| Message of the Catholic Bishops' on the Golden Jubilee of Merdeka |
The Catholic Bishops of Malaysia rejoice with all Malaysians as we celebrate the Golden Jubilee of Merdeka, 50 years of independence, freedom and nationhood. There is much for us to celebrate as we have made outstanding progress and achieved great development to stand out as one of the most developed countries in South East Asia. However, as we celebrate our success, we should also be aware of areas of concern that have surfaced in recent years, namely religious and racial tensions, corruption and a rising crime rate.
Racial and religious tensions have been heightened by increasing infringements on the fundamental right to freedom of religion which is enshrined in the Constitution, and a growing perception that non-Muslim religions and their concerns are diminished or neglected. To move ahead and for Malaysians to continue to be united, we must adhere to the social contract arrived at by our founding fathers, the Federal Constitution and the Rukun Negara, our national ideology. We urge the government and elected Representatives of Parliament and State Legislatures as custodians of the rights of all Malaysians to address these issues directly. They should not let the growing number of individuals of a predominant group in the civil and armed services and the executive branches of governance to act in ways, which are prejudicial or hurtful to the sensibilities of those of other faiths. In addition, the government should hold dialogues between followers of various religions in the country, not only to foster greater understanding and harmony among our people of different faiths, but also to resolve by consensus, the various problems and obstacles to the peace and prosperity of our beloved nation.
We are concerned about continued reports of corruption and lack of transparency and accountability, and urge the Government to be more proactive in the eradication of corruption and more transparent in its administration of public funds and projects.
We are concerned with the rising crime rate and fear that our country may be heading towards a breakdown of enforcement of law and order if the situation is allowed to continue. It is timely for the Government to reform the Royal Malaysia Police Force for effective implementation of a better policing system.
In our role as Malaysian citizens and as leaders in the Catholic Church, we work towards and pray for the very best that our nation deserves.
We urge you, fellow Catholics, not to be dispirited by such recurring problems but to become catalysts of nation-building especially by promoting inter-racial and interreligious harmony, "'For he is the peace between us, and has made the two into one and broken down the barrier which used to keep them apart, actually destroying in his own person the hostility caused by the rules and decrees of the Law" (Ep 2: 14-16). We exhort you to integrity in your civic duties. May Almighty God continue to bless Malaysia and her peoples with continued peace and prosperity.
Most Reverend Murphy Pakiam
President
Catholic Bishops' Conference of Malaysia |
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| Be Catalysts of Nation Building |
| KUALA LUMPUR: The Catholic Bishops of Malaysia call upon everyone to not to be dispirited by the recurring problems in Malaysia. Instead they urge all of us to be catalysts of nation-building especially by promoting interracial and inter-religious harmony. The bishops cite three areas of concern, namely religious and racial tensions, corruption and a rising crime rate. They urge the government and elected Representatives of Parliament and State Legislatures as custodians of the rights of all Malaysians to address these issues directly. They also ask the Government to be more proactive in the eradication of corruption and more transparent in its administration of public funds and projects as well as to reform the Royal Malaysia Police Force for effective implementation of a better policing system. - Posted by Herald |
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| Thousands Satisfied with Sentul Parish’s Funfair |
| KUALA LUMPUR: St Joseph's Church, Sentul, recently had a food and fun¬fair in preparation of its 100 years' celebration on Sunday, August 5, 2007. The guest of honour was former senior minister in the government, Tun Dr Ling Liong Sik, who graced the event and officiated it with the cutting of ribbons. In his opening address Dr Ling talked about the growth of the country in the last 50 years in terms of racial inte¬gration and religious toler¬ance. He also mentioned the tremendous progress the coun¬try has achieved through the unity and tolerance amongst its diverse people and cul¬tures. He was also proud of the contribution the Catholic Church has rendered to the society. Fr Stanislaus, the parish priest, in his opening address, thanked Tun Dr Ling for accepting the invitation to be the guest of honour at the event. The whole event of the cen¬tennial celebration for St Joseph's will kick-start from their feast day on May l, 2008 onwards. - Posted by Herald |
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| Be The Light of the World |
| KUALA LUMPUR: "What would Jesus think of you and me today and our families?" This question was posed by parish priest, Fr Anthony Thomas during his keynote address at the Parish Pastoral Assembly of the Church of the Sacred Heart in Jalan Peel on August 11. "Are we a society of humans or animals? We read in the papers the escalating crimes from robbery to rape and murder, people suffering from lack of homes, and migrants who are mistreated. As we gather here as members of the parish, the Holy Spirit is challenging us to respond to become caring groups of communities. We cannot remain indifferent to what is happening in our society," added Fr Thomas. In stressing the need for renewal by the Word of God and Holy Spirit, Fr Thomas invited all to return to their homes and BECs as agents of love and care. - Posted by Herald |
