Episcopal Ordination & Installation of Most Rev Julian Leow Beng Kim as the Fourth Archbishop of Kuala Lumpur

Oct 09, 2014

To the People of the Archdiocese...
“To all God-fearing people of this Archdiocese and my beloved nation Malaysia, the words of St Francis of Assisi comes to mind at this juncture of our history. Let us take refuge in our Lord who understands us, who knows our concerns and fears. Help us also to understand others, their fears and concerns and to assure them that we are not a threat but a friend. Let us stand united, always on the side of goodness, righteousness and forgiveness. Let us be channels of God’s Peace.

Make me a channel of Your Peace,
Where there is hatred, let me bring Your Love,
Where there is injury, Your Pardon Lord,
And where there’s doubt, true Faith in You.
Oh Master, grant that I may never seek,
So much to be consoled as to console,
To be understood, as to understand,
To be loved as to love with all my soul…
Most Rev Julian Leow Beng Kim

GO BEYOND THE DIOCESE!
Malaysia is a multi-racial and multi-religious nation. The need to go beyond the diocese and the Church faces every Bishop in the country. Meeting this need is an integral part of the call to the episcopal office. This is particularly so for the Archbishop of Kuala Lumpur, the capital city of Malaysia. We the Malaysian Bishops will look up to you for leadership and work together with you to make the Church truly salt of the earth and light of the world in our country. We will strive to uphold the rights of every citizen, promote justice and work towards peace and harmony in our country.

We pray God to bless you with His wisdom and strength, courage and determination, humility and generosity to feed His flock in the Archdiocese o-f Kuala Lumpur as well as extend your loving care to those outside the flock under your charge. In this way, through you may the church in and beyond the Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur experience the loving presence of Christ the Good Shepherd, so that “there will be only one flock and one shepherd” – Christ’s flock. -- Archbishop John Ha, Principal Consecrator in his homily.

Dearest Julian, the Holy Father is calling the Church to something new.

Permit me, Archbishop Leow, just to repeat some words of our beloved Holy Father in that regard. For this something new to happen, Pope Francis affirmed that every transformation and reform in the Church ”begins with presence”, because there is “inalienable bond between the steadfast presence of the Bishop and the growth of the flock”. And it is not just any presence, but a presence marked by “service to humanity” and by an evangelizing spirit, which means “to grow in proximity, to bridge distances, to abase oneself to the point of humiliation, to embrace human life by touching the suffering of our brothers and sisters, and by kneeling before others to wash their feet.” In others words, the Pope said, “be close to your people as a meek and merciful father and brother, be close to your priests, foster religious life and love the poor.”

Finally, he said to them: “I see in you Pastors capable of reconstructing unity, of weaving networks, of mending, of overcoming fragmentation. May you dialogue with the great traditions in which you are immersed, without fear of becoming lost and without the need to defend your borders, because the identity of the Church is defined by the love of Christ who knows no borders. While jealously safeguarding the passion for truth, do not expend energy on opposing and confronting, but on building and loving.” -- Archbishop Joseph Marino, Papal nuncio to Malaysia