Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned — for sin indeed was in the world before the law JUNE 21, 2020 was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, TERHAD PP 8460/11/2012(030939) even over those whose sinning was not like the ISSN: 1394-3294 transgression of Adam, who was a type of the Vol. 27 No. 24 THE CATHOLIC WEEKLY one who was to come. Rom. 5:12-14 Non-Muslim houses of worship are open UALA LUMPUR: Non- KPN said activities such as religious pro- Muslim houses of worship cessions, feasts and big gatherings which were difficult to control, were prohibited. Khave been given the green “Committee members of places of wor- light to re-open. ship, religious leaders and devotees are ad- The National Unity Ministry (Kemente- vised to adopt new habits and self-discipline, rian Perpaduan Negara KPN) said the new such as practising social distancing, wearing SOP for religious activities in non-Muslim face masks, washing of hands frequently houses of worship was agreed upon at the with soap, and using hand sanitisers,” the Special Ministerial Meeting regarding the statement said. implementation of the Movement Control Senior Minister (Security Cluster) Datuk Order June 15. Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, who is also the “The SOP is in accordance with the guide- Defence Minister, said at a press conference lines provided by the National Security that at the Special Ministerial Meeting on the Council and the Health Ministry,” the KPN implementation of the MCO it was agreed said in a statement on June 15. that 5,230 houses of worship would be al- The Ministry said the places of worship lowed to operate nationwide. were allowed to operate with a capacity limit Recovery Movement Control Order: Parish of St John Vianney celebrates the Eucharist for the “The SOP mandates downloading the of one third of the number of devotees for the first time on June 14, adhering to the SOPs given by the government. MySejahtera app or providing information hall or place of worship with social distanc- the new normal, with self-discipline and new the Health Ministry rules as provided under manually,” he said. — Malay Mail/Bernama ing being practiced. habits,” KPN said, adding that the activities the Prevention and Control of Infectious Dis- “It is time to operate again as usual but in in the houses of worship were also subject to eases Act 1988 (Act 342). l Turn to Pages 3,4 and 13 for more Penang Sarawak he Penang State EXCO for Re- onwards. However, they must adhere 5. High-risk groups (patients with n Sarawak, non-Muslim places guidelines were in line with the Tligions Other Than Islam, YB to the following SOPs strictly: diabetes, hypertension, high cholester- Iof worship are allowed a maxi- decision of the State Disaster Chong Eng stated on June 16 that the 1. Only one-third of the original ca- ol, cancer, etc.) are discouraged from mum of 250 worshippers at any Management Committee (SDMC) Penang state government agrees with pacity is allowed in each house of wor- visiting the house of worship. one time during a religious activity to allow events for the state gov- the Federal Government’s decision to ship at any one time and must observe 6. Monitor body temperature, wash from June 20 onwards. ernment and private sectors to in- reopen non-Islamic houses of worship the 1 metre social distancing rule. hands frequently and wear masks. We The Unit for Other Religions crease the number of participants from today onwards, provided that the 2. The distance of 1-metre is clearly also seek your cooperation to prepare (Unifor) under the Chief Minister’s to 250 people. respective committees are confident of marked in each house of worship. hand sanitiser stations throughout your Department in a press statement on Nonetheless, it stated that places abiding by the standard operating pro- 3. Children under 12 years old are premise. June 18 said it had further refined of worship are required to take into cedures (SOP) given. not allowed but worshippers who are 7. Personal data of each attendee the guidelines for the standard op- consideration the spacing and ca- After further discussion, the Penang above 70 years old and healthy are al- must be recorded. It is recommended erating procedures [SOPs) for the pacity of the places of worship as State Government has agreed to al- lowed. to download and use the PGCARE app reopening of houses of worship. well as observing the one metre low the reopening of all non-Muslim 4. Those with symptoms (such (to facilitate contact tracing and notify It disclosed that the number of social distancing rule. houses of worship in Penang. Those as: flu, body temperature exceeding any affected parties). attendees during a religious activ- Unifor stressed that all non- who have submitted their application 37.5°C, coughing and difficulty in 8. Religious processions, dinners ity has been increased to 250 (from Muslim places of worship are through the Penang government pre- breathing are strictly prohibited from and large gatherings are still prohib- 100 persons previously) at any one required to notify Unifor of their viously can also re-open from June 16 attending. ited. time during a religious activity. reopening from June 20. — Dayak Selangor Unifor asserted that the new Daily n Selangor, non-Muslim houses of were the