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Nearly 150 members of the Bay Area’s Chinese community and their supporters participated in a prayer vigil for “peace, justice and the end of violence” in Hong Kong on Aug. 26 at St. Anne of the Sunset Church in San Francisco. The service was coordinated by the Archdiocese of San Francisco's Office of Human Life and Dignity, and Chinese ministry. (Photo by Debra Greenblat/Catholic San Francisco)
Aug. 28, 2019
Christina Gray
Retired Santa Rosa Bishop Daniel Walsh invoked the Beatitudes in offering hope and solace to the Bay Area’s Chinese community and their supporters during an Aug. 26 prayer vigil for “peace, justice and the end of violence” in Hong Kong.
“In the Beatitudes we hear of a world that is not perfect,” said the bishop, who led the evening service attended by about 150 people at St. Anne of the Sunset Church in San Francisco.
Bishop Walsh called upon the faithful to turn to Jesus “for providence, guidance and protection, and to pray for the kingdom of God.”
The “Pray for Hong Kong” service was coordinated by the Archdiocese of San Francisco’s Chinese ministry and Office of Human Life and Dignity. It was a response to a plea from Hong Kong's Apostolic Administrator Cardinal John Tong asking Catholics throughout the world to pray for Hong Kong and China.
This summer, Hong Kong has seen massive and often violent clashes between protesters and the local government, which proposed a bill in February that would give China the right to extradite people, including foreigners, to China to stand trial.
Protesters fear the bill, which was indefinitely suspended in June, would place the Hong Kong people and visitors under mainland Chinese jurisdiction, undermining the autonomy of the region and citizens' rights that were guaranteed in the transfer of Hong Kong’s sovereignty from the United Kingdom to the Peoples Republic of China in 1997.
Hong Kong was returned to China under a “one country, two systems” principle, allowing it its own legislature and economic system. The Chinese government is accused of influencing the government of Hong Kong and of refusing to allow full democracy in the territory, Catholic News Agency reported.
Residents of Hong Kong currently have significantly more freedoms than Chinese living on the mainland, including religious freedom, the news agency said. There are some 581,000 Catholics in Hong Kong, or eight-percent of the population.
Protesters are calling out the excessive use of force by the Hong Kong police, including the use of rubber bullets and tear gas, which have led to injuries. Cardinal Tong has asked the government to eliminate the extradition law completely, and called for an independent inquiry into the excessive use of force by the Hong Kong police.
Bishop Walsh asked the congregation to join in solidarity with the people who Jesus called “the merciful” and “the peacemakers” in his Sermon on the Mount .
“Let our hearts be full of God and the love of his people in Hong Kong and China, and full of faith in our Lord and in the forgiveness of those who are hurting us,” he said.
The vigil included scriptural readings, a Litany of Peace and other prayers sung and read alternately in English, Mandarin and Cantonese. Worshippers also prayer the rosary, followed by eucharistic adoration and Benediction.
Bishop Walsh, who is in residence at St. Anne of the Sunset, was joined on the altar by Father Peter Zhai, director of Chinese ministry; Father Daniel Nascimento, St. Anne pastor; Deacon Simon Tsui of Old St. Mary's Cathedral; and retired San Francisco Auxiliary Bishop Ignatius Wang.
Father Zhai told Catholic San Francisco as the service ended that it “brought so much consolation” to see the solidarity and prayer for Hong Kong.
”The people are here from all backgrounds and different communities in the Bay Area, people from parishes that are not from China or Hong Kong,” he said.
Catherine and Philip Chan of Castro Valley were among them. Both were born in Shanghai and lived in Hong Kong for years before moving to the United States.
“Sometimes, the things are out of our control, we have to leave it to God’s will, to God’s plan,” said Catherine, who clutched her rosary beads as she spoke. She said she was praying for the intercession of Mary.
“We pray she will take care of the young people in Hong Kong who are facing a very difficult time at this moment,” she said.
Catholic News Agency contributed.