COMMENTARY: Reconciliation must never sacrifice the timeless truths of the Church, but sadly that appears to be the case in China.
Cardinal Stephen Chow, the bishop of Hong Kong, defended the state of religious freedom in Hong Kong in a public dialogue in Parramatta, Australia, on Sept. 15. If what he said were true — such as that “Beijing wants to keep religious freedom intact in Hong Kong because Hong Kong is important for China” — I would not have had to watch his remarks under political asylum in the United States.
The city-state does not engage in persecution, Cardinal Chow said, boldly inviting critics to “come to Hong Kong and see for yourself.” I wish I could accept that invitation. But like many Hong Kongers and Chinese Christians who have fled our home, I cannot safely return. Hong Kong authorities have placed a million-dollar bounty on my head for my advocacy work in the U.S. on behalf of my fellow Hong Kongers for democracy and human rights.
For as long as I can remember, Hong Kong’s Catholic Church has been a conscience for the city — never perfect, but rarely silent. During the turbulent 2019 pro-democracy movement, I watched many young protesters seek out the Church for moral leadership and prophetic witness. The number of young churchgoers grew rapidly. The Church’s leadership assured us that God saw our pain and would bless those who “thirst for righteousness.” Sadly, some influential Catholics in Hong Kong today appear more concerned with appeasing Beijing than defending the faithful.
Or, even, with reflecting reality. In 2021, a Chinese government think tank published an analysis on religion in Hong Kong, Macau and Guangdong. It accused the Church of “sugarcoating acts of colluding with foreign forces” and advised authorities to use education to “amplify national identity” among students in Hong Kong. The government, that is, openly identifies Catholics as a priority target for political control.
The results have been swift and systematic. The Hong Kong Diocese has conducted at least three seminars on the “Sinicization of religion” with China’s state-controlled Catholic Patriotic Association (CPA). All clergy, seminarians, and religious sisters have been ordered to visit Beijing for “exchanges” after Cardinal Chow visited Beijing in April 2023. Later that year, when the CPA chairman gave an interview to Hong Kong’s Catholic newspaper, he pointedly referred to “our Hong Kong diocese” five times as an assertion of political dominance.
In faith-based schools, Chinese national flags now stand beside sacred symbols. Student textbooks contain prayers praising China and equating patriotism with the faith. Teachers are required to integrate national security doctrine and “patriotic socialist values” into all subjects, including religious curriculum. A generation of children is being shaped to see fidelity to the party as indistinguishable from fidelity to God.
Meanwhile, the city’s most senior churchman, Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun, 93, was arrested in 2022 for “colluding with foreign forces” after running a humanitarian fund supporting Hong Kong pro-democracy protesters. As a result of the arrest, his passport remains confiscated, preventing him from traveling freely, and he is the subject of state-orchestrated media attacks that serve as a clear warning to other Church leaders.
Cardinal Chow is surely aware of the threats from Beijing against Cardinal Zen and the whole of the Hong Kong Diocese.
I documented these warning signs in a 2024 report for the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation. Drawing on witness testimonies and official documents, the report describes a religious climate defined by self-censorship, political indoctrination, and fear as Beijing quietly extends its religious control policies over Hong Kong.
I hope Cardinal Chow will read and hear from the clergy members, religious studies teachers and laypeople who courageously contributed to the report, to understand why they feel abandoned and discouraged by the Church’s silence and active accommodation.
While the attacks on religion in Hong Kong are not as overtly violent as the persecution in mainland China, it is certainly insidious and effective. While churches remain open and Masses are still celebrated, the Church’s role as a conscience for society is eroding. Beijing is executing a careful strategy in which endorsements from pliant religious leaders like Cardinal Chow play a crucial role. However, it is important to remember that this is the same authoritarian regime that has committed genocide against millions of Uyghurs, persecuted Tibetan people for owning photographs of the Dalai Lama, and arrested leaders and members of underground churches who refuse to take oaths of fidelity to the government.
Just this past week, 30 leaders of China’s largest house church were arrested. They are among tens of millions of Chinese Christians who operate outside the control of the Chinese Communist Party and face constant persecution for their faith.
Jimmy Lai, Catholicism’s most prominent political prisoner this century, has spent nearly five years in solitary confinement in Hong Kong, where he does not receive regular access to Holy Communion, a denial of basic sacramental rights. At the very least, the Hong Kong diocese should have fought for this fundamental religious right.
Has Cardinal Chow reached out to Lai or the hundreds of other Catholic political prisoners and exiles who are bearing witness to Christ’s teaching to speak against injustice with courage and truth?
When Cardinal Chow calls for empathy toward communist officials, we must first remember those whom they are silencing and oppressing. Those victims are counting on the Church to use its voice to speak for them. Absent that voice, regimes like the CCP feel empowered to continue their abuse.
Cardinal Chow clearly has a difficult assignment and a deep desire for reconciliation. But reconciliation must never sacrifice the truths the Church stands for, or the Church will forfeit its moral authority.
Catholics worldwide are watching closely. They see in Hong Kong a test case for the universal Church’s commitment to religious freedom. The choice Cardinal Chow makes — between prophetic witness and political accommodation — will resonate far beyond Hong Kong’s borders.
The Church is to be “a voice for the voiceless,” as Pope Benedict XVI declared. The Diocese of Hong Kong should unequivocally advocate for those targeted for their beliefs by defending the rights of imprisoned believers, such as Jimmy Lai, and refusing all cooperation with CCP demands to compromise conscience. The Vatican and the entire Catholic community should speak openly about the erosion of religious liberty and stand with the persecuted through prayer and public solidarity.
The faithful in Hong Kong deserve better than the denial of their suffering. They deserve a Church that, even in the most challenging circumstances, maintains its commitment to defend the oppressed and imprisoned, to speak truth even when it’s dangerous, and to be the light in darkness.
My fellow young Catholics who sought out the Church during Hong Kong’s recent turmoil were looking for that light. The question Cardinal Chow must answer is whether he will use his authority to illuminate the darkness or accommodate those who would see it extinguished.
Hong Kong Catholics Deserve the Church’s Leadership, Not Silence
Put not your faith in princes or the Communists
See also “Critics Say Hong Kong Cardinal Is Whitewashing China’s Religious Persecution“