Topic:  Euthanasia – Murder in sheep's clothing
Speaker: Mr. Dalton Fogarty


Mr. Dalton Forgarty, a knight of Magisterial Grace within the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, Rhodes and Malta (also known as the Order of Malta) came from Australia.  He worked in the field of Finance and is also a lawyer.  His father also belongs to the Order of Malta. 
[Download outline of the Talk]

1st Topic: Caritas Higher Education Institute Fund Raising
Speaker: Rev Father Joseph Yim Tak Lung

Serra Club's 2nd general meeting, started with the 1st talk by Rev. Father Josph Yim Tak Lung, the Chief Executive of Caritas HK, about raising funds for the development of Caritas Institute of Higher Education (CIHE) into a Catholic University, Saint Francis University, upon passing through all 3 Programme Area Accreditations in 2020. Total cost of development was HKD800 million of which about HKD300 million had been successfully raised together with HKD100 million Government Grant (GG) from the government, making it possible for just borrowing HKD300 million from the government (to be repaid in 10 years), to complete the whole project. Today, another round of HKD500 million GG had been allotted for disbursement: with the 1st tranche of matching of GG on a dollar-for-dollar guarantee basis with the first HKD12 million of donation, while the 2nd tranche would be disbursed on a ratio of "One HKD of Government Grant-for-Two HKD of Donation", on a first-come-first-serve basis, with maximum total GG capped at HKD 100 million for each qualified self-financed institution. Among the various programs (mainly of bachelor degree level) currently offered by CIHE, Nursing, Pharmaceutical Dispensing and Social Work were quite popular - like Nursing in which only 200 students could be admitted out of 6,000 applicants - as CIHE had invested heavily in the latest teaching tools and equipment. The revised land site approved by the government enabled the connection (through several flyovers) of the newly established building with the adjacent existing campus of Caritas Bianchi College of Careers, paving way for further development of CIHE into a full scale accredited university in the near future. In conclusion, for the founding of Catholic University of our own, there was an easy way of releasing the financial burden of the Church, if all faithfuls worked altogether to make donations as early as possible (starting on or after 1st August, 2017), so as to tap the GG up to another HKD100 million, as announced by His Eminence Cardinal Tong recently.
[Download Donation Flyer for details]

2nd Topic: God's signs in my life
Speaker: Serran Fergus Chau

The second talk conducted by Serran Fergus Chau, Prosecutor of Department of Justice, also our Honourable Assistant Secretary of Serra Club, told us that he was born of an ordinary Catholic family with rich religious tradition, thanks to his parents' inheritance from his grandparents. Naturally, he was sent to a Catholic primary school, but when he grew up he did deliberately choose a Cheung Sha Wan Catholic Secondary School, among other options, for the sake of his faith and of the good relationship with a priest. In Form 3, he visited his relatives in the United States, and that incidentally began his overseas schooling in Wisconsin, Illinois and Iowa, which were all abundantly endowed with His blessings and supports - thanks to the simplicity of the devout Catholic host families and the fraternity of the Catholic school and college all along his 4 years' staying - paving way for his participating of the Altar Boy services in the Mass, joining the Knight of Columbia (of 4th degree knight) to serve the poor and needy, and meeting with some legal professionals in the Catholic community. All these seemed to lead him to join a Catholic University, Loras College in Iowa, laying down a good foundation to further his study of law in Hong Kong.

Subsequently, the designation of prosecutor as his profession was another sign of His guidance, as that was not his initial planning and academic focus (e.g. Land Law, Administrative Law or Judicial Review), but that eventually had given him the chance of bringing His Mercy and Justice, in the light of public good to the Hong Kong Community, all for His Glory.

Hong Kong Heritage Museum visit

In a fresh sunny morning of 15th July, 2017, over 20 Serrans with spouses, relatives or friends came joyfully to the Hong Kong Heritage Museum before its opening at 10:00 am, awaiting the tour at 10:30 am.

The 1st part of the tour was about the Imperial Residence of Eight Emperors of Qing Dynasty (1644 - 1912) in the Forbidden City ("City") - with construction commenced in 1537, during the Ming Dynasty (1368 -1644). Inside the City, the Hall of Mental Cultivation served as the living place (e.g. Room of Three Rarities) and political center (e.g. Central Hall, West Warmth Chamber, and the East Warmth Chamber - mainly for the Empress's political participation) of the emperors, over Qing's reign of about 268 years in China. Among all the collections, the seat and the seal of the emperors were of significant value and implication.

