 
Archive : May 2004
CATHOLIC LAWYERS URGED TO UPHOLD RIGHTS AND NEEDS OF CATHOLIC COMMUNITY
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Kuala Lumpur : Catholic lawyers can play a vital role in catering to and upholding the rights and needs of the Catholic community. This was highlighted by Archbishop Murphy Pakiam during a dialogue session with several members of the Catholic Lawyers Society (CLS) Kuala Lumpur recently. Also present at the meeting was the CLS's ecelesiastical assistant, Fr. O.C. Lim, SJ. The archbishop touched on the need for the CLS to hold more seminars
and dialogue sessions to highlight the more pressing and rampant issues faced by the Catholic community in the wider context of our society. Some of the pressing issues mentioned by the archbishop included the death penalty, domestic violence, homosexual orientation and problems faced by migrant workers. Archbishop Pakiam urged the lawyers to deepen their spiritual faith so as to face the onslaught of the world around them. He emphasised on the
specific need for them to deepen their faith as Catholic lawyers through the medium of seminars to spread this message of faith to other segments of the Catholic community. CSL will be requesting Fr. Phillip Muthu to conduct lessons on Canon Law for its members. Special mention was also made on the need for a marriage reconciliation body to enable couples to go through a process of reconciliation before seeking a divorce. The CSL also discussed with the Archbishop, the need to incorporate certain amendments to their constitution to include and form a wider group of lawyers from the other states in Malaysia. (Herald)
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PIHD CALLS FOR INVOLVEMENT OF WHOLE PARISH COMMUNITY
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Kuala Lumpur : The first Archdiocesan Parish Integral Human Development (PIHD) session was initiated at the Church of St Joseph. A total of 30 participants attended the session which was conducted by a team from the National Office for Human Development (NOHD). According to Parish Priest Fr. Ferdinand Magimay,
he is planning to introduce the Ministry of the Poor through PIHD, to reach out to all the people in the neighbourhood of a BEC community who are in need of a voice or a hand to meet their needs. "People today have become so self-contained and self-centred preferring to mind their own business – their family needs,
that they have forgotten the command, Love thy neighbour as thy self. With the BECs taking a new dimension of New Way of Being Church, the laity have an opportunity to reach out, to witness in action the love of Christ which we commune through the Eucharist. It is communion of communities. Fr. Mitchel Anthony who is the newly appointed priest delegate for the Office of Human Development and his team members gave a thought-provoking presentation that captivated the participants for about two hours. Explaining further, Fr Mitchel quoted The Decree on the Church's Missionary Activity which affirms that: The Church is not truly established and does not fully live nor a perfect sign of Christ unless there is genuine laity existing and working alongside the hierarchy, for the gospel cannot become deeply rooted in the mentality, life and work of the people without the active presence of the laity (Ad Gentes 2 1 A). (Herald)
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HONOURING ST JOSEPH, THE PATRON OF WORKERS
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Kuala Lumpur : "The Church of St Joseph was built particularly for the workers - the poor who lived around Sentul. Thus, St Joseph, the worker is fittingly the patron saint of this church," said parish priest Fr. Ferdinand Magimay. Fr. Ferdinand, who was pleased with the recently concluded parish feast day celebrations,
was giving a brief history of the parish. He explained that the Church of St Joseph, which is one of the oldest churches in the Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur was built for the workers of the then Malayan Railways and also for those who lived in Sentul. "Incidentally, St Joseph is the only saint who has two feast days in his honour -
the other being the feast of St Joseph, the Husband of Mary which falls on March 19," he added. More than 2000 people attended the feast day celebration which commenced with a triduum. The youths of the parish also took an active role during the celebration by staging a mime play, The Unsung Saint. Forty youths including stage crew, took part in the play. They had spent about three months preparing for the presentation with fasting and prayer. The play left deep impressions on the audience and indelible marks in the minds of the youth who participated in the presentation. The rousing applause from the audience at the end of the presentation was proof enough to say that the job was well done. (Herald)
