After six years as head of Hong Kong's Catholics, Cardinal John Tong keeps guiding faithful amid changing world
Head of the church in Hong Kong reminds Christians to 'promote the common good', in the latest in our series on religious leaders
Catholicism has a special place in Hong Kong. Apart from its extensive involvement in educational and welfare services, pan-democratic groups highly respect its former bishop and pro-democracy stalwart Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun.
However, like elsewhere in the world, the church is regarded as being in a difficult position as activists call for more gay-rights legislation, while clerics have warned against it.
Six years into his term as the city's bishop, Cardinal John Tong Hon, 76, believes his experience as the leader of some 379,000 Hong Kong Catholics can be best described in three simple words: "wonderful, difficult and possible".
READ MORE: Bishop Tong joins Zen as HK cardinal
"It is wonderful to have had many capable predecessors who worked so zealously to build up the Catholic Church," he told the South China Morning Post in a rare interview conducted through email.
"Yet our mission has also been difficult from another perspective. The world is fast-changing. Things change and we have to cope with the changing world without compromising our faith, our core values, and our vision and mission … [but] nothing is impossible with God."
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Tong declined to specify the challenges he had in mind.