Hong Kong cardinal hopeful new pope will continue dialogue with China

(OSV News) -- Reflecting on the conclave that saw the election of Pope Leo XIV, Cardinal Stephen Chow of Hong Kong says he is hopeful the new pontiff will continue along the same path of dialogue and engagement with China as his predecessor -- a deal that had prominent and outspoken critics.

In a video interview published May 16 by Kung Kao Pao, the official newsletter of the Diocese of Hong Kong, Cardinal Chow said Pope Leo "has visited China before" and is "not a stranger to Chinese culture."

"He knows about China. And he follows the track of Pope Francis, wanting to have dialogue, to be inclusive, to listen, and to push forward that relationship between China and the Vatican. I think that is pretty clear," the cardinal said.

In 2018, the Vatican and the Chinese government signed a provisional agreement regarding the appointment of bishops, the text of which has never been made public.

The agreement outlines procedures for ensuring Catholic bishops are elected by the Catholic community in China and approved by the pope before their ordinations and installations, according to news reports at the time.

Despite renewing the agreement in 2020 and 2022, the Chinese government has violated it several times by appointing or transferring bishops and sparked criticism within the church.

Retired Cardinal Joseph Zen of Hong Kong was among the agreement's outspoken critics, calling the deal "a major step toward the annihilation of the real Church in China" in a 2018 op-ed piece featured in The New York Times.

Human Rights Watch issued a statement May 12, calling on newly elected Pope Leo XIV to review the agreement, which it said was done despite restrictions on the country's 12 million Catholics and the government's continued persecution of Catholics "who have attended underground 'house churches' or pledged allegiance only to the pope."

"Pope Leo should press the Chinese government to immediately free several Catholic clergy who in recent years have been imprisoned, forcibly disappeared, or subjected to house arrest and other harassment," the organization said.

Cardinal Chow said that although they were both made cardinals by Pope Francis in his last consistory in 2024, he doesn't know Pope Leo "that well" and thus "can't really speak (about) what is his position on this or that."

"I think in the coming times, we will continue to have conversations with him and see how we can move on together as a church under his leadership," the cardinal said. "But he will listen. This pope, I was told, he listens. And so, as long as we are able to talk to him, he will listen."

The Chinese cardinal also said he followed the example of his predecessor Cardinal John Tong Hon. According to the Italian newspaper La Stampa, Cardinal Tong had gifted Pope Francis a statue of Our Lady of Sheshan in the Sistine Chapel following his election in 2013.

"I also gave a small statue of Our Lady of Sheshan to Pope Leo after he was elected, just to ask him not to forget us, the Chinese church and the Chinese people," Cardinal Chow recounted. "And of course, he was affirmative on that."

Recalling the conclave, Cardinal Chow said the cardinals knew before entering the conclave that it was "not going to be too long" and that they shared "a general feeling" with regard to electing then-Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost as pope.

"It's like following the footsteps of Francis, though we said very clearly that we are not trying to find a copy of Pope Francis," he noted. "It's not right to find a copy because we were electing the successor of Peter, not the successor of Francis. I think that's something, that's a point we made very clear to each other."

The general impression the cardinals had of the soon-to-be pope, the cardinal said, was that "he is kind of low-key, very personal, very caring. He is a good pastor."

Cardinal Chow said he and many others were "very happy" that Pope Leo mentioned the importance of synodality in his first address as pope after his election.

"There are people who wondered whether, with the new pope, synodality would disappear or not," the cardinal said. "But very clearly, he wants this to continue and that we move on with courage and audacity."