Paul_Kwong

Paul Kwong

Paul Kwong

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Paul Kwong CStJ (Chinese: 鄺保羅; born 28 February 1950)[1] is a retired Anglican bishop from Hong Kong, who served as Archbishop and Primate of Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui, Bishop of Hong Kong Island, and Bishop of Macau from 2007 to 2021. Kwong is also the current chair of the Anglican Consultative Council, as the first sitting primate to lead an ACC meeting.[2] Kwong is also a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) taking a pro-Beijing stance.[3]

In this Chinese name, the family name is Kwong/Kuàng (鄺).
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Early life and education

Kwong was born to a local Christian family in 1950.[4] His father was a teacher and his great-grandfather, Kwong Yat-sau, was the first Chinese priest in the Diocese of Victoria.[4] Kwong is a fourth-generation Anglican.[4]

Kwong was first graduated from Lingnan College with a Bachelor of Arts in English Language degree in 1977.[5] After graduation, he was admitted to Church Divinity School of the Pacific in 1979 to pursue studies in a Master of Theology degree,[6] then graduated in 1982.[6] Kwong was admitted to University of Birmingham to study a degree of Doctor of Philosophy in 1996,[6] then graduated in 2008.[4]

Ministry and public services

Kwong was ordained deacon in 1982[6] and priest in 1983.[5] Upon the ordination, he was appointed curate of Holy Trinity Church in 1983.[4] Three years later, Kwong was appointed vicar of St. Matthias' Church, leading the parish until 1996.[4] He was chaplain to St. John's Cathedral with responsibility for the Mandarin speaking congregation, and also served as assistant to the Archbishop, and Provincial General Secretary.[7]

Kwong was first elected Bishop on 30 December 2005[8] and consecrated on 25 March 2006[9] at St John's Cathedral.[10] Following his consecration, Kwong became Coadjutor Bishop until his predecessor, Peter Kwong, left office on 31 December 2006.[9] He was later enthroned diocesan bishop on 15 January 2007.[11] After being elected by the General Synod on 3 February 2007,[6] Kwong was installed Archbishop on 26 September 2007[12] at St John's Cathedral (Hong Kong).[1] He was reelected Archbishop by the General Synod on 1 June 2013.[13] His advisor for theological and historical studies is Rev Dr Philip L. Wickeri, Professor of Church History at HKSKH Ming Hua Theological College.[14]

Kwong was conferred an honorary degree of Doctor of Laws by Lingnan University, his alma mater, on 16 October 2007.[15] Kwong was designated member of Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, political advisory body of People's Republic of China, in February 2013.[16]

Kwong was elected chairperson of the Anglican Consultative Council on 15 April 2016 during the Lambeth Conference, succeeding James Tengatenga, then Bishop of Southern Malawi.[17] Prior to this appointment, he has served as the ACC Standing Committee since 2012.[2]

He was also awarded Dean's Cross for Servant Leadership in Church and Society Award by Virginia Theological Seminary on 13 November 2016, making him the first non-American to receive the honor.[18][7] In 2017, he was enthroned as Episcopal Canon of St. George's Cathedral, Jerusalem.[19]

Kwong retired in January 2021, succeeded by Matthias Der, Dean of St John's Cathedral, as the bishop of Hong Kong Island[20] and by Andrew Chan, Bishop of Western Kowloon, as Archbishop of Hong Kong.[21] He was invited by Archbishop Chan to be Archbishop Emeritus of Hong Kong.[22]

Political views

Paul Kwong has been known for his staunch pro-Beijing stance in Hong Kong.[23] During an interview with the reporters of Echo, official newspaper published by the Province, Kwong stated that a universal suffrage would not be "panacea",[24] numerous social issues in Hong Kong would still exist even after its implementation.[24] He also voiced objection to civil disobedience as a means to strive for democracy in Hong Kong[24] and expressed his reservations about the Occupy Central movement in the same interview.[24]

Controversy

Pro-Beijing homily

In a homily he gave to the faithful in St. Paul's Church on 6 July 2014,[25] Paul Kwong ridiculed the 511 protesters who were arrested during a sit-in protest following the annual 1 July rally,[26] suggesting they should "bring along their Filipino maids to the march".[26] He also criticized their lack of critical thinking ability[27] and expressed his perplexity over why some Hong Kong people "have to speak up so much" in that homily.[26]

Kwong then quoted several verses in Book of Isaiah to support his claim[27] that Jesus remained silent in the face of crucifixion, saying, "Jesus remained silent in the face of Pilate. He was like a lamb awaiting slaughter."[26] He further added, "[s]ometimes we don't have to say anything. Silence is better than saying anything."[26]

Kwong also condemned some lawmakers for being "irrational and violent" when expressing opinion in meetings of the Legislative Council,[27] saying, "I don't think he would act like a few councilors we have now, throwing everything around. I don't think that if Jesus was in the streets today, he would use such humiliating words to scold government officials and other people. I don't think that Jesus would express himself with such irrational violence."[26]

Kwong later mentioned a church member's opposition to the government's proposed developments in northeastern New Territories,[27] quoting the church member's assertion that Hong Kong is losing its autonomy.[26] He rebutted the idea,[27] expressing his disbelief that mainlanders would be "given all new flats".[27] Kwong further added, "Hong Kong's autonomy is just partial autonomy, not full autonomy."[27]