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HELPING ALTAR SERVES GAIN A SENSE OF CHURCH
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Seremban : A Formation and Vocation Camp is being organised for the altar servers of the Negeri Sembilan district at College General in Penang. A total of 51 altar servers are expected to attend the camp, which will be held
during the school holidays from June 1 to 4. According to Fr. Leonard John who conceptualised the outing, this camp is a very positive move for altar servers whose role in the Church puts them close to the priest and his priestly
functions in the sanctuary. "The trip to the seminary will serve as an insight into the 'making of a priest' and the spirituality that surrounds the formation to priesthood," said Fr. Leonard who is the parish priest of the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Port Dickson and also a lecturer at College General.. Fr. Michael Chua, who has been given the overall responsibility of managing the visit programme said, “ The main objective is to give the altar servers a sense of Church and to be reasonably immersed in the celebration of the Eucharist”. Resident seminarians are expected to be on hand to spend time with the young visitors as well as to facilitate sessions and respond to questions. "Follow-up activities will be held when the youths return to their parishes. Some of the activities will include on-going spiritual formation to help nurture their new experience," added Fr. Chua. (Herald)
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HOLY FAMILY PARISH-LEVEL GOLDEN JUBILEE CELEBRATIONS
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Kajang : Following the official launching of the Golden Jubilee celebrations for the Archdiocese
of Kuala Lumpur on May 3, the Church of the Holy Family held its launching at parish level during
the Eucharistic celebration on May 9. After the thanksgiving hymn, parish priest, Fr. Leo Chang presented a brief introduction of the Jubilee Prayer. This was followed by a procession of 13 zone leaders of the parish from the entrance of the church to the altar. Each leader carried a pictorial banner depicting the words Basic Ecclesial Communities (BECs). The procession signified unity and love amongst the people and the significance of community and togetherness. It was a simple sign of how the various BECs unite to form a zone and how these zones come together to form a Church, thus strengthening the call to follow the New Way of Being Church. Before the final blessing, Fr. Chang led the congregation in reciting the Jubilee Prayer. He reminded the parishioners to recite the prayer slowly and prayerfully so as to appreciate each word and its significance to each one. After the prayer, Fr. Chang declared the launching of the Golden Jubilee celebrations for the parish. (Herald)
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FUNDS STILL NEEDED FOR PUCHONG CHURCH
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Petaling Jaya : The Puchong Catholic Church Building Fund Committee recently concluded their
donate-a-brick campaign. The campaign raised about RM 340 000 bringing the amount raised to RM 3.9
million. The church is being constructed on a half-acre land. It is designed to seat 1,200
parishioners. The construction of the Church of Our Lady of Guadalupe began in January 2003 and is now halfway through completion. The total cost of the church is RM 5.1 million, including the furnishings such as pews, altar, audio-visual system, etc. The Committee thanks everyone who has come forward with their generous contributions. However, there is still a shortfall of RM 1.2 million. Once it is completed, the church will serve the parishioners living in Bandar Kinrara right up to those in 16th mile Jalan Puchong. There are about 600 Catholic families living in this area. (Herald)
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NEED TO PROTECT RIGHTS OF NON-MUSLIM SPOUSE AND THEIR CHILDREN
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Petaling Jaya :The Catholic Lawyers' Society of Kuala Lumpur have issued a press statement voicing concern over the declaration made by the High Court last month that it does not have the jurisdiction to hear any conversion case that falls within the realm of the Syariah Court.
The High Court judge made this decision after dismissing the application by a woman who had sought a declaration from the court to nullify her estranged husband's actions of converting their two sons, aged five and three, to Islam after he embraced the religion.
