My Take | Don’t count Joseph Ha out of church race
- Cardinal John Tong Hon may have been brought back as acting head of Hong Kong’s Catholic community, but despite his pro-democracy credentials Ha may still prove the right man to lead the local church
Some critics seem surprised that auxiliary bishop Joseph Ha Chi-shing wasn’t made the acting head of the Hong Kong diocese. Instead, the 79-year-old Cardinal John Tong Hon was brought back from retirement to take up the temporary post. Tong was head of the local church from 2009 to 2017.
The replacement was made necessary after bishop Michael Yeung Ming-cheung died unexpectedly last week. The conventional view is that the move was to placate Beijing.
By convention, Ha should have taken up the acting post. The auxiliary bishop’s job is practically designed for such eventualities. But Ha is a bona fide pro-democracy advocate and supporter of the Occupy protest movement. On the other hand, Tong is politically neutral, much like Yeung was. Moreover, he supports the ongoing attempt at rapprochement between Rome and Beijing.
But the real question is whether Ha is still in the race to take over the Hong Kong diocese. I believe he remains a hot contender. That’s precisely why Rome brought in Tong – to buy time in the current complicated diplomatic dance between Beijing and the Vatican. Another likely candidate is Stephen Lee Bun-sang, who is currently the Bishop of Macau.
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