HONG KONG (SE): Around 1,000 people gathered at Chater Garden, Central, for a rosary prayer service on October 26 organised by the Justice and Peace Commission with the theme, Sowing the seed of Peace. Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Ha Chi-shing of Hong Kong, reminded the gathering that everyone is God’s child and that mutual respect should be restored to build up peace in the midst of the social unrest caused by the now-withdrawn extradition bill.
Participants were encouraged to follow the example of the Blessed Virgin Mary who overcame her trials with humility and faith. Together they prayed for the help of the Holy Spirit to show the government and the people of Hong Kong the way out of the current crisis. They also prayed that young people, who are depressed over the present situation in Hong Kong, may come to see hope through their faith in the risen Christ.
Bishop Ha stressed that peace can only be achieved when we regard every person as brother and sister. “No one should be called cockroaches, dogs or yellow objects,” he said.
Police officers often call protesters cockroaches, while demonstrators tended to compare police officers to dogs. At a press conference, one senior police officer described a protester, captured on camera being kicked by a number of officers in Yuen Long as being only a “yellow object.”
Bishop Ha said being provoked is not an excuse for bearing hatred. “Hatred first comes from our hearts and from our judgments on others,” he said. He reminded the gathering that hatred was the cause for the massacre of over six millions Jews during the Second World War and the genocide in Rwanda 25 years ago.
“When we try to beat a person up, let’s stop and think. Do I want to beat him to death? He is a human being like me. Let’s pray to God so that we can rebuild peace with respect,” he said.
During the Month of the Rosary, Bishop Ha pointed out that the repeated pattern of rosary is a good way to show an insistence on peaceful approaches to express our demands. He compared the rosary to the voice of our conscience, which calls for our attention persistently even though we try to smother it.
He said the prayer service was held in a public place instead of inside a church building to show the Church’s concern for society. With the District Council Elections coming up in November, Bishop Ha expressed his hopes that people would use their voting rights as an alternative way to express themselves and rebuild a peaceful society.
Bishop Ha remarked that he heard criticisms that Christians were either too vague or too strong on the crisis facing Hong Kong. He said all views or criticisms should be heard with an open and humble heart.
The service ended with a commissioning and blessing ceremony officiated by the bishop.
Earlier in October, the bishop called on people to pray at 10.00pm every night for the intention of establishing of an independent commission of inquiry to look into the issues and backlash surrounding to the now-withdrawn extradition bill as soon as possible.
Selina Leung, who was at the rosary service, said she believes prayer should be the central part of every movement as it reminds people to be humble before God. Referring to the non-violent EDSA revolution in the Philippines in 1986 in which nuns knelt and held rosaries in front of tanks, she believes prayer is also the most powerful weapon for softening the hearts of the other side.
In an interview with Vatican News posted online on October 24, John Cardinal Tong Hon, the apostolic administrator of Hong Kong, said he was saddened by the present unrest in Hong Kong and urged them to remain hopeful over despair, avoid violence and work together to rebuild harmony.
The cardinal said all sectors of society, including the government, have the responsibility to help young people who feel frustrated due to the current social situation. He urged the government to really listen to the voice of the people of Hong Kong.
