardinalate and assigned to assist the pope in managing the universal Church.
