HONG KONG (SE): Stephen Cardinal Chow, the bishop of Hong Kong, celebrated a thanksgiving Mass at Church of San Giovanni Battista de La Salle in Rome on October 22 to formally take possession of his titular parish.
Vatican News reported on October 23 that prior to the Mass, an official of the Holy See and Father Francesco Zanoni, the parish priest of the church, read the assignation of Pope Francis granting Cardinal Chow the titular parish and a letter addressed to the parish, after which the faithful welcomed the cardinal with warm applause.
Cardinal Chow celebrated the Mass with over 10 priests, most of them his Jesuit confreres, while several others were priests serving in the Holy See, as well as priests from the parish itself. The cardinal celebrated the Mass in English, and his homily was interpreted into Italian.
Referring to the gospel of the day in which the Pharisees laid plans to trap Jesus in his words [Matthew 22:15-21], he said the clergy, and bishops in particular, should be aware of entrapping questions.
“We dread to receive interviews with unfriendly media, which also regrettably, includes some Catholic media. They would pose trick questions to entrap us so that they can pick whatever they like to enlarge, distort, elaborate, or simply tell lies to entertain their readers and advance their agenda. For them, they were just using this as means to serve the ends that they so cherish, i.e., uncovering the truth and upholding freedom of speech,” Cardinal Chow said.
“However, we should be informed that it is a longstanding teaching of our Church that the end does not justify the means. Otherwise, we might feel free to use whatever means, including unethical means, to advance the end,” he said.
As that day was also World Mission Day, the cardinal took the opportunity to say that the ongoing Synod of Bishops on Synodality, has made it clearly known that all Christians are called to walk with the Church, to participate in the discernment and fulfilment of her mission.
“The mission of our Church, which is the entire People of God, cannot be solely discerned and decided by the hierarchy alone. It is our sacred duty to reach out, accompany and listen to our brothers and sisters, regardless of their different statuses and background, whether or not they are inside or outside of our tent,” he said.
The cardinal concluded by making clear to the faithful of his titular church that it is important to walk together and to accompany one another, so that we can witness to this deeply divided world the beauty of communion and unity in God.
At the end of the Mass, Father Zanoni, on behalf of all the faithful of the parish, presented Cardinal Chow with a copy of the icon of the Salus Populi Romani [Salvation of the Roman people]. The cardinal, in return, offered his titular church a book on the Cathedral of Immaculate Conception of the Diocese of Hong Kong.
Finally, the concelebrating priests signed the three certificates issued by the Holy See, signifying that the receiving of the titular church had been concluded.
The Church of San Giovanni Battista de La Salle is located in Torrino, a modern community in Rome, with a spacious and bright interior that gives it an innovative and refreshing look.
