HONG KONG (KKP): The Hong Kong Catholic Marriage Advisory Council organised its 56th annual general meeting on November 18 at the Catholic Diocese Centre. Bishop Stephen Chow Sau-yan SJ, president of the council, expressed his appreciation of the its professional commitment to couples and families, and asked God’s blessing for its continued excellent service.
Bishop Chow said in his message that the service of the council had strengthened the relationships in families so that couples and their children could enjoy personal growth and understand the importance of sacrificing for one another. He said that the Church believes in the need for stable marriages and family life, and that deep relationships between family members can help identify and attain positive goals in life.
Outgoing chairperson of the council, Joseph Lee King-chi, in delivering his report, said that that Jockey Club Refocusing Love 50+ programme had been very successful over the past three years in strengthening the marital relationship of silver-age couples facing retirement, empty nests, and family changes.
The programme, supported by the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust, will be extended with a new phase of service addressing communication issues and the mental health of couples. Apart from counselling and guidance with relationship difficulties, it will also offer support for families whose younger members have emigrated in recent years while their elderly parents have remained in Hong Kong.
According to Lee, a total of seven permanent deacon couples have completed the one-year training and have become volunteer counsellors for FOCCUS, a premarital inventory developed in 1985 for helping engaged couples to explore pertinent issues related to their marriage.
At the meeting, Ambrose Leung Cheuk-sun, a physician, succeeded Lee as chairperson of the council. Leung said after the meeting that the services provided by the council were diversified, such as natural family planning, marriage counselling services, social work services for kindergarten, etc.
He hoped that after taking up the post, he could strengthen the relationship with his colleagues in different positions. Moreover, the council would also be working on more services to meet the needs of society.