In 2nd session of the tour, we walked into the western culture of Le Louvre, where the marble sculptures of Horse Head (discovered in Attica of Greece around 510 - 500 BC) and Jean de la Fontaine, Writer (by Pierre Julien in 1785 in Paris) were really eye-catching, not to mention those beautiful pictures of Christ Healing the Sick (by Rembrant van Rijn circa 1649) and The Three Fates and The Triumph of Truth (by Peter Paul Rubens around 1633), among others.
The tours ended with joy and inspiration, with the group altogether taking photos in front of the charming picture of Le Louvre.

Justin Tse, was the guest speaker at our 24th general meeting.

His topic was Knowledge Management (KM).
Justin graduated with a master's degree in KM. He has worked with the Police in its KM division. Currently he is involved in KM at The Red Cross. He also engages in KM training at the university.

What is Knowledge management (KM)? It is the process of creating, documenting, sharing and managing the knowledge and information of an institution. It refers to a multidisciplinary approach to achieving organisational objectives by making the best use of knowledge.

KM is a technique. Its success depends on understanding the culture of that institution and formulate creative approaches to attract viewers and participants. Its mission is to facilitate and drive the flow of knowledge across the organisation – sharing answers, insights, expertise, ideas and information. Rewards are often used as a way to encourage and heighten level of engagement and participation. The website must be user friendly. Once recognition in accessing the website is deemed beneficial on a personal and professional level, daily logon will be by choice not by command.

Applying KM practices in institutions in one form or another is quite common today. Once familiarity sets in, it becomes routine.

Daughters of St Paul in Ha Keng Hau Village

On a blessed Saturday morning (17th June 2017) with a little raining, we, Michael Lau, Ruby, Peter Tam, Wilfred and Peter Fung, after having a short walk from the parking lot, came to a decent house of Daughters of St Paul in Ha Keng Hau Village, Shatin.

Warmly received by four Sisters, Sister Grace Lee led us into a living room where all of us could have a comfortable seating, and she even made us some tasty tea from Taiwan, and cake too.

Sister Lee has been staying in Hong Kong for many years since the establishment of their presence in 1987.

Over the years, she witnessed the development of Hong Kong as their mission was to spread the good news to the community through mass media, in particular books.

They got used to go to the schools during the weekdays, and to the Churches only on Sundays, for book exhibition, where they could talk to the youths, and that was highly upheld by His Emmenience Cardinal Wu at that time, for such promotion and formation of spirituality.

Currently, four sisters were living together, with Sr. Seo newly arrived from Korea, Sr. Tessie Ngai, Sr. Helen Ng and Sr. Grace Lee in this convent house.

Sr. Lee introduced us a new book to be coming soon to the market, a completely new version of Chinese translation concerning the life of a very well-learned scholar, Dr. John Wu, who intriguingly consolidated the diversity of Chinese Cultures with Catholicism - a deep and beautiful expression of his unique spirituality - worth to be sharing among all of us, especially the faithful.

Looking forward to the 30th anniversary of their mission in Hong Kong, they sincerely invited us to participate in the celebration next year.

It was such a fruitful visit as they gave us some beautifully designed biblical based folders and related missionary books of their religious order; and to further our spiritual understanding and mission on vocation, we bought some vocation books, and placed order with them for the expected new book:
"Beyond East and West (超越東西方)" of Dr. John Wu, a diplomat in Vatican and scholar.

It was a lovely day to host the Singing Saint.

Over 700 Catholics attended the Singing Saint which took place at The Holy Spirit Seminary from 3-7pm on the day of The Ascension of the Lord. In the football field 14 stalls were set up and minded by various religious orders as well as The Holy Spirit Seminary and Serra Club. Each offering delicious snacks and information leaflets about their order/association. Music filled the air throughout the afternoon. Fr Kam delivered an opening speech to the young people on vocations followed by denominations introducing their order and singing songs of praise. The event ended with evening prayer and blessings from Bishop Ha.

[Please click the image above for photo album]

As May is the vocations month, Cardinal John Tong dedicated/concelebrated the 11am Mass at St Jerome's Church in Tin Shui Wai for vocations. After Mass two sisters shared their vocation calling with the congregation as well as Cardinal Tong during Mass. President Tam also gave a brief introduction on the mission of Serra Club.

Serrans and DVC members were successful in drawing the attention of more faithful to pray for vocations before and after Mass. More than 50 vocation forms were filled. It was truly another fruitful event.

Sn. Cloris Lim was the speaker at our 22nd general meeting.

