The Catholic Church and Hong Kong's Failed Democratization
The existing scholarship on the Catholic Church's roles in Hong Kong's democratic movement often portrays the Church as a leading force in promoting democratic principles and defending human rights. This portrayal, however, over-emphasizes the high-profile involvement of Cardinal Joseph Ze...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Print Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
2026
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| In: |
Concilium
Year: 2026, Issue: 1, Pages: 23-32 |
| Further subjects: | B
Democratization
B Hong Kong (China) B Catholic Church |
| Summary: | The existing scholarship on the Catholic Church's roles in Hong Kong's democratic movement often portrays the Church as a leading force in promoting democratic principles and defending human rights. This portrayal, however, over-emphasizes the high-profile involvement of Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun and the diocesan Justice and Peace Commission, while neglecting significant internal resistance to prophetic aspirations. This article argues that the Church in Hong Kong maintains a complex yet largely cordial relationship with the government both before and after the handover of the city to China in 1997. While some individual clerics, organizations and lay practitioners were active in the pursuit of democracy, many others were passive or even hostile towards the movement. The Church's roles were, therefore, largely ambiguous. |
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| ISSN: | 0010-5236 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Concilium
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