The head of the largest Chinese Catholic
diocese in the world will be absent from the synod on the family because he has
been deemed to be too old.
Cardinal John Tong Hon of Hong Kong was not
invited to participate in October’s synod because he is older than 75, UCA News
reported.
“Now I know that I am not going to the synod,”
the 76-year-old cardinal told ucanews.com in a late August interview.
The normal retirement age for bishops is 75.
The cardinal said he was told by a Vatican
representative that the Vatican “does not want to make any exceptions”
regarding age.
Cardinal Tong said he was unaware if another
representative from Hong Kong was chosen in his place.
He knew only that he was “disqualified by age”,
he said, laughing.
“They will find somebody . . . if they need
somebody,” the cardinal said.
Pope Francis is 78 years old.
Synod participants in general are elected by
local bishops’ conferences.
Hong Kong, a former British colony and the
largest Chinese diocese in the world with a Catholic population of 560,000,
remains a mission area and does not have its own bishops’ conference.
Some Hong Kong Catholics expressed
disappointment that the diocese may not be represented at the synod.
“It is a pity that no one from Hong Kong is
going,” said Francis Law, a member of a Chinese Facebook page called “Catholic
Parents”.
Mr. Law said Hong Kong Catholics could
contribute to discussions at the synod, expressing concerns about recent
developments on same-sex unions around the world, particularly in the United
States.
“These kinds of voices needs to be brought to
the synod,” said Mr Law, who is a member of the Diocesan Youth Commission.
Cardinal Tong participated in last year’s
extraordinary family synod.
The cardinal said he agreed family and marriage
are the most fundamental issues facing the Church and believes the synod
fathers will find ways to resolve outstanding issues in line with the Pope’s
vision.