Her topic was Nanyin 南音: My Inspirational Encounter. Nanyin Music is one of the oldest existing music genres in China. It derived from royal palace music and later established itself in Quanzhou, Fujian Province when the court musicians migrated there. In the same period many country folks also moved to the Minnan area where Quanzhou City is located to escape the civil wars and economic hardship. They brought along their music culture, which later blended into the local folk music and became a new music genre: Nanyin music. For the migrants, Nanyin music brought back familiarity and comfort of home while living in a distant land. It served as a soothing remedy for homesickness. It also established social bonding and community solidarity.

In 2009, China successfully championed for UNESCO recognition of Nanyin as an intangible cultural asset. Although Nanyin is an ancient art form, it has survived China's political, social and cultural change and its legacy lives on.

Sn Cloris highlighted that her success was all credited to the Holy Spirit. It had guided her from the time she started learning how to play the piano as an adult to mastering Level 8 in 5 short years to taking up her PHD research in Nanyin Music. She reckoned that the master plan has been laid out for her leading her to now becoming a member of Serra Club of Hong Kong...

On this Vocations Sunday, Mass was concelebrated by Bishop Ha and 3 priests at The Holy Cross Church. After which there was sharing by a seminarian and Sr Catherine Fung on their individual calling. Serrans and DVC members/volunteers co-minded a stall outside the Church to distribute booklets and information on Vocations to the worshippers as well as obtaining their contact details for outreach purposes. It was another successful attempt as 50 more names were added to the list. 

This year Mother's Day was attended by 175 nuns from 21 orders in Hong Kong. The VIP guest list included His Eminence Cardinal John Tong, Sr Joanna Marie Cheung SPC, Chairperson of Association of Major Religious Superiors of Women in Hong Kong and guest speaker Dr Joseph Kwan, a Geriatric specialist who delivered an insightful presentation on humanistic ways to care for the elderly.

It won't be a celebration without the lucky draw and table prizes. Besides the sisters being entertained, they were also able to catch up with one another as Sr Joanna mentioned in her thank you speech. In closing, Cardinal Tong gave an inspirational talk after which two hymns dedicated to Our Lady of Fatima were sung followed by a group photo in the garden.

The guest speaker for our 21st general meeting was Mr. Albert Au, founder of Acesome Limited.

His topic was Digital Health.

Given Albert's IT background and also having worked at IBM's medical solutions division, it was natural that he should pursue an app that provides relevant information to the care giver in a clinical setting.

Acesome focuses on affordability, portability and personalisation. It is all about patient relationship management, enhancing personal care plan and keeping accurate personal healthcare record for service providers (clinic, nursing home and home care) so to facilitate the care giver to deliver the best care. The app is programmed to include drug administration schedule and tracking system, medical appointment reminders, to name a few.

Acesome's two year goal is to service more service providers and individuals in neighbouring Asian markets, to aid minorities with language barrier and to provide support in community care and primary care setting.


May birthday stars:
Sn Patrick Sham and Sn Peter So

Serran Denis Chang was the speaker at our 20th general meeting.

His topic was The Basic Law and post truth - one country, many interpretations

As the topic suggests One Country Two Systems can be interpreted variably. Serran Denis Chang, a member of the Drafting Committee for the Basic Law of the HKSAR of the PRC, explained forthrightly that without a country there would be no two systems; no two systems exist unless there is one country. He pointed out articles in the Basic Law can be misconstrued if not read carefully. On the subject of religion, Hong Kong still enjoys freedom of worship; a physical cross and religious statues are still permitted at schools for example. It would appear that freedom of religion is still very much a constitutionally protected right in HK compared to some other countries.

From a command hierarchy perspective, NPC is vested in establishing special administrative regions like Hong Kong to embrace the concept of One Country Two Systems. In this equation, Hong Kong can exercise its given autonomy within the scope stipulated in the Basic Law.

Sr Ophelia Lui was the guest speaker at our 19th general meeting.

Her topic was 天父的小王子 (Our Heavenly Father's little prince).

Sr Ophelia is currently The Superior of Sisters of St Paul De Chartres (SPC) - Our Lady of Chartres Community in HK. She works closely with young adults between the age 18-35. She had also accompanied these young faithful to Poland for World Youth Day. She has witnessed vocational calling but it takes time, sometimes years.

Her talk was centered on God's unconditional love and that we have to submit ourselves totally and follow Him. She showed us a picture of Jesus washing St Peter's feet at the Last Supper and quoted Ch 13 in the Bible according to John.

She also showed us two other pictures depicting a relationship between a young prince and a flower and also friendship with a fox. The message is to remind us to trust God, focus on spirituality and servicing. God is merciful and His love is limitless.


