RELIGION
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Bishops, the Catholic Relief Services of the US National Catholic Welfare Conference, the British Commonwealth Save the Children Fund, the Catholic Women's Leagues of London and Australia, and OXFAM. Lay members of the Diocesan Council for the Lay Apostolate, the Society of St Vincent de Paul, the Chinese Catholic Club, the Catholic Women's League, the Guilds of Doctors and Nurses, the Apostolate of the Sea, the Serra Club and the Young Christian Workers share actively in the welfare work of the Catholic Church.
The Catholic Church's welfare institutions in Hong Kong now include five hospitals, 33 free clinics and dispensaries, child care centres, orphanages, creches and institutions providing rehabilita- tive or custodial services for the blind and people otherwise handicapped or in need of special care. Two major welfare centres, 21 food conversion units and two large kitchens are also being operated.
There has been a notable revival of Buddhism in Hong Kong in recent years, mainly due to the immigration of Buddhists from China. It maintains a strong hold among the older Chinese and is far from dying out among the younger people. Religious studies are conducted in a large number of monasteries and nunneries, and in hermitages built in secluded places where a dozen or more inmates may reside and devote themselves to quiet meditation. Because of their accessibility, hermitages at Sha Tin and Tsuen Wan are popular with people living in the urban areas. The better known monasteries are, however, situated in more remote and scenically pleasing parts of the New Territories. Thus the Po Lin monastery at Ngong Ping, Lantau, is reputed to have the best view of the sunrise and is much visited at week-ends and holidays.
Other monasteries which attract both devotees and sight-seers include those known as Castle Peak, Tung Po Tor and Sai Lam, all in the New Territories. At To Fung Shan, a hill in Sha Tin, there is the famous Christian Mission to Buddhists which aims to cultivate the Christian and the Buddhist faiths together. There is also a unique organization, the Hong Kong Red Swastika Society, which aims to cultivate together under one roof Buddhism, Taoism, Christianity, Mohammedanism and Confucianism. To meet the demand of the urban population, Buddhist Ching She (places for spiritual cultivation) and Fat Tong (Buddha Halls)