ENG-1980 — Page 258

RELIGION AND CUSTOM

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schools are being increased and at present have an enrolment of almost 20,000 pupils. Catholic social and health services include 13 social centres, six hospitals, 14 hostels (with 1,289 residents), 16 clinics, three homes for the aged, two homes for the blind, and many self-help clubs and associations.

Roman Catholics in Hong Kong number about 266,800. They are served by 350 priests (133 Chinese and 217 of other nationalities); 92 Brothers (41 Chinese and 51 of other nationalities); and 777 Sisters (441 Chinese and 336 of other nationalities), belonging to 21 different religious congregations. There are 53 parishes, and 43 mass centres which are not parishes. Services are in Chinese, in general, with a few churches providing some services in English.

In recent years there has been a greater involvement of the laity in all matters. In order to promote better co-ordination between the various groups they are organised under a body called the Central Council of the Catholic Laity. The central council includes repre- sentatives of such organisations as the long-established Society of St Vincent de Paul, the widely-spread Legion of Mary, which has units in nearly every parish, and such professional groups as the Guild of St Luke, and the Catholic Nurses Guild. A variety of youth organisa- tions, such as the Christian Life Communities, are co-ordinated under the Catholic Youth Council, a parallel organisation to the Central Council of the Catholic Laity.

The concern for involving people of goodwill in the support of worthwhile causes resulted in the setting up, a few years ago, of a diocesan Commission for Non-Christian Religions and a diocesan Ecumenical Commission. In addition, the Church's interest in developing better means of communicating its message has resulted in the establishment of the Hong Kong Catholic Social Communications Office.

Over a year ago, the Church, through the agency of Caritas-Hong Kong, set up a camp to care for Vietnamese refugees, who were arriving in great numbers. Other Catholic voluntary groups also share in this work.

The Catholic Church was officially set up in Hong Kong when Pope Gregory XVI established the Apostolic Prefecture of Hong Kong in April, 1841. The first Prefect, Mon- signor Theodore Joset, built a matshed church at what is now the intersection of Wellington and Pottinger streets in the Central District. He established a seminary for training Chinese priests and persuaded religious sisters to come to Hong Kong to start schools and creches and to carry out welfare work.

In 1867, the Pontifical Institute of the Foreign Missions of Milan took charge of the Prefecture, with Monsignor T. Raimondi as Prefect - later becoming Bishop. This institute remained responsible for the Church in Hong Kong for 102 years. In 1969, responsibility was transferred to the Diocesan Clergy, with Bishop Francis Chen-peng Hsu consecrated the first Chinese Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Hong Kong.

Bishop Hsu, who died in 1973 at the age of 52, was succeeded by Bishop Peter Wang-kei Lei who died the following year, aged 51, The third, and present, Chinese Bishop of Hong Kong, Bishop John Baptist Cheng-chung Wu, was consecrated and installed by Cardinal Angelo Rossi in the Hong Kong Catholic Cathedral in July, 1975.

Protestant

The 1979 Hong Kong Church Directory lists 50 Protestant denominations and independent groups with a combined membership of more than 190,000, or some four per cent of the population. These include the major traditions such as Adventist, Anglican, Alliance, Baptist, Lutheran, Methodist, Salvation Army and Pentecostal, plus the Church of Christ in China representing the Presbyterian, Congregational and Reformed traditions. These