Hong Kong
(AsiaNews) - Card. Joseph
Zen, bishop emeritus of Hong Kong , has thanked Pope Francis for his generous
support to the campaign to donate 10,500 mooncake
(or " moon cakes " made with lotus seed paste and egg ) to all the
prisoners on the occasion of the mid-autumn festival. The
festival represents the unity of the Chinese family and was celebrated on
September 19.
In
a statement posted on October 13 in the diocesan weekly Kung Kao Po , Card. Zen
said : "We were very encouraged by Pope Francis' gesture. His act of
generosity was very successful and we collected 23,884 euro ( 253 thousand Hong
Kong dollars ) , out of total expenditure for the purchase of cakes of about 18
thousand euro
( 200 thousand Hong Kong dollars.) the prelate said that he had asked Francis
to donate 2 Euros for the purchase of the sweet and he instead sent 500 . Due
to the success of the campaign the faithful of Hong Kong will donate the 4,700 advanced
euro to support
of the Pope's charity. "In this way - said Cardinal - we contribute
willingly to support two significant works ."
In
mid-September , for the fourth consecutive year , 10,500 moon cakes were sent
to all prisons and detention centers in Hong Kong. In
response to the Cardinal , Pope Francis sent his donation accompanied by a
letter that said: "Dear Faithful: Gladly I join with you to donate
moon cakes to our brothers and sisters in the prisons of Hong Kong. Jesus will
recognize us at the door of Heaven. Happy Moon Festival! I cordially bless you,
PP Francis. "
Card. Zen translated the pope's words into Chinese and has included them in a card along with a picture of both , taken during their meeting in June at the Casa Santa Marta, in the Vatican. Copies of the card were sent to donors . In early September, the cardinal said: " I have sent to the Holy Father a box of mooncake, to share the joy of this feast with him."