For the third consecutive year, the Catholic Diocese of Hong Kong has had to cancel plans for a vigil Mass to commemorate the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, locally referred to as “the June 4 incident.” While the annual gatherings cannot take place, Cardinal Stephen Chow, Bishop of Hong Kong, penned a letter in which he urged forgiveness, and encouraged Catholics around the world to pray for the Church in China.
This year, 2024, marks the 35th anniversary of the deadly encounter between student-led demonstrators and Chinese authorities. Also referred to as a “crackdown,” it is estimated hundreds, if not thousands, lost their lives due to the intervention of the People’s Liberation Army.
According to the Hong Kong Free Press (HKFP), while recent years have seen many Hong Kong public events quashed due to pandemic-era health precautions, this year’s events were canceled due to fears that they would be seen as a breach of national security laws that Beijing has imposed on Hong Kong. The last time the vigil was allowed to take place was 2021, in which only seven churches were able to participate.
The diocese explained to the press:
“Since frontline workers and some members of the Justice and Peace Commission of the Catholic Church are concerned that holding these events would violate the national security law, memorial Masses for June 4 will not be held.”
Last week, on May 30, Cardinal Chow addressed the continued “unsettling” feeling that he experiences when he remembers Tiananmen Square, even 35 years removed from the day. He acknowledged “a deep wound in parts of our psyche,” which he was adamant that he would never forget. Still, the Cardinal urged forgiveness:
“My faith, nonetheless, prompts me to forgive whoever and whatever. Maybe it is through forgiveness that the different parties can move beyond finger pointing and the painful “I will never forgive” mindset. With forgiveness already available, reconciliation and healing may stand a better chance of becoming a reality.”
After a brief reflection on the unconditional love of God, Cardinal Chow wrote a prayer in which he encouraged all to join him:
“Oh, the Lord of history!
In prayers I have walked with the victims and their families in the past 35 years;
With no lack of occasional reflections and fluctuating sadness that seems unending at times.
Yet at the same time, I am holding fast to my hope in the risen Lord who has gone through death himself.
Now, I come before you in prayer.
In faith and hope, I entrust you, Lord, with the country’s democratic development. You who are forever just and wise.
Let me put on your yoke and learn from you.
That I may have a glimpse through your goodness and humility, the eternal desire of life.
Moving forward in love, supporting each other in addressing our contradictions, let us enjoy the beauty of trinitarian communion.
Oh Lord, please guide us! Please walk with us, the people of China!
Amen.”
