Hong Kong’s newly appointed Roman Catholic cardinal, Joseph Li, expressed his dream of seeing bishops and faithfuls from different parts of greater China praying together during a historic visit by the head of the Chinese Catholic church. This significant visit was reported by a publication affiliated with Hong Kong’s diocese on Friday. Li, who was installed as an archbishop by China’s state-controlled Catholic church, arrived in Hong Kong on Monday at the invitation of cardinal Stephen Chow. This marked the first-ever official visit by a Beijing bishop to the city.
The purpose of Li’s five-day tour was to reciprocate Chow’s landmark trip to Beijing in April, which was the first visit by Hong Kong’s bishop to the Chinese capital in nearly three decades. Experts see Chow’s invitation as a symbolic gesture that could strengthen the delicate relationship between China and the Vatican.
Diplomatic ties between Beijing and the Vatican were severed in 1951 after the Communist Party came to power and foreign priests were expelled. Since then, Catholics in China have been divided between those who belong to an official, state-sanctioned church and those in an underground church loyal to the pope. The Vatican recognizes both groups as Catholics but claims the exclusive right to choose bishops.
During his visit to Hong Kong, Li participated in a Mass with Cardinal John Tong and other church officials from mainland China. Chow expressed his dream of having bishops, fathers, and faithfuls from Hong Kong, Macao, mainland China, and Taiwan praying together. He emphasized the role of the Hong Kong church as a “bridge church” during a seminar.
In 2018, the Vatican and China signed an agreement on the contentious issue of bishop nominations, but Beijing has violated it, most recently by unilaterally appointing a new bishop of Shanghai. This agreement has faced strong criticism from Hong Kong’s Cardinal Joseph Zen. Pope Francis has stated that relations with China are progressing well but acknowledged the need to demonstrate that the Catholic church is not controlled by a foreign power.
Li’s installation in 2007 received approval from the Vatican, and his visit to Hong Kong included joining an evening prayer service with Chow, exchanging gifts, and visiting various religious premises. Li expressed his commitment to improving the church in China and his gratitude for the opportunity to learn from the development of the Hong Kong diocese.
