In May, Pope Francis appointed Father Stephen Chow Sau-yan, SJ, 62, as Bishop of Hong Kong. The priest was ordained to the episcopate and installed on December 4, with his predecessor Cardinal John Tong Hon, 82, acting as principal consecrator, and his other living predecessor, Cardinal Joseph Zen, 89, acting as a co-consecrator.

“Some voices have raised questions about how the new bishop will relate to the civil authorities in Hong Kong and Beijing, now that they are jointly deciding on control measures in Hong Kong, in addition to restrictive measures on religions in mainland China,” AsiaNews reported. Bishop Chow “seems to want to adopt an attitude of openness and dialogue with the civil authorities.”