SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST

25TH OCTOBER 1998

The Anglican Church in the SAR will take a giant step forward today with the progression from a diocese to an independent province, the 38th and smallest province in the world.

Leaders of the Anglican Communion, including the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. George Carey, will attend the inauguration of the Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui Province and the installation of its first Archbishop, the Right [should be Most] Reverend Peter Kwong Kong-kit, in a ceremony today.

But some parishioners are critical of church leadership, saying it has failed to made use of this opportunity to strengthen the church's mission or improve transparency of its operations.

A member of the 69-strong provisional general synod, Chan Ka-wai, said the church had failed to meet changing social needs, lacked a mission and gave the impression that it worked closely with the establishment.

He said it should instead mobilise more parishioners to participate in social activities. He said there were fewer committees set up under the new province. The church used to have working groups on medical matters, youth affairs and communications.

Mr Chan said the church leadership had also failed to bring more transparency to the highly secretive Bishop of Victoria Fund - estimated to have more than $1 billion.

The fund will be transferred to the Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui Foundation, which will be set up once the province is in place.

He said there should be more transparency on how the fund was used.

Outspoken cleric the Reverend Fung Chi-wood said part of the money should be distributed to individual churches [should be Dioceses] instead of being controlled centrally.

He did not expect the establishment of the Province would bring any change to the church's indifference to social affairs.

The church has about 25,000 baptised parishioners.

Bishop Kwong was unavailable for comment.