On 23 December 2010,
Pope Benedict XVI appointed him
Titular Archbishop of
Sila and secretary of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples. Hon Tai Fai had known the pope for many years since Benedict was president of the International Theological Commission during most of Hon's tenure on the commission. Hon was consecrated in Rome on 5 February 2011 by Pope Benedict, with Cardinals
Angelo Sodano and
Tarcisio Bertone as co-consecrators. He said of his consecration: "I could feel an airstream when the pope laid his hands with strength on my head". In March 2011, Hon said the planned ordination of priests by the
Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association meant "division ... causes great pain to the entire body ... [the] whole body is scarred and bleeding", because no bishop can be
validly appointed without a papal mandate. He added that those who have resisted the will of the party, such as Monsignor Li Lianghui (Cangzhou, Hebei) are now in isolation, forced to undergo political re-education classes. He said that Chinese priests and bishops must show "some backbone" and resist government pressure out of love for Church unity and the memory of the many heroic witnesses to the faith of the past decades. Hon has sought without success to win the release from prison of two imprisoned bishops,
Su Zhi-Min of Baoding and Cosma Shi Enxiang of Yixian. In July 2011, Archbishop Hon, while addressing hundreds of delegates during the 17th plenary assembly of
Association of Member Episcopal Conferences in Eastern Africa (AMECEA) in Nairobi, stressed the ever-increasing role of the lay faithful in evangelization. He said "Given that between 70%-80% of our church collaborators are women, AMECEA should make the effort to increase room for them in decision-making processes". He warned against the culture of death especially abortion and other "ideological poisons from abroad", which are leading to the erosion of certain African values whose sense of family the church supports. "AMECEA as a community of Christians has been useful in promoting the family beyond the limits of blood relationship and tribal allegiance", he said, in reference to the many inter-ethnic conflicts engulfing the region. On 7 March 2012 he was appointed a member of the Pontifical Committee for the International Eucharistic Congresses. On 12 June 2012, he was appointed a member of the
Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. Archbishop Hon served as the
Apostolic Administrator of the Archdiocese of
Agana,
Guam, from 6 June 2016 until 31 October 2016 when
Michael J. Byrnes was appointed
Coadjutor Archbishop of the archdiocese. On 28 September 2017,
Pope Francis named him Apostolic Nuncio to Greece, his first position in the diplomatic service. On 24 October 2022, Pope Francis named him Apostolic Nuncio to
Malta. On 18 May 2023, he was also named as nuncio to
Libya. On 2 February 2026,
Pope Leo XIV accepted his resignation upon reaching the age limit. ==See also==