Diocese of Malacca Johore: MJD News Update #6

Sep 05, 2020

Another week, another edition! The peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

1.0 A Thought For The Week: A great boat race took place between a team of the wise and a team of the foolish. The wise won by a kilometre. So the foolish hired an expert to figure out what went wrong. The expert reported that the wise had one person steering and eight people rowing, while they had eight steering and one rowing.

The foolish immediately restructured their team. Now they had one senior manager, seven management consultants and one rower. In the rematch, the wise beat the foolish by two kilometres.

The foolish had another consultation, and decided to fire their rower.

This is reflective of our nation, our many institutions and even our churches. The truth or the reality was staring at them in the face. But they could not see it. It is about seeing differently, seeing things as they really are. It has been said that “ we do not see things as they are, we see things as we are”. Diocese of Penang

2.0 A Few Announcements:

2.1. The Annual Clergy Retreat will be taking place from Sept 6 to 10 at MAJODI. Pray for your priests and deacons to rekindle their call and mission.

2.2. The extension of the RMCO till Dec 31, 2020, calls for an “alternative way of being Church”. The Masses have begun yet big numbers have yet to appear. The restrictions are there against the usual home-bound, the children below 12, the seniors above 70 and the critically ill. “Alternative Ways of Doing Pastoral” are being looked into providing pastoral care for the mentioned and the missing “healthy absentees”, for whatever reason. Online and controlled face-to-face options are on the planning board. More info next.


2.3. What’s coming next? From Oct 12 to 15, a study week for clergy, pastoral workers and MAJODI staff on Critical Leadership Thinking will take place at MAJODI, which will be available online for registered viewers.

2.4. Seeing increasing needs and appeals for spiritual liberation, a Training for Trainee Exorcists is planned by the Deliverance & Exorcism Office of MJD, headed by Fr Benedict Yee, in November.

2.5. September is dedicated as the Season of Creation with the theme, Protect our Earth, Protect our Children, with special focus on USE LESS ELECTRICITY. JOIN UP. Let us do our part!

3.0 Today’s Q&Q: Can the people hold our leaders, political and Church, accountable?
Yes. No one is above the law, and no one is untouchable. In the Church, there is the Canon Law, the pastoral directory and many other SOPs on priestly life and ministry. The latest call of the Pope is on Protection of Children & The Vulnerable and Creating Safe Spaces. There are boundaries and limits to all that we do. When our deeds flaunt SOPs, correct practices and procedures and guidelines, one must be held accountable. When it breaks the civil law, it is criminal. Proper proceedings and disciplinary actions depend on documented report  and evidence of witnesses, not hearsay or unsigned letters or coffee shop talk.

Thank you for watching. Stay tuned for more news and announcements next week and don’t forget to Like and Subscribe to our Malacca Johore Diocese Facebook page and Youtube channel.

Merdeka is over. Let us pray for “A Malaysia that is Truly Malaysian”. The pandemic taught us, Malaysians, to help each other, rely on each other and work together. No racism nor religious differences nor political leanings mattered to the affected. There is no peace without justice, no change without conversion of heart and no unity without untying prejudices.

May His blessings be upon you and your family. Let us together continue building His Kingdom. 

Bishop Bernard Paul
September 4, 2020

Click here to watch the video