Cardinal Stephen Chow of Hong Kong has warned that self-centeredness blinds people to deeper realities, urging the Church to rediscover its interconnectedness.
In a reflection released days after Pope Francis’ death on April 21, Cardinal Chow linked the call to relational awareness to the pope’s enduring legacy. “Sometimes we are too focused on ourselves, becoming too self-centred,” he wrote.
“We fail to acknowledge that our existence is in relationship with many other existents, that we mutually influence one another, and that we share a common destiny when we look further and wider from ourselves,” the prelate said.
He said self-centeredness limits one’s ability to see “the bigger picture,” which is necessary for “understanding of an inclusive reality.”
Such understanding, he added, is essential for “a better living and peaceful interdependence among the many that make up the One.”
Recalling a formative experience from his youth — stargazing on Cheung Sha beach on Lantau Island — Cardinal Chow said the vastness of the Milky Way revealed a spiritual truth about human existence.
“How I thought I was far, far away from the Milky Way, only to find out I was in it. And how I thought I was on my own, while I was being accompanied by countless stars and life forms in the galaxy!” he said.
The cardinal used the metaphor to emphasize the need for the Church to rediscover its place within a larger, interrelated world — a vision he said Pope Francis championed throughout his papacy.
“Francis was perceived as a liberal and reforming pope. Personally speaking, I would not use ‘liberal’ to describe him,” said Cardinal Chow. “He was a universal pastor with an open mind and a compassionate heart – the Pope of Mercy and a Shepherd with the smell of his sheep to the last day of his papacy.”
Cardinal Chow highlighted Pope Francis’ commitment to the poor and marginalized, including refugees, divorced Catholics, sexual minorities, and women. “He was keen on upholding the dignity and role of women in the Church,” he said.
He also pointed to Laudato Si’ and Fratelli Tutti as examples of the pope’s efforts to defend human dignity and promote a Church that listens and accompanies.
“His famous encyclicals on the environment and ecology are actually social encyclicals because those who will suffer the most from a damaged ecology are the poor and the weak,” he said.
Cardinal Chow said Pope Francis’ final contributions — the Synod on Synodality and the encyclical Dilexit Nos — were “gifts to our Church” rooted in a vision of love and unity.
“Synodality should be understood and implemented in that spirit of love,” he said. “These so-called reforms are actually his efforts to help the Church live out her authenticity, fulfilling what she is meant to be in carrying out God’s mission in our world today.”
Reflecting on the pope’s vision of “unity in plurality,” Cardinal Chow said the Church is called “to embrace the many of the world in our mission as the People of God.”
“I cannot be detached from the Milky Way, as I am very much within it,” he said. “Pope Francis, pray for us!”
