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RELIGION AND CUSTOM

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schools for the deaf, 10 training centres for the mentally handicapped and 20 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 have been established to minister to the needs of the Protestant community and to respond to current issues and concerns in Hong Kong society at large. The church is involved in overseas aid by supporting 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, bring news and comments from a Christian perspective to the Christian community.

Two ecumenical bodies facilitate co-operative work among the Protestant churches in Hong Kong. The oldest of the two, dating back to 1915, is the Hong Kong Chinese Christian Churches Union with a membership of 259 congregations. The second co- operative body is the Hong Kong Christian Council, formed in 1954. Major mainline denominations and ecumenical services bodies 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 overseas, and to stimulating 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 Medical Service, Alice Ho Miu Ling - Nethersole Hospital and the Christian Family Service Centre. The council runs ‘Alternative Tours' each Wednesday which give visitors and residents an opportunity to see how the church is serving the community.

In the area of social concern, the Protestant community has played an active role in arousing public interest in Hong Kong's democratic development and in drafting the Basic Law. It has supported such issues as labour welfare and the guarantee of human rights in Hong Kong in the future.

Roman Catholic Community

The Roman Catholic Church has been present in Hong Kong since the territory's early 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.

About 258 200 people, or five per cent of the population, are Catholics. They are served by 337 priests, 77 brothers, and 708 sisters. There are 61 parishes and 33 centres for Mass. The majority of the services and other religious activities are conducted in Chinese, with a few churches providing services in English.

The diocese has established its own administrative structure while maintaining tradi- tional links with the Pope and with other Catholic communities around the world. It uses the same scriptures and has similar ecclesial communions in the universal Church throughout the world, with which it maintains close fellowship. The assistant secretary- general of the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conference has his office in Hong Kong.

Along with its apostolic work, one of the prime concerns of the diocese has been for the well-being of all the people of Hong Kong. In education, there are 284 Catholic schools