Kwong's comments soon sparked controversy among pan-democrats[26] as well as church members.[28] Wu Chi-wai, pastor from Christian and Missionary Alliance, responded that it would be "unfair to use Jesus to fit some personal values and orientation".[26] He also challenged Kwong's claim[26] that Jesus remained silent in contempt of crucifixion.[26] Emily Lau, then-chairwoman of the Democratic Party, criticized him for being too cynical,[29] expressing her disappointment that Kwong "had lashed out at the students".[26] Chan Kin-man, co-organizer of Occupy Central movement, queried Kwong's attitude, saying, "[b]elievers and society expected religious leaders to speak up to manifest the value of their belief."[26]

Bibliography

  • Kwong, Paul (2011). Identity in Community: Toward a Theological Agenda for the Hong Kong SAR. Münster: LIT Verlag. ISBN 978-3-643-90078-4.
  • Kwong, Paul (2013). "The Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui." In The Wiley-Blackwell Companion to the Anglican Communion, edited by Ian S. Markham, J. Barney Hawkins IV, Justyn Terry et al., 253–62. Chichester, West Sussex: Wiley-Blackwell. ISBN 978-1-118-32086-0.
  • Kwong, Paul and Philip Wickeri (2015). "Sheng Kung Hui: The Contextualization of Anglicanism in Hong Kong." In The Oxford Handbook of Anglican Studies, edited by Sathianathan Clarke Mark Chapman and Martyn Percy, 256–70. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

See also

References

  1. [1]
    "Hong Kong Archbishop & Primate, 1998–2021" (PDF). Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui Archives. 20 April 2021. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 January 2022. Retrieved 6 January 2022.
  2. [2]
    "ACC Elects Primate as Chair". House of Deputies News. 15 April 2016. Retrieved 9 December 2018.
  3. [3]
    Yeung, SC (10 May 2016). "Anglican Church drops Chung Chi to show loyalty to Beijing". EJ Insight. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
  4. [4]
    "鄺保羅 - 新傳網". 新傳網. Archived from the original on 15 August 2018. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
  5. [5]
    "鄺保羅和陳日君「各自精采」". 信報論壇 (in Traditional Chinese). Retrieved 10 May 2017.
  6. [6]
    "鄺保羅獲選為香港聖公會大主教". christianweekly.net. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
  7. [7]
    "VTS Honors The Most Reverend Paul Kwong With Dean's Cross Award". Virginia Theological Seminary. 14 November 2016. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
  8. [8]
    "鄺保羅牧師獲選為 . 聖公會香港島教區候任主教". christianweekly.net. Retrieved 10 May 2017.
  9. [9]
    "New Archbishop of Hong Kong elected". anglicannews.org. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
  10. [10]
    "The Province of Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui Bishops, 1998–2021" (PDF). Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui Archives. 20 April 2021. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 January 2022. Retrieved 6 January 2022.
  11. [11]
    "鄺保羅陞座聖公會港島教區主教（1月16日消息）". christiantimes.org.hk. Retrieved 10 May 2017.
  12. [12]
    "本地教會 第3320期". kkp.catholic.org.hk. Retrieved 10 May 2017.
  13. [13]
    "香港聖公會「教聲」 - 大主教選舉：鄺保羅大主教當選連任". echo.hkskh.org. Retrieved 13 May 2017.
  14. [14]
    "The Reverend Dr. Philip Wickeri | www.minghua.org.hk". minghua.org.hk. Archived from the original on 5 January 2019. Retrieved 4 January 2019.
  15. [15]
    "Lingnan to Confer Four Honorary Doctorates at Congregation - Press Releases - Media - Lingnan University". ln.edu.hk. Retrieved 13 May 2017.
  16. [16]
    "港區政協多新人 精英雲集涵各界 - 香港文匯報". paper.wenweipo.com. Retrieved 10 May 2017.
  17. [17]
    "Primate of Hong Kong elected as new chair of Anglican Consultative Council". anglicannews.org. Retrieved 13 May 2017.
  18. [18]
    "香港聖公會「教聲」 - 鄺保羅大主教獲美國維珍尼亞神學院授予「院長十架」". echo.hkskh.org. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
  19. [19]
    "香港聖公會「教聲」 - 鄺保羅大主教陞座就任聖城聖佐治座堂法政主教". echo.hkskh.org. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
  20. [20]
    "謝子和當選聖公會香港島教區繼承主教". christiantimes.org.hk. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  21. [21]
    "陳謳明當選香港聖公會下任大主教". CRHK. 18 October 2020. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
  22. [22]
    "Notice from the Province：The Most Revd Dr Paul Kwong has agreed to become Archbishop Emeritus". echo.hkskh.org/. 11 January 2021.
  23. [23]
    "香港聖公會大主教兼政協委員諷刺遊行港人"沒腦"". 法廣 (in Chinese (Taiwan)). 9 July 2014. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
  24. [24]
    "香港聖公會「教聲」 - 普選不是萬靈丹". echo.hkskh.org. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
  25. [25]
    "香港聖公會聖保羅堂 Sheng Kung Hui HKSKH St. Paul's Church". dhk.hkskh.org. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
  26. [26]
    "Reverend Paul Kwong tells congregation that pro-democracy advocates should keep quiet". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
  27. [27]
    "聖公會大主教鄺保羅嘲諷7.2被捕市民：不如帶埋菲傭去囉". Apple Daily 蘋果日報. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
  28. [28]
    "A Bad Week for ... , July 13, 2014". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
  29. [29]
    "鄺保羅踩7.1遊行：出咁多聲做乜？". Apple Daily 蘋果日報. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
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