Cardinal Sim remembered for his depth of faith, acts of service

Jun 26, 2021

By Anette Appaduray
During the Requiem Mass  for His Eminence Cardinal Cornelius  Sim held on June 15, Fr Arin Sugit paid homage to the late Bishop of  Brunei in his homily. He highlighted the depth of faith of the late Cardinal and his motto of “Duc in Altum”, which means “put out into the deep”. 

“Cardinal Sim measured the success of the Church not by the size [of  its congregation] or its wealth, but by  whether or not its people were deep  seekers of faith,” Fr Sugit said during the Requiem Mass, which was  celebrated at the Church of Our Lady  of the Assumption in Bandar Seri  Begawan, where Cardinal Sim was  the parish priest. 

“His love for the truth and his  [depth of thought] showed in his  actions. [During his homilies], he would speak the truth, which would  touch us all deep in our hearts. He  was called to tell the truth,” he added.

As Cardinal of Brunei, His Eminence Cardinal Sim established  seven areas of priority for the nation’s Apostolic Vicariate, namely adult faith formation, Bible literacy,  youth, family, vocations, evangelisation and social welfare, particularly  for migrants.

Fr Sugit also highlighted the late Cardinal’s commitment to the youth,  stating that he dutifully attended  consecutive World Youth Day(s) in  countries all over the world, to participate and connect with the youth. 

“He was very much immersed  with the youth, and he truly reflected  the life of Christ [in his love of the  youth],” he said. 

Fr Sugit further explained the  commitment the late Cardinal had  to performing social work in the migrant community and in prisons. 

“He has done much in Catholic social work. He set up many  programmes for the migrant community, and he has visited prisons, performing Eucharistic celebrations  there twice a year,” he said. 

Fr Sugit also shared that Cardinal Sim regularly visited the sick in hospital, and was heavily involved in youth and family pastoral care and counselling. 

Finally, Fr Sugit explained that Cardinal Sim chose to lead the clergy  and his congregation by example and  advised the priests to do the same. 

“Cardinal Sim always told us that  as leaders and as priests, we must  know the way, show the way and  lead the way. He always led by example, imitating Jesus Christ his  Saviour, the Way the Truth and the  Life,” he said. 

His Eminence Cardinal Cornelius Sim passed away on May 29 at a  hospital in Taiwan where he was  undergoing treatment for cancer. He  was 69 years old. Cardinal Sim was  appointed the first Apostolic Vicar of Brunei in 2004 and was made Cardinal of Brunei by Pope Francis  in November 2020. He was also the  country’s first Catholic priest.