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| Youth not Mass – Friendly |
| KUALA LUMPUR: As youths, we are often looking for fun, excitement and a reason to party. Unfortunately, we tend to expect the same excitement - liter¬ally - from the Mass. Often times, we find young Catholics running off for services at other Christian denominations to find that `party' feeling which they crave. And this is simply because they find Mass at our Catholic churches too boring... with the music and the preacher always being blamed as `lifeless.' The Archdiocese Liturgy Commission and the Archdiocesan Single Adult and Youth Office (ASAYO) organised a one-day session on Aug 18 on the topic Mass is not youth friend¬ly. About 100 youths gathered at the Church of St Ignatius for the day-long session with Fr Leonard Lexson to learn and discern on the true meaning of the Eucharist and the do's and don'ts in celebrating the Eucharist. - Posted by Herald |
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| Sunday School Concert at Fatima Church, Brickfields |
| KUALA LUMPUR: Sunday school students from the English- and Tamil-speaking groups from the Church of Our Lady of Fatima, had their con¬cert on Aug 12. The concert began at 5.30pm with the church overflowing with parents, grandparents, relatives and friends. The opening prayer was led by the MC, Susai Nathan. Thereafter a speech was given by both English and Tamil Sunday school coordinators, Anne Laura and Ms Jothi. First to start off the show were the standard six pupils, who performed a sketch on the story of Moses. They were all dressed in colourful costumes. The preschool children, aged four to six, and lower primary year one and two, performed action songs. The upper primary and sec. ondary students performed sketches based on Bible Scriptures. Whereas the Tamil speaking group performed a dance and put up a fashion show based on Bible charac. ters. The last performance was by the Form Four's, which was a skit entitled Witnessing which they concluded with a song. The concert came to an end with the Parish Priest, FY Clarence giving his closing speech. - Posted by Herald |
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| Seminar on Islamisation Process |
| KUALA LUMPUR: A Seminar on the Process of Islamisation in the country saw 320 mostly young people from parishes around the Klang Valley gather at the Archdiocesan Pastoral Centre recently. Organised by the Parish of St Anthony, this was conducted in Bahasa Malaysia, with the coopera¬tion of members of the Catholic Lawyers' Society (CLS) of Kuala Lumpur. The parish priest, Fr Jestus Pereira, who mooted the idea, said: "There was a three-fold purpose in this: to raise the consciousness of the participants to the realities in the country, the need to be aware of our rights and the limitations or constraints we face and to help the participants strengthen their faith." A lively praise and worship session set the tone for the day. David Charles started the ball rolling by highlighting the creeping Islamisation at the administrative and bureaucratic levels. He quoted some examples such as the type of food that can be sold at school canteens, banning of BM bibles, restrictions and difficulties placed on building places of worship and the usage of certain words. - Posted by Herald |
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| Carmelite Monastery now in Seremban |
| SEREMBAN: This is a house of pray where the sisters' presence draws people closer to God. The environment is so appriopriate for getting closer to God. This was said by Archbishop Murphy Pakiam during the Eucharistic Celebration at the inauguration of the Carmelite Monastery in Seremban. More than 3,000 people from all walks life streamed up to the hill where the Camel monastery is. Christians and those from other religions were there from as early 9.OOam for the open day. During the lunch break, the visitors were invited to visit the exhibition booths portray¬ing the life of the Friars, Nuns and Secular Carmelites. There were also those who took the opportunity to ask questions. At 4.OOpm, the Eucharistic Celebration was presided over by Archbishop Pakiam with 14 priests concelebrating. After the Mass, the Papal Enclosure was observed, where Archbishop Pakiam then locked the main grill of the chapel, separat¬ing the sisters from the people outside. - Posted by Herald |
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| We must become bridges of unity for everyone |
| KUALA LUMPUR: The first Parish Pastoral Assembly under parish, Msgr Daniel Lim was held at the Church of the Holy Rosary on Aug 4. Seventy coordinators and leaders of the various BECs, Ministries Committees and Groups converged at Dewan John Hsiong, their parish hall for the four-hour long assembly that conducted in English and Mandarin. Msgr Lim in his welcoming speech after the parish and worship/Liturgy of the hour session, thanked all for presence and shared his thought prayer. The Kuala Lumpur archbishop also stressed the need for BEC core teams to consist of people with spiritual experience. In conclusion, he was pleased with the parish and happy with what they are doing and stressed that spiritual renewal go beyond all the barriers that the brings. - Posted by Herald |
