Another FMA Consultor in the Vatican
Another FMA Consultor in the Vatican
Vatican City. Sr. Maria Ko Ha Fong, FMA, is new consultor and the only woman among 10 new consultors to the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. Pope Francis has made the appointments last July 22.
The origin of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity is closely linked with the Second Vatican Council. It was Pope John XXIII's desire that the involvement of the Catholic Church in the contemporary ecumenical movement be one of the Council's chief concerns. The Council promotes, within the Catholic Church, an authentic ecumenical spirit and aims to develop dialogue and collaboration with the other Churches and World Communions.
Sister Maria Ko Ha Fong was born in Macao and grew up in Hong Kong in a family with a long Buddhist tradition. Her father studied at the Salesians' school then converted to Catholicism and later, so did his wife and children. Sr. Maria studied at the Salesian Sisters' school in Hong Kong and became a Daughter of Mary Help of Christians in 1970. She studied education in Turin, Italy and obtained a doctorate in Biblical Theology in Münster, Germany. She was part of the theological-historical Commission for the preparation of the Great Jubilee of 2000 and was a consultant of the Sacred Congregation for the institutes of consecrated life. Since 1978, she has been teaching sacred scripture, biblical exegesis, and biblical ministry at the Pontifical Faculty of Education Sciences (Auxilium), Rome, at the Holy Spirit Seminary of Hong Kong, and at the school of the Salesians in Jerusalem. She gives courses on biblical spirituality at centers of formation in Asia, Latin America and Africa. She has written in the fields of biblical hermeneutics, biblical pastoral ministry and biblical spirituality.
Being the only woman among consultors and coming from Asia, home to two-thirds of humanity but where Christians remain a very small minority, certainly give Sr. Maria a unique perspective, thus a precious contribution to the Council. Growing up in China, cradle of the orient's ancient wisdom and philosophy, gives her a unique blend of Christianity. In an interview by the Vatican Insider (May 2011), she said: “We Chinese are accustomed to feel like heirs of a precious tradition of life and of wisdom, and to let ourselves be guided by the experience of our forefathers, to find in the classical texts the criteria and the frame of reference for our moral conduct. It's not difficult for us, therefore, to reread the Bible as a story of salvation and to find ourselves involved in it”.
Just some days ago, an FMA, Sr. Marcella Farina, was also appointed as consultor: this is a strong sign of God's blessings to the Institute founded by Don Bosco and Mother Mazzarello.