HONG KONG (SE): The bishop of Hong Kong, Cardinal Stephen Chow S.J., called for unity, understanding, dialogue and constructive collaboration in a time of tension and division in his commencement address to the Boston College Class of 2024 on May 20.
Alluding to troubles on university campuses around the United States and elsewhere in connection with the Israel-Hamas conflict, Cardinal Stephen remarked: “None of us gathered here today are likely ignorant about the recent tensions among university campuses in the United States and elsewhere. We can appreciate Boston College for being bold enough to hold a live commencement exercise during this time.”
He observed that such tensions are not “unfamiliar to us living in Hong Kong, especially five years ago in 2019,” adding that despite there being a “good degree of peacefulness” now, there is still a need for “reconciliation and internal healing.”
Cardinal Stephen said, “We must start with the promotion of dialogue and constructive action among parties of different stances, prudently and meaningfully,” telling those gathered at the college’s Alumni Stadium for its 148th Commencement Exercises: “I believe ‘Unity in Plurality’ is what we want to embrace, not an oppositional mentality, and certainly not violence.”
Expressing honour at the opportunity, the cardinal shared “five learnings” with those gathered at the event: Preferential option for unity, not uniformity; Collaboration with love so to give hope; Expect and respect differences out of love; Be a bridge-builder; and Be your own winner.
I believe ‘Unity in Plurality’ is what we want to embrace, not an oppositional mentality, and certainly not violence.
The cardinal spoke of fostering a closer and better working relationship between the universal Church and the Church in China as being a mission of unity. He noted, “There have been encouraging developments since our last visits to the dioceses of Beijing and Guangdong. I know we can have hope in a loving God who alone is the Lord of the past, present, and future, not any human persons.”
Cardinal Stephen urged the graduating class to envision “a future which you and your peers are going to construct together with the inclusive love of God in your discernment, transcending the borders of politics, beliefs, faiths, values, economies, ethnicities, realities, etc.”
Noting that they would be stepping into an “ideological world, and dare I say a rather divided Church, as well as a badly wounded natural environment,” the cardinal asked them to consider the role they would undertake: “Prophets of probable hope or irreversible doom?”
He urged the graduates to eschew an oppositional culture and ideology where only one side can be in the “right” and the other must “simply be wrong.” He stressed, “This kind of narrative is unlikely to create sustainable peace for a commonly desirable future.”
There have been encouraging developments since our last visits to the dioceses of Beijing and Guangdong. I know we can have hope in a loving God who alone is the Lord of the past, present, and future, not any human persons
Cardinal Stephen told the graduates: “It is not too early to contemplate how you are going to construct your future together, and what it will look like.”
Encouraging respect for differences out of love, the cardinal said that as an educator, he is aware that not all young people are the same and that some people prefer a world with more certainty and a “true-false understanding,” while others favour a world with greater room for nuances, inconsistencies, and pluralism.
He said that embracing people as they are and not who we think they should be “will allow us a greater capacity to love as God loves us in every moment,” pointing out that, “We are sinners with our own peculiarities yet loved by God.”
Touching on his visits to the Diocese of Beijing in 2023 [Sunday Examiner, 23 April 2023], and several dioceses in Guangdong this past April [Sunday Examiner, May 5], the cardinal lamented that some tried to put a political wrapper around them.
The cardinal observed that “everyone, no matter whether she or he is an important official or not, would love to be connected, treated with genuine respect, and listened to with interest… With this, we can relate to each other with openness for mutual development
“The truth is that they were trips with the objectives of promoting dialogue, building friendship, strengthening fraternity and looking for opportunities to collaborate while supporting each other’s pastoral endeavours,” he said.
The cardinal observed that “everyone, no matter whether she or he is an important official or not, would love to be connected, treated with genuine respect, and listened to with interest… With this, we can relate to each other with openness for mutual development.”
Cardinal Stephen then asked the graduates to consider if competition and winning only meant defeating other competitors and if having fighting spirit meant being the last person standing. “What about cultivating a reality in which we are our own competitors?” he asked.
He suggested working on bettering our past selves, “better than who we were yesterday, a month, a year, or a decade ago…” noting that, “if the focus of competition is on ourselves, we can afford to help each other improve, so that no one will lose out, which means we can become winners in our own right.”
The cardinal said competition does not need to be avoided, but that it can be redressed and a new reality constructed “in which everyone is a winner.” He added, “I believe you and we are the ones who can work together, and with God, to make all things new.”
He concluded by wishing the graduates “blessings of a discerning spirit, a generous heart, a vision that is broad, inclusive, far-reaching but focused, and a future that gives greater glory to God who loves all without fail!”
Boston College also conferred Cardinal Stephen with the degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa.
