Vatican raises hopes with new role for Hong Kong’s Chow
- By making city bishop Stephen Chow Sau-yan a cardinal, Rome has established an important bridge between mainland China and the church
It was not without symbolism that Pope Francis made Hong Kong bishop Stephen Chow Sau-yan a cardinal on the eve of National Day, when unity of the nation and Chinese people is the prevailing theme. In his first remarks under a cardinal’s hat, the leader of the city’s Catholic diocese said his new role would be an important bridge between China and the church.
“Even Hong Kong itself in history is a bridge between East and West,” he said, “and so is the [Hong Kong] church, between the church in China and the universal church. And we would like to see that come closer,” he told Vatican media.
It is indeed a welcome development and good for Hong Kong to have an important voice in the Vatican at a time of Rome’s improving relations with Beijing. This is yet another way to show that religious freedoms continue to be respected here and recognised abroad.
The Catholic community remains influential and can contribute a lot of good to Hong Kong society.
Chow, 64, who is seen as moderate or politically neutral, was one of the youngest clerics to be promoted to bishop in Hong Kong in 2019. His latest promotion is bound to be closely watched because cardinals under 80 can vote in an election for a new pontiff.
Locally, Chow is identified with healing wounds following the social unrest that divided Catholics and wider society. After the announcement of his coming promotion last July, he called for unity through dialogue and reconciliation so Hongkongers could “calm down”.
He has said it is crucial to give young people hope, including those who committed offences for which they have been punished.
Hong Kong’s top Catholic priest Stephen Chow made a cardinal by Pope Francis
The cardinal also called for closer ties between the city’s diocese and churches and their counterparts on the mainland. This followed a five-day visit to Beijing in April at the invitation of Bishop Joseph Li Shan of the Beijing diocese, the first time a senior Catholic clergyman from Hong Kong had visited the capital since the city’s return to Chinese rule in 1997.
This has raised hopes of better religious ties with the mainland. In that respect it would be good if Hong Kong, under Chow’s guidance, could contribute towards bringing Beijing and the Vatican closer.