Click Here to read the press statement
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THE CELEBRATION BEGINS…
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Kuala Lumpur : Hundreds of Catholics from the parishes in the archdiocese were present at the Cathedral of St John in Bukit Nanas on May 3 to witness the official launching of the Golden Jubilee celebrations for the Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur. Present to grace the auspicious occasion, was the Apostolic Delegate Archbishop Salvatore Pennacchio, who is currently based in Bangkok. Archbishop Pennacchio who conveyed the paternal regards, best wishes and the Apostolic Blessing of Pope John Paul II was impressed at the unique way in which Malaysian
Catholics worship. In his opening address, Archbishop Murphy Pakiam said that the presence of the apostolic delegate was indeed a great honour and privilege for the local Church. After the distribution of the Holy Communion, a sense of exuberance was in the air when the sound of the jubilee music began to fill the cathedral. A lively and upbeat tempo, the music taken from the sound-track Voices was inter-mixed with a voice narration of the Vision and Mission of the archdiocese. The inspirational music added to the sense of pride of the congregation,
who applauded loudly when the banners carried by the parish representatives and accompanied by the parish priests, were brought in procession from the entrance of the church towards the altar. On each banner was indicated the year the parish was established. Archbishop Pakiam then led the congregation in reciting the Jubilee Prayer. This was followed by the mesmerising sound of the jubilee horn. The celebration ended with a light fellowship at the cathedral grounds. (Herald)
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APOSTOLIC DELEGATE MEETS RELIGIOUS, LAITY
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Kuala Lumpur : The Apostolic Delegate Archbishop Salvatore Pennacchio who arrived in Kuala Lumpur on April 29 accompanied by his counsellor, Msgr Francesco Cao made several pastoral visits during his stay here. First on Archbishop Pennacchio's itinerary was a courtesy call on Archbishop Emeritus Dominic Vendargon and the Little Sisters of the Poor in Cheras on April 30. While visiting the Infant Jesus Sisters in Cheras the following day, Archbishop Pennacchio also briefly met the participants of the Working Youth Camp.
Later that evening, he attended the silver jubilee celebration of Bro Dominic Yeo at the Montfort Boys Town. The apostolic delegate also graced the feast day celebration of the Church of the Good Shepherd in Setapak on May 2. The following day, he held a meeting with the three bishops of Peninsular Malaysia. Later that evening, Archbishop Pennacchio was the main celebrant at the Eucharist celebration during the official launching of the Golden Jubilee of the archdiocese at the Cathedral of St John in Bukit Nanas. During his
visit, the archbishop met members of the Peninsular Malaysia Pastoral Team. He also attended a gathering organised by the Conference of Religious where he thanked all the religious for their contributions to the local Church. Archbishop Pennacchio also met participants of the different language groups during a seminar for leaders of BECs and parish ministries at the Archdiocesan Pastoral Centre. Archbishop Pennacchio said that upon his return to Bangkok, he would be writing to the Holy Father to share his experiences and of the uniqueness of the Malaysian Church. (Herald)
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APOSTOLIC DELEGATE IMPRESSED WITH MULTI-LINGUAL MASS
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Kuala Lumpur : The parishioners of the Good Shepherd Church in Setapak received a pleasant surprise during their parish feast day celebration when Archbishop Murphy Pakiam and Archbishop Salvatore Pennacchio, the apostolic delegate concelebrated the Eucharist. Archbishop Pennacchio who was in Kuala Lumpur for the official launching of the Kuala Lumpur archdiocese Golden Jubilee celebration was invited to the Setapak parish by Archbishop Pakiam for the May 2 celebration.
The apostolic delegate was impressed by the use of different languages throughout the Mass. Archbishop Pakiam said that the Church in Malaysia represents all the four major language groups, thus the Mass should be celebrated in all the languages as it is a reflection of reality. Through the multi-lingual Masses, the Catholic Church has shown that it is possible for the different races to come together. Even though most of the parishioners do not understand all the languages, they always sit patiently and respectfully listening to the Word of God and participating in the prayers where they can and appreciating the songs in the different languages. On this special Good Shepherd feast day, even the choir was in top form when they beautifully rendered a song, Regina, in Latin. (Herald)
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SEMINAR ON PARISH MINISTRIES, STRUCTURES
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Kuala Lumpur : Leaders from the BECs and ministries in their parish attended a one-day seminar on parish ministries and structures at the Archdiocesan Pastoral Centre on May 4, 2004. Organised by the Archdiocesan Pastoral Institute (API) in collaboration with the Archdiocesan BEC Animating Team, the seminar was to help leaders understand the functions of all ministries and structures in the Church, with BECs as the core. Conducted in four languages, API Director, Fr John Gnanapiragasam explained the reasoning. "Many times, we find a particular
