UCAN REPORT
Assembly will conclude two-year program for laity
Hong Kong Catholics attend a formation lecture
About 170 Chinese Catholics from 27 cities around the globe will discuss their lay ministries and establish a world network during a six-day assembly beginning tomorrow.
The Hong Kong diocese has organized the Lay Ministries Plenary Assembly to conclude its Years of the Laity (2011 and 2012).
The gathering will allow participants to share the experiences and practices of their lay ministries and review how Hong Kong diocese implements a 2001 diocesan synod resolution on lay ministries.
Father Dominic Chan Chi-ming, vicar-general of Hong Kong, said recently that there were at least three outcomes that they expect to achieve: to enhance understanding of lay ministries, to deepen friendships between Chinese Catholics around the world and to contribute to the evangelization work of the Church.
Having technologically advanced telecommunications and being a transportation hub makes Hong Kong an ideal place to host such an assembly, Fr. Chan said, adding that the diocese has a lot to share.
“In the past three decades, development of local lay ministries has put emphasis on liturgy. In fact, our Catholics also make witnesses in society. We have 13 years of service in prison visits and seven years in pastoral care in hospitals and for the bereaved,” he said.
Eleven diocesan committees and organizations as well as 20 out of 51 parishes are involved in staging the assembly that runs from October 27 to November 1.
No bishop will be at the lay-led assembly and only five percent of participants are priests, deacons and pastoral sisters, according to Fr. Chan.
To enhance communication among participants, Mandarin Chinese will be used for the first time in a large-scale Church meeting in Hong Kong instead of Cantonese which is the local dialect.
SHARED FROM UCAN NEWS
The Hong Kong diocese has organized the Lay Ministries Plenary Assembly to conclude its Years of the Laity (2011 and 2012).
The gathering will allow participants to share the experiences and practices of their lay ministries and review how Hong Kong diocese implements a 2001 diocesan synod resolution on lay ministries.
Father Dominic Chan Chi-ming, vicar-general of Hong Kong, said recently that there were at least three outcomes that they expect to achieve: to enhance understanding of lay ministries, to deepen friendships between Chinese Catholics around the world and to contribute to the evangelization work of the Church.
Having technologically advanced telecommunications and being a transportation hub makes Hong Kong an ideal place to host such an assembly, Fr. Chan said, adding that the diocese has a lot to share.
“In the past three decades, development of local lay ministries has put emphasis on liturgy. In fact, our Catholics also make witnesses in society. We have 13 years of service in prison visits and seven years in pastoral care in hospitals and for the bereaved,” he said.
Eleven diocesan committees and organizations as well as 20 out of 51 parishes are involved in staging the assembly that runs from October 27 to November 1.
No bishop will be at the lay-led assembly and only five percent of participants are priests, deacons and pastoral sisters, according to Fr. Chan.
To enhance communication among participants, Mandarin Chinese will be used for the first time in a large-scale Church meeting in Hong Kong instead of Cantonese which is the local dialect.
SHARED FROM UCAN NEWS
Comments