Caritas Fund-Raising
Blessed are the Volunteers


My Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

“The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many”. (Mt. 20:28)

Modern technology makes us neighbours in this global village, and Chinese culture tells us that within four seas we are all brothers and sisters of the human family.

Christian faith teaches us that the nativity of Jesus and the grace of Baptism make us supernatural members of each other in Christ, uniting us even more closely than union by any natural kinship.

With these thoughts in mind, this International Year of Volunteers should deepen our awareness of social concerns and help promote the culture of service: to love and serve, to care and share and hand in hand to build a happy and healthy community.

In keeping with the spirit of this International Year of Volunteers, Caritas-Hong Kong has chosen “Blessed are the Volunteers” as the theme, and “Serve with joy, Serve with love, Serve with willingness” as the slogan for this Year’s Fund-raising Campaign.

For more than forty years, Caritas has not only been successful in providing innovative and quality services to meet the changing needs of society, but it has also contributed a lot to nurturing and popularizing the spirit of volunteerism.
The Caritas Annual Fund-Raising Campaigns enable Caritas to continue its services in social work, education and health-care services. The running of these annual events would not be possible without the generosity and support of a very large number of dedicated people in our community, both lay and religious, who give unstintingly of their time, energies, talents and material goods.

I thank you all most sincerely for your hard work and commitment to our needy brothers and sisters, children of God and members of Christ, and with great confidence I appeal again for your generous support to make this campaign a great success.

May God, whose power is at work within us, be powerful enough, and more than powerful enough to carry out the divine purpose beyond all our hopes and dreams. Glory be to God from generation to generation in the Church and in Christ Jesus, for ever and ever, Amen. (Eph. 3:20-21)

+ John Baptist Cardinal Wu
The Bishop of Hong Kong
Solemnity of the Assumption 2001

[Published in Sunday Examiner, 9 September 2001]