language dominating in the BECs or parish. We want to show that all languages are equally important. Fr. John presented the meaning behind the acronym BECS: Being together, Evangelising one another, Committing ourselves, Strengthening our Church. Robert Tan, Chairman of the Archdiocesan BECAT said, "This seminar was beneficial especially for new leaders”. He added, "This is our first programme for the year. It was more to let the leaders know more about the 10-directions. We are planning to have programmes on the methodology and implementation of the 10-directions later in the year." (Herald)
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FOSTERING UNITY AMONG TAMIL-SPEAKING YOUTHS
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Serdang : In an effort to foster closer relationship among the Tamil-speaking youths in the KL South District, a Sukaneka was organised on Apr 25. Organised by the KL South District Tamil Youth Apostolate, 110 youths from the 6 parishes and chapels converged at the Chapel of St Anthony, Serdang. The youths with ages ranging from 15 to 30 were divided into eight teams irrespective of age and parish/chapel. Each of the teams was named after a famous footballing country or club. The guest of honour, Fr Joe Matthews OFM Cap, who is also the district senator,
welcomed everyone and commended the organising team on their efforts. He encouraged everyone present to enjoy themselves. Ceasar from the Chapel Our Lady of Good Health, Kampung Pandan said, "It was a good effort by the organising team and I hope that they will organise more activities. His sentiments were echoed by Andrew from St Anne, Semenyih who added, "I am very happy and excited. Now I have a lot of friends from the different chapels and parishes”. (Herald)
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CLERGY ON THE MOVE
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Kuala Lumpur : Fr Jean Claude Lourdes has been appointed the new parish priest of the Church of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Mentakab. He will take over from Fr Christopher Wilvaraj who will be leaving for further studies in August. Fr Jean Claude will also assume the post of administrator for the Church of the Annunciation in Raub, the Chapel of St Francis Xavier in Kuala Lipis, the Chapel of St John
in Triang and the Chapel of St Dominic in Jerantut. Fr Christopher Wilvaraj who is the Ecclesiastical Assistant of the Archdiocesan Ministry of Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs, will be pursuing a three-year course in Islamic studies. He will spend one year at the Dar Comboni Arabic Studies Institute in Cairo and another two years at the Pontifical Institute of Arabic and Islamic Studies in Pisai, Rome. Fr Philip Tan, CDD has been appointed the parish priest of the Church of St Ignatius Petaling Jaya effective June 1. Formerly the assistant priest, Fr Tan takes over from Fr Thomas Koo, CDD who will be residing in the CDD Formation House in Melaka before leaving for further studies to the US next year. Fr Martin Then, CDD has been appointed assistant priest of the Church of St Ignatius. (Herald)
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HOLISTIC APPROACH TO HEALING
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Petaling Jaya : Pastoral healthcare workers and members of the BEC Sick and Elderly Ministry were among those who attended a healing ministry seminar cum workshop held from April 24 to 25. Themed A Holistic Approach to Healing, the seminar was conducted by Dr Xavier V Pereira,
a consultant psychiatrist. Dr Xavier explained that "healing" is relational, based on the relationship with God, ministering to others and 'being' versus ‘doing'. He added that Jesus was holistic in his approach in healing like when he healed the paralytic (Mk 2:1-12). The workshop, and activities conducted were effective ways to emphasise the various situations. For instance, on the need to 'emphatise' - to be in the other's shoes - the participants were asked to put on someone's else shoe to feel what it is was like. Organised by the Charismatic Renewal Prayer Group of the Church of St Francis Xavier, the seminar is in line with the Petaling Jaya District Prayer Groups' effort to share formation resources to provide synergistic training and formation of its members, recognising that on-going formation is necessary for all concerned. (Herald)
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PLANS FOR LARGEST RESIDENTIAL HOSPICE CARE SERVICE IN MALAYSIA
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Kuala Lumpur : Plans are underway to renovate an 80-year-old heritage building into the largest residential hospice care service for people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) in Malaysia. Located in Batu Arang, the building which is also known as the 'White House' currently houses the Welcome Hospice Services. It will be renovated to accommodate 30 homeless PLWHA. This project which is under the care of the National Office for Human Development (NOHD) was highlighted during a
tea fellowship and briefing session on April 18. In addition to the Welcome Hospice Services, the NOHD has also established the Welcome Community Homes and the Welcome Community Drop-In Centre. Provisions are being made for palliative care, education and advocacy, a community building, recreational facilities, residences for patients, vocational training for recovering drug addicts, a guesthouse, meditation areas, fish ponds and beautiful landscaped gardens. The budget estimated
