The next head of the Hong Kong Church says he will continue to dialogue with the Church in mainland China while adhering to the "principles of Church doctrine and ecclesial structure."Coadjutor Bishop John Tong Hon of Hong Kong told UCA News on March 11 that "the pope has encouraged us to dialogue and communicate with the mainland Church."
He clarified, however, that "we won't dialogue with the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association (CCPA)," as Pope Benedict XVI's letter to Chinese Catholics in 2007 stated clearly that such a government-controlled body is incompatible with Catholic doctrine.
Bishop Tong, 69, is expected to take charge of Hong Kong diocese when its present bishop, Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun, 77, retires.
The cardinal said in January that Pope Benedict XVI had agreed to let him retire, probably after Easter. Easter Sunday falls on April 12 this year.
Born in Guangzhou, capital of the mainland province of Guangdong, which borders Hong Kong, Bishop Tong has headed Hong Kong diocese's Holy Spirit Study Centre since it was established in 1980. The center researches and documents Church life in mainland China.
Bishop Tong was speaking to UCA News in response to comments by Anthony Liu Bainian, CCPA vice-chairman. Liu had spoken about his expectations of the future Church leader to Hong Kong reporters in Beijing a day earlier.
Liu, 74, said he hopes Bishop Tong would be patriotic, love the Church and love Hong Kong. He also hopes Bishop Tong would follow in the footsteps of the late Cardinal Wu Cheng-chung in advancing evangelization on the mainland Church and building friendly relations between Hong Kong and mainland dioceses. Cardinal Wu, Cardinal Zen's predecessor, led the Hong Kong Church from 1975 until his death in 2002.
Liu, a standing committee member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), gave his comments on the sidelines of the organization's annual session held March 3-12 in Beijing. The CPPCC is China's top advisory body.
Bishop Tong said he thanked Liu for his comments and asserted that for a Catholic, loving one's country is only natural.
He stressed, however, that "we should get beyond a narrow sense of patriotism, as Jesus taught us to love not only our country but also all humankind, and spread the Gospel to the world."
The bishop also said Hong Kong diocese's policy toward the mainland Church has been consistent from the time of Cardinal Wu, which is adherence to the "principles of Church doctrine and ecclesial structure."
In his comments to Hong Kong reporters, Liu revealed that the National Congress of Catholic Representatives, which will elect new leaders for the CCPA and the government-sanctioned Bishops' Conference of the Catholic Church in China, would be held in the second half of this year.
Preparations have been proceeding smoothly and dioceses nationwide would choose their representatives to attend the congress, he said.
Leadership of both the CCPA and the bishops' conference was left vacant when their former heads, Bishops Michael Fu Tieshan of Beijing and Joseph Liu Yuanren of Nanjing, died in 2007 and 2005 respectively.
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(Source: UCAN)