By Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Ha Chi-shing, OFM
In late July, I went to the United Kingdom to visit Hong Kong Catholics who had emigrated there, and before I left, my mind was whirling about what I should say to give them the right kind of encouragement. By the end of the trip, I realised that I was the one who had been blessed and encouraged. Isn’t that right? How could I not be encouraged and comforted by the fact that they were in a foreign land and had gone through changes, yet they still relied on God and their faith remained unchanged?
During the 11-day trip, I was received by the Hong Kong community who made all the arrangements for the Masses, talks, etc. Apart from being grateful, I also appreciated their organisational skills. No wonder they were able to set up a national pastoral co-ordination group in early July with the help of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales.
Unlike in the past, immigrants in recent years have more resources and higher education. Nevertheless, adapting to a new environment and facing new challenges is still not a simple matter. From language to food, from climate to culture, from employment to schooling and the faith life—all of them need to be adapted to.
Generally speaking, the first year is more difficult, but after adjusting, Hong Kong Catholics are doing very well! Nowadays, in every city with more Catholics, a network has been established and various faith groups have been organised for Bible studies, prayer meetings, altar servers, choirs, youth groups, etc. There are also catechism classes in Cantonese.
Some of the organisations are comprised of Hong Kong people only, but some also include Catholics of other nationalities, and the universal nature of the Church can be seen. Some brothers and sisters have joined local parishes or diocesan services, ranging from faith formation and youth ministry to accounting and clerical work. In addition, some have applied to join the permanent diaconate, and one, Deacon James Shin Ka-leung, is the first fruits of this.
During the trip, we met with bishops and vicars general from several different dioceses in England who expressed their appreciation of the quality of the faith of the Hong Kong immigrants and their willingness to integrate into the local Church.
God’s grace never stops at those who have received it. Therefore, I pray that our brothers and sisters in the United Kingdom will share this strength of faith with more people, and help other Catholics and non-Catholic Hong Kong migrants, who are still adapting, to settle down in theor new environment. In this way, they will indeed follow the example of the early Christians: “Now those who had been scattered went about preaching the word” [Acts 8:4].
