RELIGION AND CUSTOM
Protestant organisations operate three post-secondary institutions: Chung Chi College at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Baptist University and Lingnan University. They run 144 secondary schools, 192 primary schools, 273 kindergartens and 116 nurseries. They also operate 16 theological seminaries and Bible institutes, 16 Christian publishing houses and 57 Christian bookshops.
They run seven hospitals with 3 749 beds, 18 clinics and 59 social service organisations which provide a wide range of social services, including 227 community, family service and youth centres, 74 day care centres, 17 children's homes, 35 homes for the elderly, 106 centres for the elderly, two schools for the deaf and one for the blind, and 47 training centres for the mentally handicapped and disabled. There are also 15 camp sites. Five international hotel-type guest houses are managed by the YMCA and YWCA.
Ninety-six para-church agencies and various Christian action groups minister to the Protestant community and respond to current issues and concerns within Hong Kong society at large. The church supports emergency relief and development projects in third world countries. The 'Five Loaves and Two Fish' Campaign, sponsored by the Hong Kong Christian Council, was the first overseas aid project initiated in Hong Kong. Two weekly newspapers, The Christian Weekly and The Christian Times, present news and comments from a Christian perspective.
Two ecumenical bodies facilitate co-operative work among the Protestant churches in Hong Kong. The older one, dating from 1915, is the Hong Kong Chinese Christian Churches Union with a membership of 275 congregations. The second co-operative body is the Hong Kong Christian Council, formed in 1954. Major mainline denominations and ecumenical services constitute the membership core of the council, which is committed to building closer relationships among all churches in Hong Kong as well as with churches in the Mainland and overseas. The council also encourages local Christians to play an active part in the development of Hong Kong society. It seeks to serve the wider community through its auxiliary agencies such as the Hong Kong Christian Service, Christian Industrial Committee, United Christian Hospital, Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital and Alice Ho Min Yee Nethersole Hospital and the Christian Family Service Centre. The council runs weekly 'Alternative Tours', which give visitors and residents an opportunity to see how the church serves the community.
The Roman Catholic Community
The Roman Catholic Church has been present since Hong Kong's earliest days. The church was established as a mission prefecture in 1841 and as an apostolic vicariate in 1874. It became a diocese in 1946.
In 1969, Francis Chen-peng Hsu was installed as the first Chinese bishop of the Hong Kong diocese, and he was succeeded in 1973 by Peter Wang-kei Lei. The present bishop, John Baptist Cheng-chung Wu, was consecrated in 1975, and was made Cardinal in 1988. In December 1996, two bishops were ordained to assist the Cardinal - Joseph Ze-kiun Zen as the Coadjutor Bishop and John Hong Tong as the Auxiliary Bishop.
About 236 330 people, or nearly 4 per cent of the population, are Catholics. They are served by 323 priests, 67 brothers, and 532 sisters. There are 55 parishes and 22
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