April birthday stars: Sn Peter Lee, Sn Richard Tan and Sn Raymond Koo

The speaker at our 18th general meeting was Rev Dominic Lui Chi Man, assistant parish priest of Our Lady of The Rosary Church.

His topic was Family: a challenging mosaic made up of many different realities, with all their joys, hopes and problems.

Fr Dominic's presentation was focused on Pope Francis' apostolic exhortation on the family, "Amoris Laetitia" ("The Joy of Love"), most encouraging papal teaching on family life today. Four Cardinals had asked Pope Francis for clarity. Pope Francis recognised the complexity of this topic and the urgent need of thorough study. He highlighted that "what seems normal on one continent, is considered strange and almost scandalous on another; what is considered a violation of a right in one society is an evident, inviolable rule in another; what for some is freedom of conscience maybe simply perceived as confusion for others."

Pope Francis' groundbreaking document encourages the Church to meet people where they are, to consider the complexities of people's lives and to respect people's conscience when it comes to moral decisions. It is the Pope's intention to avoid judging people and imposing rules on them without considering their struggles. This mirrors the core message of the Gospel: God's mercy is abundant. Starting with the family which is the fabric of the Ecclesial Community and of Civil Society, let the priority be placed on pastoral care of families. "Family ministry" is ever so important especially in changing times.

Rev Luke Park Young Sup, BMC is the Asst parish priest at The Immaculate Conception Church.

He has been in HK for three years and has mastered the Cantonese language in a short period of time. He is from the Order of Clerical Congregation of the Blessed Martyrs in Korea. His topic was Towards the White Martyr (Catholic Mission in Korea)
Currently Catholics per Capita in Korea is 10.7% which is much higher than in HK.

Christianity was first introduced to Korea in the 17th century through knowledge from western learning rather than the traditional teachings from missionaries. They initiated their own Catholic diocese in 1831. Despite many religious persecutions over time, the Catholic Church has grown and now serves 17 dioceses including 3 underground ones in North Korea.

Many locals look upon priesthood as a profession, hence humility lacks and examples of faith are rare. Although white martyrs are in dire need, however living a life according to the gospel is stressed - be compassionate like Saint Teresa, be evangelical, be just and be merciful.


March lucky stars:
Sns Vincent Jim, Denis Chang
and Winnie Yau

Our one day Lenten Retreat was held at Honeyville Retreat Centre. Fr Timothy Wan was our retreat master. The topic was "An Overview of Individual Vocation". It was all about self vocation and reflection.There are many forms of vocations. Pope Francis reiterated that being married and having children are important. Those who choose to remain single could serve God in their own way. Some dedicate their lives to serve God full time; they become permanent deacons, nuns or priests. We are all human beings, the only difference between us and the rest of the human race is that we are baptised. We therefore need to act like Catholics, be close to The Church and participate in its activities besides attending Sunday Mass.

The afternoon talk was on the existence of hell and purgatory. From a conceptual perspective, there is Heaven, then purgatory, earth and hell. Hell as we know it is a permanent state of suffering whereas purgatory is temporary but the length of stay depends on performance while on earth. It is with certainty that Mother Mary is the only one who went straight to Heaven... maybe children and martyrs too.

There was a side discussion regarding priests who left the priesthood. They are still priests but cannot perform sacraments. However, should they meet any life or death situations, they can still perform the last rites. Nuns, on the other hand, will become lay people should they leave their order as priests are the only ones who receive the Sacrament of Holy Orders.
In between talks we received Eucharistic Adoration and The Act of Contrition. We also prayed the Rosary. A few did the Way of The Cross given limited time left before Mass. The day ended with thanks and birthday wishes to Fr Tim.


Some Serrans attended a
fellowship dinner afterwards.

Rev. Paul Kam Po Wai was the guest speaker at our 16th general meeting.

Father Kam was a parish priest. He left HK to preach in Tanzania, East Africa from 2003-2006. Currently he is chairperson of Diocesan Youth Commission Hong Kong and spiritual leader of Hong Kong Federation of Catholic Students. His topic was Relationship between Life Experience and Vocational Discernment (生活體驗與聖召培育).

The crux of Fr Kam's talk was on youth self awareness and internalisation of one's experience on what is seen and heard followed by action and service - that is the way to follow Jesus. He pointed out the 3H quoted by Pope Francis, they are head (to think), heart (to feel) and hands (to do servicing).

Fr Kam stressed on the importance of experience and that it will empower young people to get close and personal with God and The Church. World Youth Day and other programs like one offered at Taiz Community are the cornerstone for vocations and catalysts to help create structures for many young people.

