PROTEC creation by using less paper and wood
On the morning of October 6, the Church of St Henry was the venue of the diocesan launch of the PROTEC Year 5 Campaign, organised by the Creation Justice Commission of the Malacca Johore Diocese (CJC MJD).
Oct 18, 2024

BATU PAHAT, Johor: On the morning of October 6, the Church of St Henry was the venue of the diocesan launch of the PROTEC Year 5 Campaign, organised by the Creation Justice Commission of the Malacca Johore Diocese (CJC MJD). The theme of Use Less Paper and Wood, fitted perfectly with the parish’s lush greenery and wide open spaces - an apt reminder of preserving the beauty of nature.
The programme included the unveiling of the official PROTEC Year 5 banner by Bishop Bernard Paul. Also present were with Bishop’s Delegate for Creation Justice Commission and parish priest of Church of St Philip, Fr Paul Wong, parish priest of Church of St Henry, Fr Patrick Tyoh, Fr James Rajendran, Fr Jason Wong and Fr William Pillai.
Among the congregation were parishioners from parishes in the diocese who had travelled for the launch. Despite the wet weather, the tree planting ceremony of two avocado trees by Bishop Bernard proceeded. An enlightening and informative talk Save the Trees, Every Bit Counts by Dr Maria Lee, Head of CJC MJD, took place in the hall. This was followed by lunch.
PROTEC, the ‘Protect our Earth, Protect our Children’ campaign is a five-year nationwide initiative endorsed by all the bishops of Malaysia on August 5, 2020. Each year, the campaign promotes a specific environmental theme. This year’s focus is on reducing the use of paper and wood products. The campaign highlights the link between paper and wood consumption and deforestation, noting that globally, the use of paper and paperboard generates over 100 million tons of waste annually, with paper accounting for 50 per cent of business waste.
Bishop Bernard in his homily spoke of how love transforms. When we become one with God, His love moves us to love neighbour, family, enemy, country, creation. Love everything that God loves. And with such a love, everything around us will impress us, excite us! Later, in the bishop’s message following the official launch of PROTEC Year 5, we were reminded that we are Stewards of Creation, and protectors, care-takers of Creation. The prelate added another ‘R’ to the growing list, namely Resilience. It is in the spirit of resilience and mission that we must be better advocates for Creation by adopting a more sustainable lifestyle.
Dr Maria’s talk showcased how the convenience of various types of tissue paper comes with great ecological cost in terms of both resource use and waste generation. Dr Maria’s call to switch to reusable alternatives like handkerchieves and cloth towels thus becomes an act of mercy to Creation. Johnson Gomez, a parishioner of the Church St Henry, commented that he uses handkerchieves instead of tissue paper and went on to express his concern over the increasing heat we have been experiencing. Gomez attributes the development of skyscrapers and the ever growing number of vehicles as a suffocating enemy to nature.
Fr Paul later distributed the PROTEC Campaign posters to the parish representatives present at the launch. PROTEC Year 5 is the final campaign in the series of campaigns with the first launched on September 1, 2020. The theme was, ‘Use Less Electricity,’ followed by, ‘Cut Down Meat, Dairy and Food Waste,’ ‘Stop Plastic Pollution,’ and ‘Cut Fuel Consumption,’ consecutively.
Philip Packium, a parishioner from the Church of St Philip, Segamat, mentioned how campaigns such as PROTEC do make an impact and that he would share with his family the necessity of not using so much tissue paper. Such programmes aim to make people reflect, rethink and to be open to change. To start off participants on the journey of change, they were given a door gift in the form of a handkerchief at the talk!
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