On Sunday, 26 December 2004, extensive territories covering a number of countries in South and Southeast Asia were ravaged by tsunamis brought about by one of the most powerful earthquakes in history. Apart from other enormous damage, the death toll is in the tens of thousands and rising. As an expression of our fraternal love for the victims and our solidarity with them, Bishop Zen has adopted the following course of action in support of their emergency relief: (1) The diocese will promptly make a donation of HK$1,000,000, partly taken from the Lenten Fund. (2) The usual Sunday collection on 1-2 January 2005 (Saturday evening–Sunday) will be reserved for the above emergency relief purposes. parish priests are to make a special appeal to the generosity of the faithful.Donations may be sent to the Office for International Cooperation, Caritas-Hong Kong, Room 603, Caritas House, 2 Caine Road, Hong Kong, by cheques made payable to “Caritas-Hong Kong” (with the indication “Earthquake and Tsunamis in South and Southeast Asia” at the back). Donations may also be credited into Caritas-Hong Kong’s account at any branch of Belgian Bank, A/C No. 649-578363615, in the name of “Caritas-Hong Kong (Special Donations) No. 2 A/C”. Individual donors should indicate their names and addresses if they wish to have receipts for tax deduction purposes. For enquiries, please call Ms Winnie Kan at 3589 2514, or Ms Michelle Tsang at 2843 4615. (3) Parishes are to promptly provide a special donation box for collecting relief funds outside Mass, until 7 January 2005 (4) The faithful are urged to pray for the victims, their families and relatives, and for those engaged in emergency relief services. (Note: The faithful are invited to take part in a prayer gathering for these intentions to be held in the Cathedral at 8.00pm on Saturday, 1 January.) (5) Parishes are to post this Chancery Notice on their noticeboards for the information of the faithful. II. ST. PETER’S PENCE COLLECTION It is the practice for Catholics all over the world to make yearly offerings to the Holy Father to help him carry out his manifold services to the universal Church. In our Diocese, the usual Sunday collection taken up at all public Masses on 16 January 2005 will be reserved for this purpose. The Holy See is very grateful for the financial support given by our Diocese in the past, but she is now appealing for an even more generous support from us in view of her enormous expenses. Cheques issued for the above specific purpose should be made payable to “The Catholic Diocese of Hong Kong” and sent to the Diocesan Procuration. III. WEEK OF PRAYER FOR CHRISTIAN UNITY The Catholic Church and the other Churches and Ecclesial Communities will jointly celebrate the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity from 18 January (Tuesday) to 25 January (Tuesday) 2005. The theme for this year is: “Christ, the one foundation of the Church” (1 Cor 3:1-23). Reference material is being sent to all parishes, Mass centres, religious communities and Catholic schools by the Diocesan Ecumenical Commission. On January 23 the Proper of the Third Sunday of the Year is to be adopted. |