HONG KONG (SE): To mark the 80th anniversary of the Focolare Movement, a series of religious exchange seminars were held at the Catholic Centre, Grand Building, Central.
Sharing sessions have been organised every Tuesday from March 5 to April 30, with leaders and representatives from Catholic, Protestant, and Buddhist Churches being invited to share their views and experiences on achieving harmony among different religions by seeking common ground.
Chiara Lubich established the community in 1943 in Trent, northern Italy, during the Second World War. Lubich believed wisdom comes from the word of God and that this wisdom should be extended to people of different religions, believers or non-believers, people of all ages, and people on different continents. Her motto was “So that they may all be one” [John 17:21]. The community kept growing, and now it has centres all over the world, promoting unity and ecumenism among people.
Speakers were invited to discuss their interpretations of wisdom during a talk on March 26. Archbishop Andrew Chan Au-ming, the Primate of the Anglican Church of Hong Kong, explained the meaning of wisdom as a power of faith in Anglicanism. Cardinal Stephen Chow, S.J., spoke on the theme of “Wisdom in light of becoming a synodal Church.”
Cardinal Stephen pointed out that wisdom is something for us to learn along the way. “We need to learn to discern because God’s revelation would not have stopped in the past and it continues to be revealed to us in response to the changes in the world … so we need to learn to discern and to recognise God’s wisdom in our changing situation.”
He further explained that wisdom comes from the Holy Trinity, the teachings of Vatican II and the spirituality of discernment.
We need to learn to discern because God’s revelation would not have stopped in the past and it continues to be revealed to us in response to the changes in the world … so we need to learn to discern and to recognise God’s wisdom in our changing situation
Cardinal Stephen
Referencing Lumen Gentium, Vatican II’s Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, which asserts that the universal Church is portrayed as a “sacrament,” and that all the baptized are the People of God, endowed with the dignity of the children of God, Cardinal Stephen emphasised the essential and indispensable nature of their active involvement in the Church’s mission. He stated, “There is no distinction between the teaching hierarchy and the learning laity.”
He then discussed the three themes of a synodal Church, communion, mission, and participation, and shared how the first session of the synod of bishops held last October encouraged people to participate, listen, and discern through round-table discussions, with each participant talking for a few minutes in different rounds.
the Focolare Movement in Hong Kong.
“The whole synod is not about quarrelling, or letting the loudest voice heard, or making new rules and regulations. It is about us dreaming together. We are going to dream, God’s dream, and in that dream, we are looking for a better future,” he said.
On the other hand, Archbishop Chan pointed out that wisdom and faith are interrelated. “If one grows more wise in the Lord, he will have stronger faith. And the stronger the faith, the wiser we become,” he said.
There is no distinction between the teaching hierarchy and the learning laity
Cardinal Stephen
The archbishop said wisdom comes from listening to God’s word and being willing to accept changes in culture and personal experiences. He shared that in the history of the Anglican Church, there were disputes between people with traditional and reformatory views. But then the Anglican Church discovered that the two views were, in fact, complementary, which may bring some inspiration to the multipolar and diversified modern world.
He said wisdom in Anglican culture means “via media,” that is, to look with higher visions and open-mindedness, to try to look with the eyes of God and to think with the heart of Christ. He referred to Romans 12:3, which says, “…I tell everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than one ought to think, but to think soberly, each according to the measure of faith that God has apportioned.”
“We are not saying that we can accept everything, or that we don’t have a position, but we can find a position that is most suitable for our understanding and situation at that time,” he explained.
Teresa Kung, a member of the Focolare Movement in Hong Kong and the Diocesan Ecumenical Commission, said the celebrations this year will feature talks, group discussions, and quiz games to give people of different religions a chance to get to know one another and share their views based on their religion. She also hopes that participants can bring positive changes in their community with the messages in talks.
The talk attracted 16 youth representatives from Catholic and Anglican churches to attend. Francis Zhuang from Immaculate Heart of Mary Church, Tai Po, agreed that God may speak to us through our dreams, which we may have overlooked. Athena Wong, a youth representative from St. John’s Cathedral, is most impressed by the message from both the cardinal and the archbishop that acquiring wisdom is a process that needs listening and that harmony within a community can exist despite tensions and differences.
Father Paul Tam Wing-ming was also invited to the talk to give a testimony of his own experience in which with the wisdom of the Bible, he strengthened his faith and finally gave up a well-paid job to pursue a joyful consecrated life.
