According to the Pope's Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples’ mission newsletter 'Fides,' reported on March 13, “The number of those to be baptized this year is similar to last year.” The report stated that many young catechumens decided to receive baptism after hearing the living testimonies of believers who had already been baptized at Catholic schools or local parishes.
Cardinal Bishop of the Hong Kong Diocese recently urged catechumens in catechism courses held in several parishes to “be bearers of hope.” On March 8, at the Christ the King Church, he told catechumens, “Receiving baptism means accepting Christ, the water of life.”
He also said, “Baptism is only the beginning of the life of faith. You must enter a deeper relationship with the Church to personally encounter the Lord and become bearers of hope through the graces of the Holy Spirit and faith.”
A catechumen at St. Anthony’s School said, “I felt called to be a Christian while participating in the formation and pilgrimage program for catechumens provided by the school.” A catechumen at St. Francis University decided to be baptized after participating in the university’s pastoral program.
Once a British colony, Hong Kong is now a Special Administrative Region of China. Known at one time as one of the freest cities in Asia, Hong Kong’s autonomy and freedoms have been significantly curtailed following large-scale pro-democracy protests in 2019. The movement was suppressed by the pro-Beijing government’s harsh security measures. Hundreds of pro-democracy figures, including politicians, activists, and journalists, were arrested and tried, and many left Hong Kong to escape oppression.
In 2020, the Chinese government introduced a National Security Law, which restricted many freedoms and rights that had been guaranteed under the 'one country, two systems' framework when the U.K. returned Hong Kong in 1997.
