Cardinal John Tong: The Indigenization and the Universal Church of Hong Kong
Project Description
This project aims to produce a biography of Cardinal John Tong Hon (湯漢樞機, 1939-) initially in English and later in Chinese. The biography is of major significance to the understanding of the Catholic Church in Hong Kong and on China mainland .
Firstly, the biography critically analyses the indigenisation of the Catholic Church on China mainland from the 1920s through the 1940s and in Hong Kong since the establishment of the Regional Seminary for China in 1931. Pope Pius XI emphasised the missionary enterprise and highlighted China’s significance. He asked the foreign missionaries to develop the local clergy in Rerum Ecclesiae in 1926. That year, six Chinese bishops were consecrated in Rome, which began the transfer of power to the Chinese clergy.
Tong benefited from the indigenisation of the Church, which took place before he was born. Indigenisation emphasised the training of the Chinese to become priests and the transfer of power from the foreign clergy to the Chinese. The foreign missionaries had been looking for young Chinese boys to enter the seminaries. As an altar boy in Guangzhou, Tong was chosen by the American and Chinese priests to escape from the Chinese Communists to become a seminarian in St. Joseph’s Seminary in Macau in 1951.
Secondly, Tong’s life experience demonstrated excellent examples of cross-cultural interactions. He transcended national and cultural boundaries as he embraced his faith — his admiration of American Maryknoll missionaries in Guangzhou, his study in the St. Joseph’s Seminary under Portuguese rule, his education in the Regional Seminary for South China in the British colony, and the ordination by Saint Paul VI and the reception of his doctorate in Rome. Regarding Chinese-Vatican relations, he was the only living Chinese cardinal to have voted for a pope (who was Pope Francis).
Thirdly, Tong has considered it a priority to make Hong Kong a bridge Church between the Church on China mainland and the Universal Church, to facilitate communication between them. He visited many seminaries on China mainland and went there more than 100 times. He accompanied the late Cardinal John Baptist Wu to visit the latter’s mother three times. The Church in Hong Kong has been a bridge Church between the Church on China mainland and the Universal Church, which should not be overlooked.
In sum, this is a biography of Cardinal John Tong of Hong Kong, which charts his experiences through the Second World War, his time as a seminarian in Macau, and his studies in Rome during the Second Vatican Council (1962–65), representing a pivotal moment in modern Catholic Church history. Upon his return to Hong Kong, he became a prominent figure within the Church. His story provides a more critical insight into the development of the Church in Hong Kong and China. Since 1979, Cardinal Tong has made over one hundred visits to China mainland, thereby making a significant contribution to the development of the Church. This biography constitutes an invaluable historical record of the Church since 1979. The author has made effective use of the personal writings of Cardinal Tong, which have not been previously utilised or included in any published materials until now. This book illuminates the pivotal role of Hong Kong, which has been largely overlooked in previous accounts. The history of the Chinese Catholic Church will undoubtedly require rewriting following the publication of this biography.
Project Investigator
Professor CHU Yik-Yi, Cindy (Academy of Chinese, History, Religion and Philosophy)
