Paul Kwong
The Most Revd Dr Paul Kwong | |
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Archbishop and Primate of Hong Kong Bishop of Hong Kong Island Bishop of Macau | |
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Province | Province of Hong Kong |
Diocese | Hong Kong Island |
Elected | 3 February 2007 |
Installed | 26 September 2007 |
Predecessor | Peter Kwong |
Orders | |
Ordination | 1982 |
Consecration | 2006 |
Personal details | |
Born |
1950 |
Nationality | Chinese |
Denomination | Anglican |
Education |
Lingnan College Church Divinity School of the Pacific University of Birmingham |
Paul Kwong | |||||||||||||||||||||
Traditional Chinese | 鄺保羅 | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Simplified Chinese | 邝保罗 | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Paul Kwong (Chinese: 鄺保羅; b. 1950) is the incumbent Archbishop and Primate of Hong Kong Anglican Church, Bishop of Hong Kong Island, and Bishop of Macau. Kwong is also a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) taking a pro-Beijing stance.[1]
Biography
Paul Kwong was born to a local Christian family in 1950.[2] His father was a teacher and his great-grandfather, Kwong Yat-sau, was the first Chinese priest in the Diocese of Victoria.[2] Kwong is a fourth-generation Anglican.[2]
Kwong was first graduated from Lingnan College with a Bachelor of Arts in English Language degree in 1977.[3] After graduation, he was admitted to Church Divinity School of the Pacific in 1979 to pursue studies in a Master of Theology degree,[4] then graduated in 1982.[4]
Kwong was ordained deacon in 1982[4] and priest in 1983.[3] Upon the ordination, he was appointed curate of Holy Trinity Church in 1983.[2] Three years later, Kwong was appointed vicar of St. Matthias' Church, leading the parish until 1996.[2] Kwong was then admitted to University of Birmingham to study a degree of Doctor of Philosophy in 1996,[4] then graduated in 2008.[2]
Kwong was first elected Bishop on 30 December 2005[5] and consecrated on 25 March 2006.[6] Following his consecration, Kwong became Coadjutor Bishop until his predecessor, Peter Kwong, left office on 31 December 2006.[6] He was later installed Bishop on 15 January 2007.[7] After being elected by the General Synod on 3 February 2007,[4] Kwong was consecrated Archbishop on 26 September 2007.[8] He was reelected Archbishop by the General Synod on 1 June 2013.[9]
Kwong was conferred an honorary degree of Doctor of Laws by Lingnan University, his alma mater, on 16 October 2007.[10] Kwong was designated member of Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, political advisory body of People's Republic of China, in February 2013.[11]
Kwong was elected chairperson of Anglican Consultative Council on 15 April 2016, succeeding James Tengatenga, then Bishop of Southern Malawi.[12] He was also awarded Dean's Cross by Virginia Theological Seminary on 13 November 2016, making him the first non-American to receive the honor.[13][14]
Political views
Paul Kwong has been known for his staunch pro-Beijing stance in Hong Kong.[15] During an interview with the reporters of Echo, official newspaper published by the Province, Kwong stated an universal suffrage would not be "panacea",[16] numerous social issues in Hong Kong would still exist even after its implementation.[16] He also voiced objection to civil disobedience as a means to strive for democracy in Hong Kong[16] and expressed his reservation about Occupy Central movement in the same interview.[16]
Controversy
Pro-Beijing homily
In a homily gave to the faithful in St. Paul's Church on 6 July 2014,[17] Paul Kwong ridiculed the 511 protesters who were arrested during a sit-in protest following the annual July 1 rally,[18] suggesting they should "bring along their Filipino maids to the march".[18] He also criticized their lack of critical thinking ability[19] and expressed his perplexity over why some Hong Kong people "have to speak up so much" in that homily.[18]
Kwong then quoted several verses in Book of Isaiah to support his claim[19] 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."[18] He further added, "[s]ometimes we don't have to say anything. Silence is better than saying anything."[18]
Kwong also condemned some lawmakers for being "irrational and violent" when expressing opinion in meetings of the Legislative Council,[19] 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."[18]
Kwong later mentioned a church member's opposition to the government's proposed developments in northeastern New Territories,[19] quoting the church member's assertion that Hong Kong is losing its autonomy.[18] He rebutted the idea,[19] expressing his disbelief that mainlanders would be "given all new flats".[19] Kwong further added, "Hong Kong's autonomy is just partial autonomy, not full autonomy."[19]
Kwong's comments soon sparked controversy among pan-democrats[18] as well as church members.[20] 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".[18] He also challenged Kwong's claim[18] that Jesus remained silent in contempt of crucifixon.[18] Emily Lau, then-chairwoman of the Democratic Party, criticized him for being too cynical,[21] expressing her disappointment that Kwong "had lashed out at the students".[18] 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."[18]
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.
