It is a visit shrouded in mystery and speculation that the bishop of Hong Kong, Stephen Chow, began on Monday April 17 by going to Beijing for five days. It takes place almost thirty years after the last visit of the same type, but also a few weeks after the second appointment of a Chinese bishop without consultation with the Holy See, in apparent violation of the secret bilateral agreements of 2018, on the appointment of bishops in China.
During a mass on Thursday at the Saint-Sauveur Church or Xishiku Cathedral in Beijing, concelebrated with Mgr Li Shan, his counterpart and host in the Chinese capital, the bishop of Hong Kong simply called on the two dioceses to “develop their exchanges and their cooperation in order to better understand each other”, citing the instruction of Pope Francis to “walk together” and calling for “unity rather than division”.
“We know almost nothing about this visit and everything that can be said about it risks being false”, warns a member of the clergy who wishes to remain anonymous. One thing is almost certain, however: it takes place in a difficult context for all religions in China and against a backdrop of tensions, or at least misunderstandings, between Beijing and the Vatican. Officially, this is above all a mission of good offices. “The mission of the diocese of Hong Kong is to be a Church-bridge and to promote exchanges and interactions between the two parties”, said the official statement, the two parties being the Church of China and the Universal Church.
Because following the victory of the Chinese Communists (1949) and the severance of diplomatic relations between Beijing and the Holy See (1951), the Communist Party regained control of the local Catholic Church, renamed the Patriotic Association of Chinese Catholics, and began appointing its own bishops without papal approval. But a certain number of Chinese believers have insisted on remaining faithful to Rome and to the bishops who have received the papal blessing, which has given rise to a resistant church, often referred to as clandestine or underground, which is less and less tolerated by the Chinese authorities.
Hong Kong has 5% Catholics
Today the Chinese Catholic community is estimated at around 10 million faithful, more or less divided, half and half, between the “Romans” and the “Patriotics”. All foreign missionaries were expelled. In Hong Kong, which continues to enjoy greater freedom of worship, Catholics make up only some 5% of the population, but they retain a disproportionate influence on society, particularly through schools, which have formed almost all the local elite. And three of Hong Kong’s five chief executives since the handover are Catholics, including John Lee, currently in office and as patriotic and pro-Beijing as they come.
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