low-risk category, high-risk any one time was one-third of the area Sabah Iworship can reopen from June 19, group category, such as those 60 to 69 of the house of worship, taking into n Sabah, non-Muslim houses hands sanitised, Lasimbang said in provided that all stipulated standard years of age, who had illnesses like account the social distancing require- Iof worship in green and yellow a statement. operating procedures (SOP) are in high blood pressure, and the very high ment of 1.5 metres per person. zones are allowed to reopen with “Those who are not allowed to place. risk category, for people over the age “All houses of worship are required strict adherence to health proce- attend religious services are those State Health, Welfare, Women’s of 70 and with chronic illness. to register with the SELangah (Lang- dures. aged 70 and above, children aged Empowerment and Family Com- Dr Siti Mariah said that. at this time, kah Masuk Dengan Selamat) applica- Assistant Law and Native Affairs 12 and below, individuals who mittee chairman, Dr Siti Mariah children under 12 years old were still tion for contact tracing purposes, to Minister Jenifer Lasimbang said show symptoms like coughing, Mahmud, said the state government not allowed to attend any of the hous- display the QR codes at the entrances this was decided by the state Cabi- sore throat and fever as well as adopted the new SOP issued by the es of worship in Selangor. and to avoid contact with others in- net as part of the recovery move- those with health problems like dia- Ministry of National Unity with ad- She said that through the additional cluding shaking hands,” she said. ment control order (RMCO). betes, cancer and others,” she said. ditional guidelines. guidelines distributed to the manage- She said the Standing Committee However, only a third of the She said weddings, funerals and “All are allowed to visit their hous- ments of houses of worship today the on Non-Islamic Affairs of Selangor usual capacity of local worshippers celebrations involving a crowd es of worship except those in the high state government had urged them to was currently devising a procedure would be allowed to attend reli- and other contact activities such as risk and very high risk groups. appoint officials to oversee the logis- that could be used by the religious ad- gious services with the one metre group gatherings are still restricted “However, those who are 60 years tics and the movements of worship- herents to apply for slots so that they social distancing requirement ob- during the RMCO period. old and above and are healthy are al- pers, to ensure they adhered to the could attend their houses of worship served. Committee members, heads of lowed to attend religious activities social distancing requirement. following the capacity that was al- The body temperature of the religious houses and those on duty in the houses of worship,” she told a She said the management of houses lowed under the Recovery Movement worshippers or devotees will also are also prohibited from gathering press conference, June 18. of worship should also keep in mind Control Order (RMCO). — Star/ be taken and they are advised to in a crowd after services or prayers, The three additional guidelines that the maximum capacity allowed at Bernama use face masks and have their she said. — FMT 2 Forum / Reflection HERALD June 21, 2020 The fork in the road ahead s we emerge from the coronavirus pan- image of God. From this awareness comes the demic, the road before us reveals a fork. gift of God’s blessing, drawn by the generosity A One path ahead will take us to a fa- Sunday Observer we show to the poor. miliar place – the world we left behind before By “Time devoted to prayer can never become the pandemic, which was probably the result of an alibi for neglecting our neighbour in need. In human beings encroaching into natural habitats. Anil Netto fact, the very opposite is true: the Lord’s bless- It is a return to a world where neoliberal eco- ing descends upon us and prayer attains its goal nomic policies dominate the thinking of gov- [email protected] when accompanied by service to the poor. ernment planners and business analysts. In this Francis reminds us that parish activities or world, it is business as usual in pursuit of maxi- projects should not get in the way of real soli- mum profits. It would be a return to the contin- which will be delivered by invisible delivery wealth upholding distributive justice. darity with the poor: “The decision to care for ued obsession with unlimited economic growth personnel and, eventually, drones. More funds are allocated not only to boost the poor, for their many different needs, can- (GDP growth) as a measure of success. This as- What about all those “essential workers” public healthcare resources, but to cultivate not be conditioned by the time available or by sumes we live in an infinite world, (never mind whom we honoured during the pandemic? They nutritious organic food, grown locally, so that private interests, or by impersonal pastoral or the depleting natural resources, the pollution, would be kept out of sight – until the next pan- people’s immune systems can be boosted. social projects.” the plastic waste, the pesticides – all contribut- demic strikes. We honour them but we pay most Social security nets are