Among the 29 new priests of Opus Dei is Wai Leung. He is 35 years old and has a degree in literature.
Wai was not a Catholic. He converted at the age of 17, after two years of catechesis at the University of Hong Kong. Now in Rome, he is preparing a thesis on the links between Christianity and Confucianism at a pontifical university.
FR. WAI LEUNG
They both talk about family and also the community. Because we don’t live alone. We are living with our friends, our family… and also the openness to all.
Fr. Wai's conversion to Catholicism encouraged his two younger brothers and, later, his own mother.
FR. WAI LEUNG
My mom passed away last year. But she got baptized the year before. Actually, she passed away right on the first anniversary of her baptism. I show that as a sign of faith. I mean, it was a long journey and my mom was baptized two years ago, at the Vigil Mass.
Wai says that in Hong Kong alone, in recent years, some 3,000 adults have been baptized each year. A figure that, he says, gives hope to the local Church.
FR. WAI LEUNG
I think it is a very positive future for us. Because the Gospel has not spread to all the corners of my country. So, people are open to the message of Christ.
Another of the new priests is Fr. Alberto Hikaru of Japan, where Catholics are a minority. In spite of this, Alberto also sees elements of hope.
FR. ALBERTO HIKARU
I think that the Catholic Church, well Christianity, can contribute a lot to Japan, in the sense that it is a religion that speaks above all of concern for others, of living for others and Japan is a society that has traditionally valued that very much.
Fr. Hikaru says he sees emptiness in society caused by the lack of faith.
FR. ALBERTO HIKARU
A few years ago, when I was in college, a friend of mine was telling me that he felt a little sorry for me because, he said, “I wish what you tell me about Christianity was true. I wish I had someone who really loved me. Not for what I do or for what I'm worth, but just to love me and that's it.” And he said it to me with a certain pity. It hurt me a lot to hear that. But if people realized that there is someone who loves them and has loved them before they realize it, I think that would help people a lot.
Japanese Bishop Paul Toshihiro presided over the ordination of these new priests of Opus Dei, who hail from nineteen countries.
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