New Hong Kong bishop pressures China on religious freedom

(April 17, 2009) The new head of Hong Kong's Catholic Church on Thursday pledged to defend human rights and urged China to allow greater religious freedom in his influential new role as a bridging figure for Sino-Vatican ties. Bishop John Tong Hon, who succeeded Cardinal Joseph Zen, an outspoken advocate of democracy and human rights, delivered a measured but firm message to Beijing on the first day of his new job. Speaking to reporters from about 50 local and international media outlets, Bishop Tong said, "The present situation in China regarding the human rights and religious freedom is still far from ideal." Pope Benedict has made improving relations with China a main goal of his pontificate. But China says that before restoring ties, broken off two years after the Communist takeover of 1949, the Vatican must sever relations with Taiwan. While Beijing and the Vatican having no formal diplomatic relations, Catholic leaders in Hong Kong, a former British colony with wide-ranging autonomy, hold an important liaison role. Bishop Tong described his ties with Beijing as "not bad" and said he would be willing to travel to China for "constructive exchanges". He made it clear he shares the same positions as Cardinal Zen, because both of them follow papal and other Church teachings, which he said are derived from the Bible. The bespectacled and gently-spoken 69-year-old bishop told reporters that he will encourage all Catholics "to learn the social teachings of the Church, speak up on justice issues and participate in politics, because life today cannot be separated from society." In China, there are 8 to 12 million Catholics now split between a state-sanctioned church that defies the Pope’s authority and an underground church that pledges allegiance to the Pope.