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New Hong Kong bishop says he will follow Church principles and Pope´s letter

Updated: April 16, 2009 03:57 AM GMT
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Bishop John Tong Hon, who now heads Hong Kong diocese, says his concern for the China Church will continue, but he will adhere to Church principles in dealing with the mainland. Bishop Tong, 69, who was coadjutor bishop of Hong Kong from early 2008, has succeeded Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun as diocesan bishop. The Vatican announced on April 15 that Pope Benedict XVI had approved the 77-year-old cardinal´s request to retire. According to Hong Kong diocese´s press statement that same day, Bishop Tong´s succession was to take effect on April 16. In an interview on March 27, Bishop Tong, a Church-in-China expert for the past 30 years, stressed that defending human rights and religious freedom in the mainland is more important than normalizing China-Holy See diplomatic ties. Citing a principle often credited to Saint Augustine of Hippo -- "In essential things unity, in doubtful things liberty, but in all things love" -- Bishop Tong said he will act in line with established Church principles. "Though we should love everybody," the bishop said, "I will not dialogue with or accept" invitations from the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association (CCPA) or the Bishops´ Conference of the Catholic Church in China (BCCCC). "The CCPA was established by the government to control the Church," he noted. If by chance he meets CCPA and BCCCC leaders, he added, he will keep a low profile and greet them only to be polite. The pope´s letter to mainland Chinese Catholics in mid-2007, he pointed out, says "state agencies" that implement principles of autonomy, self-management and democratic management of the Church are "incompatible with Catholic doctrine." A footnote for that part of the papal letter refers to "Statutes of the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association." The new Hong Kong bishop also said the pope further clarified that the Holy See cannot recognize the BCCCC as an episcopal conference because its members include some bishops who do not have a papal mandate and exclude "underground" bishops who are in communion with the pope. Regarding the reported plan of the National Congress of Catholic Representatives to convene a meeting in the second half of 2009 to elect new heads for the CCPA and BCCCC, Bishop Tong said he hopes the Vatican will firmly advise all Vatican-approved mainland bishops not to attend. About 50 "open Church" bishops are in communion with the pope. In response to some mainlanders´ assertion that Catholics elsewhere do not fully understand the situation, Bishop Tong offered a Chinese proverb: "Those closely involved cannot see as clearly as those outside." "One must never give up Church doctrine for profit or other reasons," he asserted. "Everything we do now will be known in the future. If you are sure your flock supports your decision, go ahead. One may suffer if the authorities disagree and repress, but the universal Church will affirm and support your act for safeguarding Church principles." Among the more than 200 people who assembled last Dec. 19 in Beijing to celebrate the 50th anniversary of "self-election and self-ordination of bishops" were about 40 mainland bishops, most of them younger generation and Vatican-approved. For that event, Bishop Tong said, prior warning by the Vatican had been unclear, and profit or pressure lured some bishops to the assembly. "That was undesirable and a pity. But it happened, so we should review it and then decide how we can do better next time," he continued. Bishop Tong will continue to head the diocesan-run Holy Spirit Study Centre, which researches and documents Church life in mainland China. He has served as its executive director since it began in 1980, and visited the mainland many times before being appointed auxiliary bishop of Hong Kong in 1996. His last visit there was for the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics in August 2008. During that two-day visit to the capital, Bishop Tong did not meet with any CCPA or BCCCC officials.

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