My sisters and brothers, and friends, some asked me curiously what Pope Francis whispered in my ear after he had put on the cardinal ring and biretta for me. Well, it was not any juicy gossip but about the mission with China.
Hong Kong has long played a significant bridging role of connecting the East and the West. The Catholic Church in Hong Kong was also entrusted with the role of a bridging Church since Pope John Paul II, especially in connecting the Church in Mainland China with the universal Church. For us Christians, connection is understood in the light of communion, based on the Holy Trinity and the Eucharist. We share one Love, one Life, and one Body.
Hence, our lives and fates are intimately connected, both spiritually and existentially through communion as Christians. “Communion” is one of the three themes, besides mission and participation, of the Synod on synodality. We are encouraged to put ourselves in the shoes of the others in order to understand and feel for them. In other words, we become like the others so that we can walk with them for a lifegiving and blessed future.
“To those outside the law I became like one outside the law… to win over those outside the law. To the weak I became weak, to win over the weak. I have become all things to all, to save at least some. All this I do for the sake of the gospel, so that I too may have a share in it.”
Being a bridging church does not mean we only focus on areas outside of Hong Kong. In fact, there are many individuals and groups in Hong Kong who are painfully disconnected with others and their society. I dare say that we, too, would love to be better connected and to become fully whole. Therefore, if all of us can just take a few steps reaching out to those who are disconnected with us, either in the physical or digital worlds, we too can be healed.
During the First Session of the Synod of Bishops which has just concluded, we learned how to connect with participants whose views, on some critical matters, were clearly different from those of ours. There were divergences, which we honored. But divergences did not stop us from identifying convergences where we could meet. And through these convergences we were able to have hope and strength to anticipate our next session in October 2024.
All in all, we learn to walk with one another for a better future, not just for the Church, but more importantly, for our humanity and common home.
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