See also
References
- ↑ Yeung, SC (2016-05-10). "Anglican Church drops Chung Chi to show loyalty to Beijing". EJ Insight. Retrieved 2018-06-19.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "鄺保羅 - 新傳網". 新傳網. Retrieved 2017-05-12.
- 1 2 "鄺保羅和陳日君「各自精采」". 信報論壇 (in Chinese). Retrieved 2017-05-10.
- 1 2 3 4 5 "鄺保羅獲選為香港聖公會大主教". www.christianweekly.net. Retrieved 2017-05-12.
- ↑ "鄺保羅牧師獲選為 . 聖公會香港島教區候任主教". www.christianweekly.net. Retrieved 2017-05-10.
- 1 2 "New Archbishop of Hong Kong elected". www.anglicannews.org. Retrieved 2017-05-12.
- ↑ "鄺保羅陞座聖公會港島教區主教(1月16日消息)". christiantimes.org.hk. Retrieved 2017-05-10.
- ↑ "本地教會 第3320期". kkp.catholic.org.hk. Retrieved 2017-05-10.
- ↑ "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 2017-05-13.
- ↑ "Lingnan to Confer Four Honorary Doctorates at Congregation - Press Releases - Media - Lingnan University". www.ln.edu.hk. Retrieved 2017-05-13.
- ↑ "港區政協多新人 精英雲集涵各界 - 香港文匯報". paper.wenweipo.com. Retrieved 2017-05-10.
- ↑ "Primate of Hong Kong elected as new chair of Anglican Consultative Council". www.anglicannews.org. Retrieved 2017-05-13.
- ↑ "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 2017-05-11.
- ↑ "VTS Honors The Most Reverend Paul Kwong With Dean's Cross Award". Virginia Theological Seminary. 2016-11-14. Retrieved 2018-10-03.
- ↑ "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). 2014-07-09. Retrieved 2017-05-11.
- 1 2 3 4 "香港聖公會「教聲」 - 普選不是萬靈丹". echo.hkskh.org. Retrieved 2017-05-12.
- ↑ "香港聖公會聖保羅堂 Sheng Kung Hui HKSKH St. Paul's Church". dhk.hkskh.org. Retrieved 2017-05-11.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 "Reverend Paul Kwong tells congregation that pro-democracy advocates should keep quiet". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 2017-05-12.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "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 2017-05-12.
- ↑ "A Bad Week for ... , July 13, 2014". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 2017-05-11.
- ↑ "鄺保羅踩7.1遊行:出咁多聲做乜?". Apple Daily 蘋果日報. Retrieved 2017-05-11.
Anglican Communion titles | ||
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Preceded by Peter Kwong |
Archbishop and Primate of Hong Kong 2007–present |
Incumbent |
Bishop of Hong Kong Island 2007–present | ||
Bishop of Macau 2007–present | ||
Order of precedence | ||
Preceded by Carmen Cano de Lasala Head of Office of the European Commission in Hong Kong |
Hong Kong order of precedence Archbishop of Hong Kong |
Succeeded by Sik Chi Wai President of the Hong Kong Buddhist Association |