Bishop Hong Kong to visit China for the first time
2023.03.10 04:49
Bishop Hong Kong to visit China for the first time
By Tiffany Smith
Budrigannews.com – Hong Kong’s top Catholic pastor, Cleric Stephen Chow, will visit Beijing in April, the principal such visit in almost 30 years.
The Hong Kong Catholic Diocese said in a statement on Thursday that the invitation to Chow’s five-day trip, which will begin on April 17, came from the Beijing Bishop Joseph Li Shan.
According to Chow, the visit “underscores the mission of the Diocese of Hong Kong to be a bridge… and promote exchanges and interactions between the two sides,” according to the publication.
A spokesperson for the Diocese confirmed to Reuters on Friday that this will be the first official visit to Beijing by a Hong Kong bishop since 1994, when Hong Kong was still a British colony.
Some Catholics view the city as a source of conflict in a Sino-Vatican relationship that is typically tense because it has served as a strong Catholic beachhead on the edge of mainland China under officially atheist Communist Party rule for decades.
Hong Kong, according to Vatican officials, is not a part of a 2018 provisional agreement between Beijing and the Holy See regarding the appointment of bishops.
That agreement was made in an effort to bridge the long-standing divide that existed on mainland China between an official church that is supported by the government and an underground congregation that is devoted to the pope. Both sides acknowledged the pope as the supreme leader of the Catholic Church for the first time since the 1950s.
However, some missionaries and priests in the area worry that Beijing has been trying to tighten its grip on Hong Kong Catholics as a result of the agreement, which was extended in October for an additional two years.
In light of growing Western concerns regarding Hong Kong’s human rights and freedoms, Pope Francis appointed Chow as bishop of the city in May 2021. This was a long-delayed appointment.
In November, Cardinal Joseph Zen, one of Chow’s predecessors and a prominent opponent of the Sino-Vatican deal, was found guilty of failing to register a fund for democracy protesters that has since been dissolved. He was assessed a 512-HK$ fine.
