JOHOR BAHRU – The 94th Plenary Session of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei (CBCMSB) took place on 7-11 July 2014 at Majodi Centre, Plentong.
All the 11 Arch/bishops in the region were present. Also present were Archbishop-elect Julian Leow of Kuala Lumpur, Archbishop Emeritus Murphy Pakiam (Kuala Lumpur) and Bishop Emeritus James Chan (Melaka-Johor).
JOHOR BAHRU – In his address to the Arch/bishops at the opening session of the 94th Plenary Session of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei (CBCMSB) which took place at Majodi Centre, Plentong, from 7-11 July 2014, Apostolic Nuncio to Malaysia, Archbishop Marino said he was delighted to acknowledge the presence of Fr Julian Leow Beng Kim whom Pope Francis appointed as Archbishop of Kuala Lumpur on Jul 3.
He called on the CBC to welcome him and embrace him as a true brother as he carries out his ministry in the enormous vineyard of the Lord, now entrusted to him by the Pope.
VATICAN CITY, Jun 26, 2014 (VIS) – A press conference was held in the Holy See Press Office this morning to present the Instrumentum Laboris of the 3rd Extraordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops (5-19 October 2014) which will focus on “pastoral challenges to the family in the context of evangelisation”. The speakers were Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri, secretary general of the Synod of Bishops; Cardinal Peter Erdo, archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest, Hungary, and relator general of the 3rd Extraordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops; Cardinal Andre Vingt-Trois, archbishop of Paris, France and delegate president; Archbishop Bruno Forte of Chieti-Vasto, Italy, and special secretary, and Professors Francesco Miano and Pina De Simone.
VATICAN RADIO/CS, Jul 3 – The Holy Father appointed Rev Julian Leow Beng Su Kim of Kuala Lumpur, Archbishop of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, currently Dean of Studies and Trainer Major Seminary in Penang.
The Rev Julian Leow Beng Kim, was born January 3, 1964 in Seremban, Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur.
KUCHING – The Archbishop of Kuching, John Ha said Putrajaya has the power to lift the ‘Allah’ ban on HERALD after a recent judgment by the Federal Court which states otherwise. The fact that three out of a seven-man Federal Court bench gave dissenting judgments on the recent ‘Allah’ case is an indication there are cogent grounds for the decision to be reviewed by another panel of the apex court, said the Christian leader from Sarawak on 5 July 2014.
Archbishop John Ha of the Archdiocese of Kuching also said, given Putrajaya’s immediate statement to assure Christians that the ban was limited to the HERALD, and that the 10-point solution still stood, shows that the Federal government had the power to lift the ban on the use of the word ‘Allah’ in the Bahasa Malaysia section of the HERALD.
JOHOR – Bishop Paul Tan Chee Ing of the Malacca-Johor diocese said, “At the leave stage the threshold is only to demonstrate that there are novel questions of law and public importance which merit further consideration.”
“Hence the opinions of the three dissenting judges in allowing leave are to be applauded as they recognise the right of the Church to file an appeal to the Federal Court to allow full arguments to be ventilated,” he explained on 6 July 2014.
BUNDU TUHAN – The Youth Ministry of the Light of Jesus Christ Covenant Community, known as the Royal Ambassadors Youth (RAY), organized their annual Holy Spirit Camp, which is the 12th edition this year, at Bundu Tuhan Retreat Center Jun 13-15. Throughout the years in our ministry, we had the privilege of witnessing lives of teenagers being changed by God Himself, and this year, God once again proved Himself to be a God who is unfailing and alive. Here are some testimonies given by those who attended the camp. All praise and honor be to God alone! – Contributed by Aline Lim
KOTA KINABALU – A collaboration agreement was signed between the Archdiocese Human Development Commission (AHDC) and Partners of Community Organizations in Sabah (PACOS) Trust on 29 Mar 2014.
PACOS is a community-based organization dedicated towards supporting indigenous communities in Sabah, and sees itself as on organization that strives to empower indigenous communities through systematic building and strengthening of community organizations, which can act collectively on its own. PACOS also sees the need to support networking among organizations done through the establishment of formal and informal networks between community organizations at different levels.