put in place and com- It is not just solidarity with the poor we ing to the loss of biodiversity). of them minimal wages that are largely insuf- munity solidarity strengthened. This is the Glo- should be concerned with. We also have to ex- This indifference to the plight of our com- ficient for them to raise a family with dignity. balisation of Solidarity. Essential workers are press solidarity with nature, as Francis stressed mon home will send us hurtling down the path The same goes for our public healthcare sys- truly honoured with wages befitting the role in Laudato Si’ on Care For Our Common of climate change, making large swathes of the tem. Will the added investments to boost our they play in society: a living wage, the right to Home. planet uninhabitable. resources meaningfully materialise? form unions to protect their interests. Theologian Leonardo Boff points to Un- Oh, this old world, where the arms race kills, This, after, all is the world of the big financial So which road will we take? The choice esco’s Earth Charter, launched in 2000. cripples and maims. Against the backdrop of institutions and mega multinational firms, the should be easy, but powerful forces and vested Apart from the preamble, the charter has four potential Armageddon, the proliferation of nu- rat race. It is the survival of the fittest. Forgotten interests are pressuring us to move towards the major pillars: clear weapons, if unleashed, could destroy the would be the times during the pandemic when dark, frightening world we left behind. You Respect and Care for the Community of Life world many times over. we reached out to those struggling. For down know, “business as usual”. Ecological Integrity But even if this frightening Doomsday sce- this path, Financial Globalisation walks with its How do we move towards the new world Social and Economic Justice nario does not materialise, it would still be a cousin Globalisation of Indifference. which is struggling to be set free? How do we Democracy, Nonviolence and Peace dark dystopian world (like the kind you see Wait a minute! Do we really want to go down achieve that level of solidarity? Boff played a role in editing the final part of in Batman movies) – subject to tyranny and this path? What about the other one, which This year’s World Day of the Poor, which the charter, The Way Forward, which calls for vested interests, where the underclass struggle takes us to a new world? falls on Nov 15, 2020, bears the theme “Stretch a new beginning, based on the values of the to survive. It is a world where governments formulate forth your hands to the poor”. charter: It is a world of surveillance capitalism and genuine people-centred policies that uplift the This means more than charity, which often is “This requires a change of mind and heart. It Big Data. People’s movements and choices are downtrodden and the marginalised. just a balm to sooth the pain of structural injus- requires a new sense of global interdependence tracked for marketing and to snuff out potential In this world, the people pressure their leaders tices. and universal responsibility. We must imagina- dissent. The people themselves are dehuman- to end the arms race and ban nuclear weapons. The Bishop of Rome calls on us to cultivate tively develop and apply the vision of a sustain- ised, only needed as consumers. It is a world that promotes a sustainable econ- a real solidarity with the poor so that our prayer able way of life locally, nationally, regionally, The wealthy are zapped away into a different omy – reduce, reuse and recycle - with negligi- cannot be isolated from the anguish of the poor: and globally.” gated world, where they are spared the sight of ble waste. Not only that, but forests are restored “Prayer to God and solidarity with the poor and So the key is a change of mind and heart that the underclass and the toiling masses. and public investment goes to restoring nature suffering are inseparable.” allows us to search for a new beginning. This in In this dark post-COVID-19 “contact-less” and protecting the commons. To perform an act of worship acceptable to turn would allow us go forth to rebuild and re- world, the only contact would be on a touch In this world, economic policies are geared the Lord, Francis exhorts us to recognise that new the face of the Earth, our Common Home. screen on your mobile phones. You order stuff towards a more egalitarian distribution of each person, even the poorest, is made in the as the Spirit commands us. The Twelfth Sunday of Ordinary Time: The Fear of the Lord

