“Peace must first be interior,” said the Bishop Emeritus of Hong Kong, Cardinal John Tong Hon” “Let us cultivate ourselves first by our prayers and then let us be witnesses of peace,” he urged.
The Cardinal said this in an aside of Pope Francis’ Mass in Tokyo, Japan, on November 25, 2019, reported Vatican News in Italian. The Cardinal explained how peace can help to resolve the difficult situation in Hong Kong, and he called the parties to dialogue.
“According to the Social Doctrine of the Church, peace comes always from Our Lord Jesus Christ,” reminded Cardinal Tong Hon.
“We can be architects of peace by our words, by our behavior to influence others so that peace can spread. Then, persons in conflict must sit and talk together,” he continued.
“Finally, we can reach reconciliation so that we can implement what the Lord asks us to do: to love one another and to forgive others’ offenses. Peace will result,” he stressed.
Let us recall that, on flying over Hong Kong in the plane taking him from Bangkok, Thailand, to Tokyo on November 23, Pope Francis wrote to Chief Executive Carrie Lam, praying ‘that Almighty God will grant all wellbeing and peace.”
