HONG KONG (SE): An announcement by the freshly-minted consul general from The Philippines, Antonio Morales, that the number of Filipino migrant domestic workers in Hong Kong has topped the 200,000 mark, may indeed ring well in the ears of government officials that are busily mooting plans to import up to around 600,000 of them.
 

HONG KONG (SE): The Sisters of St. Paul de Chartres celebrated the 120th anniversary of the establishment of St. Paul’s Hospital at a Mass concelebrated by Bishop Michael Yeung Ming-cheung, Joseph Cardinal Zen Ze-kiun and John Cardinal Tong Hon at the adjacent Christ the King Chapel, Causeway Bay, on April 21.
 
St. Paul sisters from different regions were in attendance.
 

HONG KONG (SE): Maria Voce, president of Focolare Movement, together with co-president Father Jesús Morán and other members, stopped over in Hong Kong for a week during their Asia tour in March. Voce, who visited Hong Kong for the first time, encouraged young people to live in joy in the Year of Youth.
 
From its headquarters in Rome, Focolare members arrived Hong Kong on March 26 then paid a visit to Bishop Michael Yeung Ming-cheung and John Cardinal Tong Hon at the Diocese Centre the next day. 
 

HONG KONG (SE): “We need to help people. We have the ability granted by God to do so and we should use this to bring hope to those in despair,” Father Louis Ha Ke-loon urged at a prayer service for the housing problem in Hong Kong, held at New Asia College Memorial Garden, Sham Shui Po on March 22. The event was organised by the Justice and Peace Commission under theme, Remain hopeful in face of despair.
 

HONG KONG (SE): Hong Kong’s first diocesan missionary priest, Father Paul Kam Po-wai, is embarking on another three-year mission on April 23, this time to Cambodia. He previously worked in Tanzania, in Africa, from 2003 to 2006.
 
A commissioning ceremony was held on April 15 at a packed St. Thomas the Apostle Church in Tsing Yi. 
 

HONG KONG (SE): The president of the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte, who was in Hong Kong for the second time in 10 months, apologised to the Chinese people on April 12 for the Manila bus hijack hostage tragedy in 2010 in which eight Hong Kong tourists were killed during the botched rescue attempt. 
 

HONG KONG (SE): Sister Marie-Anastasia Carré, a nun from the Community of the Beatitudes, in association with the Hong Kong Diocesan Audio Visual Centre (DAVC) opened an exhibition of paintings, titled, Journey of the Heart: A pilgrimage from within, at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, Wanchai, on March 23. 
 

HONG KONG (SE): The Catholic Laity Council should focus on helping in the formation of young people and discerning their mission during the Year of Youth, Father Benedict Lam Cho-ming, vicar general of the Diocese of Hong Kong, told council members and parish representatives during its annual general meeting at Holy Cross Church, Shau Kei Wan, on March 8.
 

Hong Kong (SE): Caritas Wu Cheng-chung Secondary School in Pokfulam, welcomed parents and students from primary schools in Hong Kong’s Southern District to its Spring Open Day on Saturday March 10.
 
The event showcased various workshops organised by subjects and groups, including school-based projects based on STEAM (science, technology, engineering, the arts and mathematics) education; a Nerf Hunt, a fun sport activity; handicrafts and cooking, to name a few. 
 

HONG KONG (SE): “Sharing the gospel does not mean merely sharing the knowledge of it, instead it invites the faithful to share their lives lived according to gospel values,” said Bishop Michael Yeung Ming-cheung, the bishop of Hong Kong, in his homily during the Chrism Mass on March 29. 
 
Over 1,000 people packed the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception on Caine Road for the celebration on Holy Thursday.