(Hong Kong – December 20, 2024) Shortly after the conclusion of the Synod on Synodality, Cardinal Stephen Chow Sau-yan, Bishop of Hong Kong, gave an exclusive interview to America’s Vatican correspondent at the Jesuit Curia in Rome.

In the interview, Cardinal Stephen Chow expressed his belief that, inspired by the synodal process and the final document of the Synod, Catholics could play a vital role in healing Hong Kong’s wounds and helping to overcome polarization in a divided world.

He expressed his hope that:

“and like we said to the Asian delegates, we have to support each other when we go back to our own dioceses, our own communities.”

This year, China had two Chinese bishops with close relations to the government attend the Vatican’s Synod of Synodality.

When asked by the Correspondent what the Synod had to say for Hong Kong and the Chinese world, Bishop Chow expressed:

“Listening and trust: Listening with empathy and trust still are important, and the most fundamental thing.”

He believes that dialogue can only happen if people listen to each other with empathy and have trust. He continued:

“Otherwise, it’s just parallel monologues. Most of the time, it’s like that, right? We need to meet each other through listening, through empathy, through trust that we can meet each other and then we can discern.”

In response to the Correspondent’s question about the above comment being important coming from the synod for Hong Kong and China, he said:

“Oh yes. In Hong Kong, we have our own wounds we need to heal. As for China[’s relationship] with the Vatican, with Rome, they also need to learn to do that more. But I know it’s not easy, especially for China, that is not part of the tradition, and [we have to see] whether they want to take this model up, but it certainly speaks to both parties; both parties realize that they need to have more trust with each other.”

Stephen Chow believes that out of all the conclusions of the synod, he found healing to be the most relevant for Hong Kong.

“By healing the wounds, we need to recover our confidence. I think we’re losing self-confidence, and so we need to pick up that spirit and energy, that confidence, not arrogance. In the past, we had arrogance and that’s not good for Hong Kong. But we’ve got to have more self-confidence, and what will contribute to self-confidence is the self-image.”

He continued:

“The self-image is recovered when we can listen and talk together. Then we can heal each other, and we can start something new again, not necessarily going to the past glory of Hong Kong, but something new that we can say, “This is what we want to do, where we want to be, and who we, the new Hong Kong people, are.”

After the 2019 anti-extradition bill protests in Hong Kong, Cardinal Stephen Chow Sau-yan remarked during a 2023 Mass that many societal wounds remain unhealed, merely concealed beneath the surface, and called for reconciliation through love. He noted that while it is easy to blame others for mistakes, it is equally important to reflect on one’s own faults. He emphasized that the Church must learn to listen to and respect diverse voices.

The correspondent asked the bishop if the final document is a contribution to overcoming a polarized world, a divided world, Stephen Chow believes that it is the work and footprint of the Holy Spirit in a world that is so divided, so egoistic, so self-centered. He expressed that it is the intervention of the Holy Spirit through the church, hoping that the church could collaborate with the Holy Spirit to heal this divided world.

Cardinal Stephen Chow Sau-yan’s remarks are tied to the context of Hong Kong’s societal divisions. In recent years, China’s increasing assertion of power over Hong Kong has heightened tensions between the government and citizens. Under Beijing’s directives, Hong Kong police have arrested numerous protestors and imposed harsh sentences on pro-democracy activists in the name of national security. The “one country, two systems” framework has effectively become a nominal concept, with Hong Kong progressively resembling a mainland Chinese city. This has deepened societal divisions and fueled growing discontent with the government.

(Reported by Special Correspondent Gao Zhensai of ChinaAid)