ASIA/HONG KONG - Pastoral Letter from the Bishop of Hong Kong for the Year of Priestly Vocations and the closing of the Year of St Paul: priests can say with Mary “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord, be it done unto me has you have said”

Hong Kong (Agenzia Fides) – Before thinking of what he should do, the priest must focus on what he should be… in order to “put out into the deep”; priests should help altar boys become like olive trees around the table of the Lord (cf. Sal 127,3); Seminaries must extend the programme of formation; parishes should form vocation promotion groups and provide ongoing formation for priests: these suggestions were part of a pastoral letter issued by Bishop John Tong, of Hong Kong, for the Year of Priestly Vocations. According to Hong Kong diocesan bulletin Kong Ko Bao, on July 1 Bishop Tong will open the Year for Priestly Vocations.
In his Pastoral letter Bishop Tong encourages priests to imitate Mary and to say with her “ Behold, I am the servant of the Lord, be it done unto me has you have said” (Lk 1,38). Citing the Catechism of the Catholic Church and the apostolic exhortation Novo millennio ineunte of John Paul II, Bishop Tong said that “through the Holy Spirit priests become like Christ, they represent Christ in person and they teach, sanctify and govern the Church. The celebration of the Eucharist is the summit of the priestly ministry”. In the diocese of Hong Kong “there are only 300 priests including religious and foreign missionaries ”. The Bishop said it was important to encourage vocations in order to meet the needs of mission, pastoral work and evangelisation. This is why “the diocese has chosen to connect the Year of the Priesthood called by the Pope with diocesan initiatives to promote vocations to celebrate the Year of Priestly Vocations”. (NZ) (Agenzia Fides 30/06/2009 - righe 28, parole 307)