With this in mind, Serra Club HK and Diocesan Youth Commission Hong Kong have jointly organised three activities to create such experience for our youth in the coming months:

1/ Mar 12: Running Saint: tracing the footsteps of past seminarians in TaiPo in guided teams of 4.

2/Singing Saint: Outdoor concert at The Holy Spirit Seminary.

3/Cooking Saint: Priests and Religious to cook alongside the young participants. This will allow a friendly and non threatening exchange in a relaxed setting.


February Birthday star:
Sn Denis Chang

The guest speaker at our 15th general meeting was Ms.Joanne Chan, Registered Dietitian.

Her topic was Nutritional Support in the Prevention and Treatment of early stage of Alzheimer's Syndrome (營養的預防和冶療早期腦退化症的重要性)

This being the first meeting after Chinese New Year, it is customary to wish everyone the best of health in The Year of The Rooster. What could be more appropriate than to have Ms Chan to discuss various nutritional supplements targeting to prevent or delay the onset or slow down the deterioration of Alzheimer's Disease.

According to World Alzheimer Report 2015, every three seconds someone develops dementia. In Hong Kong, it is reported that Alzheimer's Disease occurs in 60-80% of people with dementia. Among the signs and symptoms is the obvious deterioration or loss of cognitive functioning i.e. thinking, remembering and reasoning. Dementia is #8 cause of death among the elderly in 2014.

There are three stages in Alzheimer's disease; early, middle and late stage. It is important to recognise its development and offer appropriate care and treatment. Some of the prophylactic measures include a regular intake of Vit B6, B9 and B12, Omega 3 fatty acids and Vit A, C and E whether in the form of tablets or natural foods. Many alternative oral products are available in the market but most are not yet proven its effectiveness. It is advisable to be prudent when it comes to anything ingestible. Better consult a medical doctor when in doubt.

Fergus Chau, the newest member, was inducted at our 14th general meeting by the visiting SI President Dante Vannini. It was a rare opportunity and a moment to be seized.



We were honoured in having Mr Dante Vannini present at our 14th general meeting. He became Serra International President last June, since then he has been visiting various Serra Clubs. His mission is to reiterate the message to every Club to work along side the bishop/priests and rector/seminarians.

Serra Club exists in many countries including Asia, Africa and South America. It stays true to its principles but its approach is changing with the times. Serra Club's objectives remain the same, to support vocational programs through fellowship, to encourage individual contribution to increasing vocations and to work closely with the Church on vocations.

Lastly he called attention to the upcoming 75th Serra International Convention this June 22-24 in Rome. A thousand members are expected to participate from all over the world. Presentations will be in 5 languages. A private audience with the Holy Father is set on the 23rd.


Happy birthday to President Tam.

The annual Bishop's lunch went ahead as planned.

51 people attended including guest of honour, His Eminence Cardinal John Tong Hon, Bishop of Hong Kong, Chancellor of Diocesan Chancery, Rev. Lawrence Lee, Macau Serran President, Maria Mak and three Macau Serrans, HK Serra Club's Spiritual Director Rev. Tsang, President Peter Tam, HK Serrans and families.

Rev. Tsang said grace before lunch after which President Tam gave an account of the activities occurred in the last six months. He also highlighted some of the future programs. His Eminence, Cardinal John Tong Hon later delivered an inspiring speech. The main takeaway is that we should be kind to people especially those around us. Lunch ended on a happy note after receiving blessing from the Cardinal.

Chief principal, Louisa Lo and Assistant Principal, Mr Larry Yeung of Raimondi College were guest speakers at our 13th general meeting.

The topic was New Initiatives of Raimondi.

Raimondi College was the first Catholic Diocesan secondary school established in Hong Kong in 1958 in memory of Bishop Raimondi, the first Catholic Bishop of Hong Kong. Rev. Fr. J. Carra PIME was appointed as Supervisor and Principal. He was also the second chaplain of Serra Club HK for 28 years.

Raimondi College has expanded over the years from an all boys secondary school to a co-ed establishment offering both primary and secondary education.

Due to challenges in Hong Kong school education today, Raimondi has to develop/maintain its competitive edge. Four years ago Ms Lo with her impressive credentials, was appointed as Principal of Raimondi College. Under her leadership, PTA was restructured and Small-class Teaching Scheme was introduced. These initiatives were directly aimed at increasing student enrollment and raising Raimondi's academic profile to a higher level. In 2015, Incorporated Management Committee was also established.

These strategies yielded positive outcomes as shown in an increase in student applications. Raimondi is now in the forefront competing with other band one schools in both the academic as well as the non academic arenas.


Birthday Star:
President Peter Tam