to get this project off the ground is approximately RM 1,920,000.00. In giving the background of the establishment of the Welcome Community Homes, the Director of the NOHD, Bro Anthony Rogers FSC said, “It was the initial initiative taken by the Bishops' Conference of Malaysia in 1992 to launch the World Aids Day, that started us off on a journey, planting the seeds of awareness and education about those around us who are most marginalised by society. The initial setting up of Welcome Drop-in Centre at Bukit Nanas in 1995, evolved into the setting up of a single dormitory in 1998 in Batu Arang. Since 1998 close to 300 persons have been welcomed and cared for”. (Herald)
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DOMINIC VENDARGON AWARD FOR FOURTEEN STUDENTS
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Kuala Lumpur : The Yayasan Tan Sri Dominic Vendargon has announced the winners of the 2004 Dominic Vendargon Award for outstanding secondary school students. A total of 14 students from nine parishes have been named winners of the inaugural award. Each winner will receive a certificate and a plaque, and RM 400 for the SPM students or RM 300 for the PMR students. To qualify for the award,
a student must have at least six distinctions in the 2003 PMR or SPM. In addition, he or she must have participated actively in the life of the parish, as called for in the “New Way of Being Church". The selection of the candidates is done by the individual parishes. Each parish qualifies for two awards,
one for a PMR student and the other for an SPM student. Sr Daniel, an IJ sister who is the Chairperson of the Award Review Committee and also one of the directors of the Foundation, expressed her joy at seeing so many young people who are active in the
BECs and the parish ministries, producing such outstanding results in public examinations. In his letter to the Parish Priests of the winners, the Chairman of the Foundation, Brig Gen (Rtd) Dato' Richard Robless also expressed the hope that the introduction of the award would help promote a generation of young people with a wholesome lifestyle, who will strive for excellence in their studies and their careers whilst participating actively in the life of the parish. "This inaugural award is currently limited to parishes in the Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur because of the limited resources," said Dato' Robless. "When our resources permit, we plan to extend it to parishes in other dioceses. We would also like to expand the scheme to include those who sit for the STPM and college and university exams as well," he added. (Herald)
Click here to view the Award
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EASTER GATHERING AT OLL
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Klang : The spirit of Easter was evident at the Church of Our Lady of Lourdes (OLL) by the overwhelming response of the parishioners at the parish's annual Easter fellowship.
Held at the Taman Rahsnah Restaurant on April 17, the event saw a gathering of more than 1000 parishioners at the fun-filled dinner and dance. In his opening speech, parish priest Fr Gerard Theraviam said, "The church is not only a place of praying but also a place of having fun as a family of God."
This dinner and dance was also a way to generate funds for the parish's new building. Renovation for the new building will only start when sufficient funds are available. Besides the sales of tickets, there was a raffle draw and baskets went around during the special performance of the Bhangra by 'local talent', Fr George Harrison and Bro Surain.
In the spirit of having fun, the migrant workers who also form part of the family of OLL were not forgotten. A special fellowship was held for them the next afternoon. About 120 migrants from Philippines, Indonesia, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Vietnam attended this event. One of the migrants, Martin John Peter from India, expressed his joy of being able to be part of the church. "I really enjoy a function such as this where both Malaysians and people from many other countries gather. It also helps to reduce our tension from work." (Herald)
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NEARLY RM 180,000 COLLECTED FOR IRANIAN EARTHQUAKE FUND
Kuala Lumpur : A total of RM 176,983.25 has been collected for the Iranian Earthquake Fund which was launched earlier this year.
Collections for the fund took place during the Sunday Masses on Feb 8 following a directive by the Catholic Bishops Conference of Malaysia. A statement issued by the Catholic Welfare Services dated April 19, gave the breakdown as follows:
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Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur
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RM 100, 854.98
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Diocese of Penang
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RM 26, 328.27
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Diocese of Kota Kinabalu
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RM 49, 800.00
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The funds will be transmitted through Caritas Internationalis to Caritas Iran for disbursement. Caritas was given the task of managing aid for victims in four districts near Bam, the Iranian town devastated by a 6.3 Richter earthquake on December 26, 2003.
"It is amazing how everyone is pulling together to try and get things back to normal. Of course this will take years and many of the victims will need psychological as well as social support. They are really thankful that people from the outside care about them." said Romana Kiaer from Caritas Austria. (Herald)
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