Eric,
Ryan was in Hong Kong, where the Church is not underground. The fears voiced by the international business community during the days prior to the transfer of it from British to Chinese rule were convincing to the Chinese government, insofar as they saw a real risk to the Colony’s continued economic viability. Because HK is such an international place of commerce and such a factor in bolstering the Chinese economy, the Chinese government has been not only disinclined to, but has studiously avoided, imposition of the types of restrictions that it routinely employs in mainland China. Thus, Ryan may as likely have been in a RC church as in a Patriotic Catholic church - in fact, it’s probably more likely that he was in the former.
Ryan,
The lack of men in the congregation is a cultural thing, as it is in the congregations in many Hispanic countries. While men will describe and consider themselves to be “Catholics” (or whatever other Western religion), they tend to be infrequent participants in actual church services. That is not true in in the instances of Eastern religions, such as Buddhist, etc., but I am uncertain why.
Many years,
Neil
