Re “Vancouver churches fear for Hong Kong Christians,” B.C. Catholic, July 1:
The debate over the proposed extradition bill in Hong Kong continues to fill me with dread over the future of this once vibrant city.
Citizens of Hong Kong have been living between a rock and a hard place ever since the city was handed over back to the “motherland” in 1997. Even with the guarantee of the so-called “one country, two systems” promise, China continues to exert pressure, spoken or otherwise, so Hong Kong will eventually become just another Chinese city.
Your report about the rally outside Vancouver’s Chinese embassy only shows one side of the debate. Within the Chinese-Canadian community, even among Catholics, there are those who believe the protests in Hong Kong are wrong, that Hong Kongers should not make such troubles for the government, and that, as Chinese, they should support China, whatever its policies might be.
As someone who grew up in British-administered Hong Kong, I, as well as many of my generation, benefited from the education system offered by what used to be a free society. We enjoyed the freedom and order guaranteed by British laws. Were the British in Hong Kong all angels? Of course not. Were there injustices within that society? Yes, to be sure. Yet, Hong Kong under Britain developed from a barren island to one of the world’s major financial centres, with a free press, and a society where people were completely free to express their views.
The fact that immigrants from Hong Kong have the choice to move to Canada or other democratic countries, have the freedom to think the way they do, and can express their views without harassment is all because of the kind of society Hong Kong used to be. For these people to now express their love and patriotism toward China, while enjoying every benefit offered by Canadian society, seems hypocritical to say the least.
As Catholics – after all, we should be Catholics above all else – have we not forgotten China’s notorious and continuing persecution of our Catholic brothers and sisters? To say that as Chinese we need to support China and all its actions would be analogous to saying that Germans in the 1930s were correct in supporting Hitler.
I hope we will continue to pray for Hong Kong. For God, nothing is impossible. (Did the Soviet Union not seem invincible at one time?)
Justice will eventually prevail, and dictatorships, no matter how seemingly powerful, will eventually be relegated to the dustbin of history.
We used to pray for the conversion of Russia. Let us all now do the same for China.
Patrick May
Vancouver
In Graham Osborne’s June 3 column “Top Bible verses every Catholic should know,” his fifth verse quotes 2 Timothy, “Guard the truth that has been entrusted to you by the Holy Spirit who dwells within us.” The heading on the verse is “The Church is protected from error by the Holy Spirit.”
I am confused. At various times the Church has admitted to error. The bishops of Germany (and Poland and France) apologized for not taking decisive actions in protecting Jews from being exterminated during the Second World War. (In 1994, Pope John Paul II urged Catholics to repent for failing to protect Jews during the war.)
Where was the “protection” mentioned in Graham Osborne’s column?
It also came to my mind that sins against the Holy Spirit are unforgivable (Mt 12:31).
Trudy Hombrebueno
Vancouver
(The Catechism of the Catholic Church clarifies the Church is protected from teaching error on matters of faith and morals. On the other hand, the actions or behaviour of Church members are subject to the effects of sin. Regarding the “sin against the Holy Spirit,” the Catechism explains “blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is the ‘deliberate refusal’ to accept God’s mercy and forgiveness.” – Editor)
