The five-day visit to the Chinese capital ended. When asked by local journalists about patriotism, the Hong Kong bishop replied that “we should all love our country and the Church.” So far, there is no trace of the trip on the websites of official Catholic organizations.
Hong Kong ( / Agencies) – The five-day visit to Beijing by Bishop Stephen Chow of Hong Kong, Bishop Stephen Chow, concluded yesterday morning with a mass at St. Joseph’s Church. At the direct invitation of the Archbishop of Beijing Msgr. Li Shan, who is also president of the Patriotic Association of Chinese Catholics, it was the first visit of its kind since the trips of Cardinal John Wu, the last of which took place in 1994.
At the end of the Mass that he concelebrated on Thursday in Beijing with Li Shan, in the Church of the Most Holy Saviour, Bishop Chow told the international media that he had invited the Archbishop of Beijing to return his visit in Hong Kong and that the proposal had been received. in a “quite positive” way. He underlined the importance of these days for the exchange of experiences, citing in particular the theme of the formation of young priests. On Tuesday, Bishop Chow was able to visit the great national seminary in Beijing, where many candidates for the priesthood from other dioceses in mainland China also study.
When asked about patriotism, he replied: “We must all learn to love the country and the Church. Nobody wants their country to do badly. Being a patriot is a duty. Whether you live in Hong Kong or on the mainland, you must love your country.”
In the brief homily during the celebration – reproduced by the VaticanNews website – Monsignor Chow had spoken to the faithful present about the synodal path promoted by Pope Francis in the Churches around the world. This path -he explained- “invites all the members of the Church to listen to each other and above all to learn to listen to the Holy Spirit, who guides us on our way. The Holy Spirit is the God of unity, not division. For this reason – he concluded – we hope that the diocese of Hong Kong, that of Beijing and all the continental Catholic communities can have a more intense collaboration and exchange in the communion of love ”.
In recent days, the strictly ecclesial nature of this visit to the Archdiocese of Beijing has been underlined on several occasions. On Tuesday, Msgr. Chow met with some representatives of the government body SARA (State Administration for Religious Affairs), but – as was easy to foresee – he did not attend any official meeting and there was no news of any meeting with Msgr. Shen Bin, the bishop who was recently transferred unilaterally by the Chinese authorities to the headquarters in Shanghai, who in his capacity as president of the Council of Chinese Bishops (a body not recognized by the Holy See) often meets with dignitaries visiting Beijing.
It should also be noted that, to date, neither the official website of Chinese Catholic organizations China Catholic nor the Archdiocese of Beijing’s WeChat account have published news or pictures about Mgr Chow’s visit to Beijing. The main source of information has been the Hong Kong media and international agencies.
