Pope sees Hong Kong and Macau Bishops
Pope Benedict XVI praised the visiting bishops of Hong Kong and Macau
for showing that “one can be authentically Catholic and authentically
Chinese,” and he prayed “the day will soon come” when mainland bishops
too can visit the Holy See.
On June 27, the pope first welcomed Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun of
Hong Kong in his private library for a private audience and then
invited Coadjutor Bishop John Tong Hon to join them. Next he received
Bishop Jose Lai Hung-seng of Macau privately, and finally all three
pastors met him as a group for almost an hour.
The pope and cardinal exchanged prepared texts and later gifts. Pope
Benedict gave each a pectoral cross, and they presented him a crystal
containing a picture of a flower emerging from the snow, symbolizing
the resurrection of the Church in China.
