Hong Kong finally installs its new Catholic bishop

It took Pope Francis and his Vatican aides more than two years to find a new bishop of Hong Kong, after the unexpected January 2019 death of its former leader, Bishop Michael Yeung.

As the government in Beijing increasingly asserted its takeover of the former British colony, the process of selecting the new bishop was the subject of intense negotiations between those who wanted someone close to the Chinese government and those who insisted on a man more sympathetic to pro-democracy movements, many of whom are Catholic.

The pope finally turned to his own religious order on May 17 of this year and appointed the provincial of the Jesuits in China, Reverend Stephen Chow Sau-yan.

The 62-year-old religious was ordained to the episcopate and installed as Hong Kong’s bishop last Saturday, December 4th.

The celebration, which took place at the city’s Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, was presided over by 82-year-old Cardinal John Tong Hon, who served as Hong Kong’s bishop from 2009-2017.

Cautious about Beijing’s policies

Bishop Chow was born in Hong Kong in 1959 and entered the Society of Jesus in 1984. Ordained a priest ten years later, he took his final vows in 2007.

In 2018, he was named head of his order’s China Province, which includes Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau and mainland China.

Bishop Chow did much of his secondary studies in the United States, earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees in psychology from the University of Duluth (Minnesota) and a doctorate in education at Harvard University.

He studied philosophy at the Milltown Institute in Dublin (Ireland) and theology at Holy Spirit Seminary in his native Hong Kong.

“Religious freedom is a fundamental right,” said the new bishop after his appointment. “In our discussions, we hope to remind the government of this so that they do not forget it.”

But he’s more cautious on issues such as Beijing’s treatment of religions and the destruction of churches in mainland China.

“I don’t think it’s appropriate for me to comment on issues… about which I don’t have enough knowledge,” he said.

“It’s not that I’m afraid. But I think caution is also a virtue,” the bishop insisted.

At the same time, he’s made it clear that he “does not feel good” about the destruction of churches.

“I don’t want to use the word ‘oppression’,” he said, demonstrating again his cautious approach.

Education, the next bone of contention?

Local Church people who are well informed about the tricky process that led the pope to decide on Bishop Chow for Hong Kong say Francis made a “very balanced” choice of compromise.

They especially point to his commitment to education.

Chow is a former chairman of the Chinese Jesuits’ education commission, and until his appointment as bishop he was a member of the Diocese of Hong Kong’s education council.

This involvement is particularly significant at a time when some believe that education will be one of the next areas of confrontation between Beijing and pro-democracy activists.

The communist government is strongly suspected of wanting to roll back the freedom of education that may still exists in Hong Kong, especially in the more than 300 Catholic schools.

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