After six years as head of Hong Kong's Catholics, Cardinal John Tong keeps guiding faithful amid changing world
Head of the church in Hong Kong reminds Christians to 'promote the common good', in the latest in our series on religious leaders
Catholicism has a special place in Hong Kong. Apart from its extensive involvement in educational and welfare services, pan-democratic groups highly respect its former bishop and pro-democracy stalwart Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun.
However, like elsewhere in the world, the church is regarded as being in a difficult position as activists call for more gay-rights legislation, while clerics have warned against it.
Six years into his term as the city's bishop, Cardinal John Tong Hon, 76, believes his experience as the leader of some 379,000 Hong Kong Catholics can be best described in three simple words: "wonderful, difficult and possible".
READ MORE: Bishop Tong joins Zen as HK cardinal
"It is wonderful to have had many capable predecessors who worked so zealously to build up the Catholic Church," he told the in a rare interview conducted through email.
"Yet our mission has also been difficult from another perspective. The world is fast-changing. Things change and we have to cope with the changing world without compromising our faith, our core values, and our vision and mission … [but] nothing is impossible with God."
READ MORE: Catholic bishop ordained in China for first time in three years amid tight security
Tong declined to specify the challenges he had in mind.
But on whether Catholics should pay more attention to social issues, Tong made it clear: "As followers of Jesus Christ, we will do our utmost to follow his teachings and put our Christian faith into practice to promote the common good."
He described Pope Francis as a "good example" for Catholics, as the pontiff remains humble and is "always reaching out to the poor and the socially marginalised", even though he is the supreme leader of more than a billion Catholics.
Tong has been regarded by commentators as relatively less outspoken than his predecessor Zen, but shortly after his appointment in 2009, he said that while the church would continue to care for the underprivileged, the way he would put his teachings into action "might be a little bit different".
READ MORE: Hong Kong's Cardinal Joseph Zen asks Pope Francis not to visit China
The Catholic Church is regarded as undergoing a time of change, especially after Francis ruled in September that members of the church should be allowed to secure an annulment of their marriage free of charge.
But observers also questioned how far such changes could go as the church was left embarrassed by a Vatican priest who announced he was in a gay relationship on the eve of a high-profile synod, a landmark Vatican summit of more than 300 bishops. The priest was immediately fired.
Fung Yat-ming, director of the Catholic diocese's Social Communications Office, told the that two diocesan bodies under the Hong Kong church were tracking the development of the recently concluded synod, which discussed how the church should respond to divorced, remarried and gay churchgoers.
In July last year, Pope Francis asked Tong to stay on as bishop of Hong Kong for another three years, even though he is nearing the retirement age of 75. The pontiff also appointed Michael Yeung Ming-cheung, Stephen Lee Bun-sang and Joseph Ha Chi-shing as auxiliary bishops.
The move raised questions among some Catholics in the city, who had expected Yeung to be named as Tong's successor.
When asked whether Tong believed a successor would be ready in 2017, Fung said the appointment was the pope's job and "there is nothing for Cardinal Tong to worry about".
CARDINAL TONG
76
born July 31, 1939 in Hong Kong
1966: Ordained a priest
1992-96: Vicar general of the Catholic diocese of Hong Kong
1996-08: Auxiliary bishop of Hong Kong
2008-09: Coadjutor bishop of Hong Kong
2009 to present: Bishop of Hong Kong
2012 to present: Cardinal
CATHOLICS IN HONG KONG
about 379,000 (in the diocese)
301 priests, 69 brothers and 491 sisters
51
40 churches, 31 chapels and 26 halls for religious services
Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Central (1888); Rosary Church, Tsim Sha Tsui (1905); St Margaret's Church, Happy Valley (1925)
The diocese operates 264 Catholic schools and kindergartens, catering to about 166,000 pupils. The schools are assisted by the Catholic Education Office (Hong Kong Year Book, 2014)
Offered to at least six hospitals, 13 clinics, 41 social and family service centres, 25 hostels, 16 homes for the aged and 27 rehabilitation service centres
Caritas-Hong Kong (the official social welfare arm of the diocese)