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| To love God, we must love everyone |
| PETALING JAYA: To Be One was the theme for St Ignatius Church's (SIC) Feastday cele¬brations this year. The triduum celebration was held from July 29 to July 31, the feast day of St Ignatius of Loyola. A series of talks in English and Mandarin were conducted with the Masses, given by Fr Michael Raymond OEM Cap and Fr Charles Chin from the Church of St Mary, Tapah, respectively. In the culmination of the talks on the final day of the celebra¬tions, both priests addressed a fully-packed church and hall. In his talk on the sub-theme To Be One with Community and Church, Fr Michael spoke on the Gospel reading from Luke 10: 29-37, the parable of the Good Samaritan where Jesus responds to the question of the lawyer concerning eternal life and our responsibility to our neighbour. "The summary of God's teach¬ing is that you cannot love God without loving man. The Kingdom of God is within - the mustard seed which is plant¬ed at baptism grows and is nur¬tured by faith and conviction. The most important part of faith is family life and love. We must first experience love before we can speak of God and share in the Kingdom of Heaven," said Fr Michael. - Posted by Herald |
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| Sacred Heart parishioners become organ donors |
| KUALA LUMPUR: When an English language mainstream newspaper, several weeks ago highlighted about the shortage of organ donors and the urgent needs of those patients in need, Fr Anthony Thomas, the parish priest of the Church of the Sacred Heart swiftly initiated a drive in his parish. Approximately 175 of his parishioners came forward and responded positively to the Organ and Tissue Donation Drive that took place in the parish on July 21 to 22 after the weekend Masses. Three personnel from the National Transplant Resource Centre (NTRC) of the Hospital Kuala Lumpur, armed with laptop computers, were on hand to register the donors who came to fill in their Pledge Cards. The drive was held at the Bangunan Dominic Vendargon of the Church of the Sacred Heart. The drive was organised by the parish with the support of the parishioners, said PPC Chairperson, Clement Ambrose. After every Mass, Fr Thomas appealed to the assembly to encourage them to donate, as organ and tissue donation is the ultimate humanitarian act of charity. - Posted by Herald |
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| A New Diocese, A New Bishop |
| KUALA LUMPUR: There is a new diocese in Malaysia. The diocese of Sandakan, encom¬passing the parishes of St Mary in Sandakan, Holy Trinity in Tawau, St Dominic in Lahad Datu and St Martin in Telupid, was established on July 16, 2007. This diocese com¬prises of administrative divisions of Sandakan and Tawau. Reacting to his appointment, bishop-elect Julius Dusin was shocked and nervous. However he said, "The responsibility of a Bishop is heavy and I know my own weak¬nesses and shortcomings but if it is God's will, I leave it to Him to guide me." "I hope all fellow priests, parishioners, religious together under the leadership of the Holy Spirit, would help build the new Diocese, so it may grow and expand accord¬ing to God's will." Sandakan becomes the third diocese in Sabah after Kota Kinabalu and Keningau. There are now nine Arch/dioceses in Malaysia and three in Peninsular Malaysia. - Posted by Herald |
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| The Dominic Vendargon Award for outstanding students |
| KUALA LUMPUR: "A total of 20 teens have been awarded the Dominic Vendargon Award for outstanding secondary school students in the Kuala Lumpur Archdiocese this year," said Brig Jen (R) Dato' Richard Robless, the chairman of the Tan Sri Dominic Vendargon Foundation. "The examination results of this year's nomi¬nees are a marked improvement compared to that of previous years, as indicated by the num¬ber of distinctions obtained," added Dato' Robless. "What is even more encouraging is that these academic high¬ achievers are participating actively in both parish and BEC activities, one of the conditions for the grant of this award," he explained. "This year, the Foundation has introduced a new category, for those who have obtained a distinction in the SPM Bible Knowledge paper. "As Church, we must recognise them and rejoice with them," said Dato' Robless. "The Foundation wants to encourage an all round growth in our young so that they can grow to be outstanding citizens as well as leaders in our Church," he stressed. - Posted by Herald |
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| Catholic Journalist Receives UCIP Award |
| KUALA LUMPUR: We often speak of childhood dreams fulfilled, but for theSun reporter, and former HERALD journalist, Joseph Masilamany, it was more a case of childhood sentiments finding fresh expression and winning an international award. Joseph was recently named a Laureate for the International Award for Inter-religious Dialogue by the Geneva-based International Catholic Union of the Press (UCIP). He received his award in Canada recently on the sidelines of a congress themed Media and Religion: Risk or opportunity, - the impact of modern media on religious experience and social conscience. He believes his passion for inter¬faith harmony made the story compelling. The UCIP, which cited the piece as a "service on dialogue with Islam" seems to agree with Joseph's thoughts. "This award is not just for myself, it is an affirmation of my sentiments," Joseph said. In March this year, Joseph was voted top Medical Journalist of the Year by the Health Ministry. - Posted by Herald |
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