Loading...
Loading...
Click here if you don’t see subscription options
April 20, 2009

The new head of the Hong Kong Diocese said defending human rights and religious freedom in mainland China is more important than normalizing Chinese-Vatican relations. In an interview with the Asian church news agency UCA News, Bishop John Tong Hon said he would adhere to church principles in dealing with mainland China. The interview with Bishop Tong, an expert on the church in China, was published April 16, the day he took over as head of the diocese. The bishop cited a principle often credited to St. Augustine of Hippo: "In essential things unity, in doubtful things liberty, but in all things love." Bishop Tong, 69, who was named coadjutor bishop of Hong Kong in January 2008, succeeded Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun as diocesan bishop. The Vatican announced April 15 that Pope Benedict XVI had approved the 77-year-old cardinals request to retire.

Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more.

The latest from america

Many aspects of Pope Francis’ remarkable program of ecclesial renewal weare prefigured in Hans Urs von Balthasar’s vision for the church.
Travis LaCouterJune 27, 2025
Elio, voiced by Yonas Kibreab, and Glordon, voiced by Remy Edgerly, appear in the animated movie “Elio” (OSV News/Disney/Pixar).
Pixar’s best films understand that kids are capable of profound emotional intelligence. As they try to regain their former success, I think that is what they should focus on.
John DoughertyJune 27, 2025
Sister Camille D’Arienzo “didn’t toe the line. She said what she believed. She is a progressive woman who had a very big pulpit, which was over three million listeners a week.”
June 27, 2025
David Foster Wallace gave a reading for Booksmith at All Saints Church in 2006 (Wikimedia commons).
Twenty years ago, David Foster Wallace delivered one of the most widely shared and admired graduation speeches of all time. It still rewards close analysis.
Michael O’ConnellJune 27, 2025