The pope recorded the messages in the spur-of-the-moment when he received the new bishop of Hong Kong, Bishop Stephen Chow Sau Yan, S.J., in a private audience at the papal library in the Vatican’s apostolic palace.
The newly installed Catholic bishop of Hong Kong promised action to heal Catholics and the wider society, divided because of the Chinese action to suppress a two-year-long protest seeking democratic freedoms.
Dialogue is always preferable to confrontation, Cardinal Dolan said. ”[But] my gut also tells me that you can’t negotiate with these people. It could be extraordinarily counterproductive.”