t was the beginning of the sixth century we should be afraid of God. It means that we before Christ, about the year 590 BC. The should respect God, reverence God, and be Reflecting on our Sunday Readings IKingdom of Judah and its capital Jerusa- more concerned with fulfilling the Law of God lem were terrified. The Babylonians were on than with the way others might respond to us. But if we live with reverence and respect for 12th Sunday of Ordinary Time the march. They had conquered the Assyrians. In the Gospel reading for this Sunday Jesus the Lord, the biblical Fear of the Lord, if we Readings: Jeremiah 20:10-13; Tarsus and Damascus to the North had fallen. says, “Do not let others intimidate you.” He do all we can to be God-fearing, then we do Romans 5:12-15; All of Mesopotamia, the nations between the tells us to keep our priorities straight. He tells not have to be afraid of anything. When we Tigris and Euphrates had fallen. Now Jerusa- us that we should not even be afraid of people live with a reverence and respect for the Lord, Gospel: Matthew 10:26-33 lem was threatened. How could the tiny King- who could kill us. “Do not fear those who de- then all those concerns that the media delights dom of Judah withstand such a huge enemy? prive the body of life but cannot destroy the in frightening us with will diminish. Will the Father’s concern. How much more does God What should the King do? He looked to his soul.” In one of the most beautiful passages in coronavirus destroy half the population of the value those creatures who are made in His im- counsellors. They told him to consider treaties the New Testament, Jesus says, “Are not two world, as the Black Plague destroyed half the age and likeness? We are worth infinitely more with their pagan neighbours. This would mean sparrows sold for next to nothing? Yet not a population of Europe? We certainly pray that it than many sparrows. trusting in the pagans rather than trusting in single sparrow falls to the ground without will not, but we also know that live or die, what The devil has three terrible lies with which he God. The King looked to God. There was a your Father’s consent. As for you, every hair matters is that we belong to the Lord. Will the assails us, sometimes directly, sometimes subtly. prophet in Jerusalem whom he respected, the of your head has been counted; so do not be world end this year? Everything else seems to The first of the devil’s lies is: You are not good prophet Jeremiah. The king saw him as some- afraid of anything. You are worth more than an be going wrong in 2020, so maybe, but prob- enough. To that God answers, “I have made you one who knew the truth and was not afraid to entire flock of sparrows.” ably not. The end of the world does not matter good enough. I became one of you. I died for proclaim the truth. Jeremiah told the King that The Lord also says in that passage, “Fear as long as we are united to God. Will World you; so I could raise you up with me to eternal the Babylonians were agents of God about to Him who can throw body and soul into Ga- War III erupt when we least expect? Maybe, life.” The second lie of the devil is: You are alone. punish the Jewish people for adopting pagan hanna.” This is not a popular concept in our probably not. Nevertheless, it does not matter God answers, “I am with you always. I know ways. The King needed to lead the people in society. We emphasise God’s compassion and as long as we are united to God. Will Hurri- you. I know every hair on your head. I know trusting in God rather than in the pagans. mercy, and this is good, but we tend to refuse cane Mojo devastate the west coast of Flori- what you are going through. Together we can That is why the King’s counsellors hated to acknowledge His justice. In our own minds, da, destroying our homes? Maybe, probably conquer all challenges, all fear.” The third lie of Jeremiah. Today’s first reading, from one of we transform God into an imaginary figure not. But it does not matter as long as we are the devil is one which all liars try to convince oth- the sections of the Book of the Prophet Jeremi- who will not respond to our rejection of His united to God. Will people attack us for being ers of, that lie is simply: the other person is lying. ah referred to as the Confession of Jeremiah, life and laws. For example, a man commits Christian? Absolutely. In fact there are many In the case of the devil, his third great lie is that relates how the King’s counsellors were look- adultery, leaves his wife and children, and then people in sections of Africa and India who are God has deceived us. He used this to great effect ing for ways by which they could denounce says, “God understands.” Well maybe the god being attacked for being Christian every day. in the biblical sages’ story about original sin. The him to the King, condemn him, even have of his imagination might understand, but the Will we be disparaged because we are against devil told Adam and Eve that God was deceiv- him killed. Jeremiah is tested. Should he go real God was present when the marriage vows abortion, capital punishment, euthanasia, and ing them to keep them from being like God. In along with the counsellors and preserve his were made to Him and to his wife. God sees taking children from their parents? We certain- our modern times, some people suggest that there life? Should he get out of Jerusalem with its the turmoil the selfish man thrusts upon a good ly will be attacked for promoting the totality of might be other ways to live than that presented by deadly politics? Or should he give witness to wife and their beautiful children. God’s mercy respect life, but disparagement does not mat- the Church. To the accusation that God lies, God God and chance persecution from those gath- is always available, but if the man, or if any of ter as long as we are united to God. answers, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life.” ered around the King? He decided to fear God us, refuse to acknowledge our sins and seek We have nothing to fear as long as we fear the “Fear the Lord and do not