Council of Religious holds election of office bearers after six years

KOTA KINABALU – The Council of Religious in the Kota Kinabalu Archdiocese held election of office bearers after six years on 14 July 2018 in a meeting at a local venue here.

Seven members were able to make it to the meeting during which the office bearers were elected for the term 2018-2021.

Elected were Brother Thomas Paul SG (chairman), Father Andrew Kim SST (vice chairman), Sister Magdalene Chong FSP (secretary), Sister Joan Michael FSIC (treasurer).

They took over with immediate effect from the outgoing council: Sister Christine Henry Sundin FSP (chairperson), Sister Rita Chew FSIC (secretary), Sister Alice Lopez FSIC (treasurer).

Other members present were Sister Lilian Unsoh FSIC (representing Sister Frances Mani FSIC), and Sister Grace Deosing FSIC.  There were no representatives from the La Salle Brothers, the Marist Brothers, and the Good Shepherd Sisters.

With the encouragement and guidance of Bishop John Lee, the Council of Religious (COR) was formed in August 1997 in the diocese.  The elected office bearers were: Sr Aquinas Voon FSIC (chairperson), Br Justin Mobilik FSC (vice chairperson), Sr Agnes Wong FSP (secretary), Sr Angeline Lau RGS (treasurer), Sr Grace Deosing FSIC (member), and Sr Cecilia Liew FSIC (member).

The objectives of the COR are:

• To serve the organism of mutual liaison among the religious institutes;
• To act as a means of promoting and renewing religious life in fidelity to the magisterium and to the distinctive charisms of each institute;
• To provide the forum for the discussion of mutual concerns of the archbishop, priests and religious; and
• To co-ordinate the activities of religious institutes with the pastoral action of the archdiocese under the guidance of the archbishop, without prejudice to relations and negotiations which can be carried out directly by the archbishop himself with any individual institute.

There are now four women religious institutes and four men religious institutes serving in the archdiocese: Order of Discalced Carmelite Nuns (OCD), Daughters of St Paul (FSP), Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate Conception (FSIC), and Religious of the Good Shepherd (RGS); Brothers of St Gabriel (SG), Brothers of the Christian School or La Salle Brothers (FSC), the Marist Brothers (FMS), and the Society of the Most Holy Trinity of Mirinae (SST).