Catholic Church in Hong Kong
The Catholic Church in Hong Kong (Chinese: 天主教香港教區), established in 1841, is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope in Rome. All Catholics in Hong Kong are under the Diocese of Hong Kong, which is a de jure suffragan diocese of the Archdiocese of Guangzhou. However, in practice it is an immediate subject of the Holy See.
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There are approximately 389,000[1] Catholics in Hong Kong - around 5% of the total population - most being Latin Rite Catholics. The majority of the Hong Kong Catholics are Chinese. However, there are various national groups of Filipino, Korean, Japanese, Indian, French and German active Catholics. Sunday religious services are offered in 99 places, and there are 249[2] Catholic schools and 199[3] various social service centers.
The Bishop emeritus of Hong Kong is Joseph Cardinal Zen Ze-kiun, SDB (Chinese: 陳日君). He is regarded by some to be politically 'controversial' due to his 'anti-Beijing' views and his strong ties with the pro-democracy camp. However, Zen has constantly personally maintained that he is very patriotic to his country, and that he has been upset that he has been denied the right to return to China.
Currently, the office of Bishop of Hong Kong is vacant, after the death of Michael Yeung Ming-cheung (Chinese: 楊鳴章), who was appointed by Pope Francis in 2016.
The Cathedral of the Diocese of Hong Kong is the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, located on Caine Road, Mid Levels.
Political
Traditionally, Catholics in Hong Kong tend to support the pro-democracy camp, despite there are also have many Catholics vote the pro-Beijing camp. Former Chief Executive of Hong Kong Donald Tsang and current Chief Executive of Hong Kong Carrie Lam are Catholics.
See also
- Christianity in Hong Kong
- Catholic Church in China
- Roman Catholic Diocese of Hong Kong
- List of Catholic Churches in Hong Kong
Footnotes
- Hong Kong Catholic Church Directory 2017, p.516
- Hong Kong Catholic Church Directory 2017, p.517
- Hong Kong Catholic Church Directory 2017, p.517