be afraid of any- rather than be afraid of men. forgiveness, we are committing the deadly sin Lord. We are a lot more important to our Loving thing.” the Lord says. You are worth more than Fear God. That is a biblical concept that is of presumption and, in effect, reducing God to Father than a flock of sparrows; yet not one spar- many sparrows. — By Msgr Joseph A Pel- often misunderstood. It does not mean that a creature of our imagination. row falls to the ground without our Heavenly legrino HERALD June 21, 2020 Home / Pastoral 3 Diocese of Penang Reopening of churches, chapels, Mass centres for public worship Dear Clergy, Religious, Heads of Ministries symptoms like fever, cough,  The various places of wor- Island to assist the priests and and restrictions imposed on at- and the Lay Faithful, respiratory issues and cold are ship would still be subject parishes in the respective deaner- tendance, please note that I will not allowed to participate. Pa- to additional conditions im- ies, if assistance is requested, for continue to dispense all the faithful Greetings of Joy, Mercy and Hope! rishioners who have diabetes, posed by the State authori- the smooth preparation and im- from the obligation to attend Mass The Federal Government announced on cancer and other health issues ties. (Please check with your plementation of these guidelines. on Sundays and Holy Days of Ob- June 15, 2020, that all places of worship are not encouraged to attend. respective states). Please use the guidelines as a ligation. I would also encourage within the green zones will now be allowed  Parishioners who are 70 Supplementing the above re- reference and make the necessary parishes to live stream the Masses to resume religious activities during the pe- years and above; and children quirements, the Diocese of Penang implementations according to the for the spiritual benefit of those riod of the Recovery Movement Control Or- who are 12 years and below will follow the attached guidelines, situation in the parishes. These who are unable to attend Mass. der which is effective until August 31, 2020. are not permitted to attend. adapted from the Guidelines for guidelines will be reviewed and “Do not be afraid” (John 14:27). Having said that, the permission is subject This restriction does not ap- Celebration of Sacraments under updated when required. “Cast your nets into the deep” to compliance with the requirements set out ply to the priest-celebrant. the RMCO and post-RMCO pe- I remind my fellow Catholics (Luke 5:4) in the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) that the Eucharist is indeed the I wish you God’s blessings as  All attendees are to un- riod dated June 15, 2020 issued by issued by the Ministry of National Unity source and summit of Christian we embark on this new journey dergo temperature scanning the Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur. (MNU) and the National Security Council life and should always be our pri- with the guidance of the Holy and registration before enter- To assist parishes in preparing and (NSC), for Non-Muslim Places of Worship ority, however, it is also the priority Spirit. ing the place of worship. The implementing safety measures for as stated below:- and responsibility of the Church to SOP requires all attendees to the reopening of churches, chap- Be Disciples of Hope ensure that Catholics can return to  The number of attendees at any ser- download the MySejahtera els and mass centres, a four-phase Sincerely in Christ, church in a safe manner in accord- vice is limited to one third of the capaci- application which is compul- approach is proposed. (Please see ance with all the recommended ty of the place of worship, following the sory. Parishes will also need box below) public health advisories. measurement of the churches, chapels, to conduct manual registra- I would encourage the Vicar Rt Rev Sebastian Francis Due to the gradual resumption and mass centres. tion for the purpose of contact Generals and Deans of the North- Bishop of Penang of public celebration of Masses  Parishioners who are exhibiting listing and tracing. ern Region, Perak and Penang June 16, 2020 The Four Phases PHASE 1 l No public Masses. implementation of SOP and Guidelines. PHASE 4 l Set up the Parish Response Team (PRT) l Anointing of the Sick and Confession l Funerals in church. l Daily Masses may resume. l Plan, prepare and procure signage and (by appointment). l Anointing of the Sick and Infant equipment. l Funeral service in home and parlours – baptisms at home (by appointment). The duration of each of these phases l Recruit and Train Volunteers (cleaning, limit to 15 people. l Confessions before Mass can resume. is to be determined by the Parish Priest hospitality, temperature scanning, PHASE 2 PHASE 3 provided that the first public Mass under registration and liturgy). l One Public Mass per week on Friday/ l Additional Masses over weekends. Phase 2 is not earlier than June 28 and pro- l Consult with Parish Councils to Sunday. The first Mass should not be l Funerals, Weddings, Baptism of Adults vided that the requirements of the Guide- determine selection criteria for Mass earlier than June 28. (including RCIA Members of the Elect) lines and the SOP are complied with. attendance. l Testing, fine-tuning and gradual and Confirmation in church.

Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur Diocese of Keningau Resumption of public worship and guidelines Masses and Prayer Services during RMCO for celebration of Sacraments under the RMCO Dear Fathers, Religius are not allowed to attend Senior Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri entering the place of worship. The SOP pended until further notice. Ministries and Brothers and Sisters, Cate- church. Yaakob announced on June 15, 2020 that a requires all attendees to download the groups are encouraged to use virtual plat- chists, Chairman and mem- Hence, I hope that the decision was taken at a Special Meeting of MySejahtera application. Manual reg- forms to conduct their classes, meetings or bers of PCC, MPC, CWL, clergy together with the Ministers allowing all non-Muslim places istration will be conducted for the pur- activities. YPA (KBK/Youth) Religious, PCC, MPC, of worship, except those located within pose of contact listing and tracing. The In his Pastoral letter, The Church I believe that we are all CWL, YPA, Catechists of red zones, to resume religious activities Archdiocese will have additional QR Emerging from MCO dated June 11, His the Parish have held meet- during the period of the Recovery Move- Code scanning for our own records to Grace Archbishop Julian Leow D.D. re- aware that we are now at the RMCO phase (June ings – to hold if yet to have ment Control Order, effective from June assist the authorities in contact listing minded us that “...the Eucharist is indeed one – to discuss and set up 10 to August 31. and tracing. the source and summit of Christian life, 11-Aug 31, 2020). During this recovery the National the necessary preparations Please take note that the above per- 5. The various places of worship will and should always be our priority. But it that involve the ministers mission is subject to compliance with still be subject to additional conditions is also the priority and responsibility of the Security Council has al- lowed Christians in the in regulating and recording the requirements set out in the Standard imposed by the State authorities. (Please Church to ensure that Catholics can return the attendance of the people Operating Procedures for non-Muslim check with your respective State). to church in a safe manner in accordance Green Zones to celebrate Holy Mass and prayer ser- so as to keep things running Places of Worship, hereinafter called the In addition to these requirements, the with all the recommended public health smoothly. Please make sure SOP issued by the Ministry of National Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur will be advisories.” vice in church buildings and chapels on Sundays in ac- the materials and tools of Unity (MNU) and the National Security adopting the Guidelines for Celebration Due to the gradual resumption of pub- the SOP are in place, so that Council (NSC). It includes the following: of Sacraments under the RMCO and lic celebration of Masses and restrictions cordance with the SOP set forth, among others, the at- those who come for Holy 1. The number of attendees at any ser- post-RMCO period dated June 15, 2020 imposed on attendance, please note that Mass or Sunday Services vice is limited to one third of the capac- (hereinafter called the Guidelines). These His Grace will continue to dispense all the tendance of each Mass and Worship is only one-third adhere to SOP for the ben- ity of the place of worship guidelines are to assist parishes to pre- faithful from the obligation to attend Mass efit and safety of all. 2. Devotees who are exhibiting symp- pare and implement safety measures for on Sundays and on Holy Days of Obliga- of the capacity of the prayer toms like fever, cough, respiratory issues the resumption of public worship, sacra- tion. The Archdiocese will also continue service (Church) space, so- cial distancing, etc. Unity and faithfulness is and cold are not allowed to participate. ments and other religious activities in our to provide streamed live Masses for the centred on Jesus Christ, Devotees who have diabetes, cancer and churches and chapels. spiritual benefit of those who are unable to However, we will also continue the streaming journeying towards His other issues are not encouraged to attend The Guidelines propose a four-phase attend Mass. holiness. 