Hong Kong cardinal enters political debate on same sex marriage

The Bishop of Hong Kong has spoken out at the extreme liberalisation movement in the territory and urged Catholics to take candidates stances on the family and gay marriage before voting in upcoming elections.

Cardinal John Tong said that anti-discrimination laws in Hong kong were a precursor for the legalisation of same sex marriage and that movements towards sexual liberation were eroding the family in the former British colony.

In a letter to all clergy in Hong Kong he urged them to support candidates at the election for local district boards, which will be held on 22 November, that upheld the values of the family.

“In recent years social trends and political movements, such as extreme libertarian attitudes, individualism, the “Sex Liberation Movement” and the “Gay Movement”, under the guise of equality and the fight against discrimination, have all along been advocating the enactment of a Sexual Orientation Discrimination Ordinance and the recognition of same-sex marriages," he said.  

“Thereby, the core values and key concepts of marriage and of the family are continually being challenged and misinterpreted, so that the very foundation of society is being undermined.”

“[I appeal to] the faithful to take consideration of candidates’ stance on family, and the proposal to enact the Sexual Orientation Discrimination Ordinance. The proposed ordinance comes along with gay movement.”

Members of a gay Christian movement during the Hong Kong Pride march on 5 November

The cardinal has come under fire recently from equal rights campaigners for his views on same sex marriage.

An openly gay lawyer Ray Chan Chi-chuen wrote on Facebook: “Homosexuality is not a sin, lease do not … stigmatise homosexuals.”

Spokesman for Rainbow Action, which organised the 10,000-strong Hong Kong Pride Parade earlier this month, Shum Tsz-kit told the Hong Kong Free Press:  “Their minds are stuck before 1991, the time before homosexuality was decriminalised in Hong Kong.”

The head of Hong Kong’s Equal Opportunities Commission, Dr York Chow, also said that it was dangerous for Cardinal Tong to link religious belief to any political election.