3. Devotees above the age of 70 years approach for the re-opening of our church- of Holy Mass online for and children below the age of 12 are not es, chapels, and Mass centres. (please see those who unable to come permitted to attend. This restriction does box above) Fr Michael Chua for the church service or chapel due to age-related +Bishop Datuk Cornelius Piong not apply to the priest-celebrant. All physical face-to-face activities, i.e., Chancellor Bishop of Keningau 4. All attendees are to undergo tempera- Catechism, RCIA sessions, meetings (par- Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur reasons, children under 12 ture scanning and registration before ish and BEC), formations, remain sus- June 15, 2020 and health conditions who June 15, 2020 l Turn to Pg 13 for some of the guidelines 4 Home HERALD June 21, 2020

Diocese of Malacca Johore Preparation for Church Opening and Commencement of Worship To All Parish Priests and Parishes of the Ma- Dr. Leslie Petrus). c) Even with face-to-face Masses, online or lacca Johore Diocese. 2.0. The following steps are being adopted c) Prepare the parish, churches and facilities live-stream will continue to be made avail- and recommended to all parishes, chapels accordingly. able (live.mjdiocese.my or Malacca Johore 1.0. On June 15, 2020, the National Security and Mass centres. Adaptation is permitted at Diocese Youtube.) d) Use the checklist as a guide; tick off the Council (NSC) and the Ministry for National parish level to be relevant to the local needs. items, sign the declaration of readiness and Unity (MNU) declared the lifting of prohibi- 2.1. With effect from (w.e.f.) June 20, 2020 3.0 The churches and worship, whether now send it to the Bishop for approval (before tion on churches and worship. Yet the lifting (Saturday): or later, are going to begin. Let us be ready opening or beginning of Masses). of prohibition on the policies and SOPs are a) All parishes, chapels and Mass centres to serve our expectant faithful, with the joy determined by each state. For your informa- of the Lord. are to prepare for the eventual opening by 2.2. Opening of Churches for Worship tion, the Johor State Council is meeting on becoming MCO SOP compliant within two a) Commences with the approval of the June 18, 2020. (No information from Mela- weeks, i.e. by July 4, 2020. (Checklist & Together Building His Kingdom, Bishop (provided the states of Melaka and ka.) Whatever the outcome, open or not, now Training Kit will be provided. Refer to Fr Johor are given the clearance). The new nor- or later, the churches have to open eventu- Paul Sia of MPI). ally. With this in view, this pastoral directive mal is 1/3 (one-third) of the capacity. b) During this time, Parish Health Teams is a call to the faithful to prepare themselves. b) Whether it is a Sunday Mass or a week + Rt Rev Bernard Paul, D.D. (PHT) are to be set up and training provid- Faith formation, spiritual nourishment and day Mass, dispensation from Sunday obliga- Bishop of Malacca Johore ed. Seek the help of other parishes and the pastoral care cannot be denied for long. tion has been granted. June 17, 2020 Catholic Doctors Association (via Deacon

Archdiocese of Kuching Open air Mass in Miri Diocese MIRI: The Church of Mater Dei (CMD) in churches in parishes outside of Miri. Lutong will hold an open air Mass at its car- “We have main churches in Bintulu, Ta- Public Masses in the city park on Sunday (June 21) at 7.00am. tau, Belaga, Sungai Asap, Sebauh, Lapok, Bishop of Miri, the Rt Rev Richard Ng, Long Lama, Long San, Batu Niah, Marudi, said CMD will reopen this weekend along Limbang, and Lawas. The chapels in the can resume July 4-5, 2020 with St Joseph’s Cathedral; Carmelite longhouses will reopen in stages once their Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, we wel- ensure everyone strictly adheres to the SOP Church; St Anthony’s Church, Tudan; and SOP are ready,” he said. come the good news that churches may be for receiving Holy Communion. St Dominic and the Rosary Church, Taman Ng said the Church will gradually in- reopened starting tomorrow. Tunku. crease the number of Masses once there is 4. A sacristy team is to be trained according “We are reopening these big churches first greater confidence that the safety of the peo- to the SOP requirements to safely handle On June 16 all churches received the SOP as they have plenty of space for social dis- ple can be assured. the altar bread, sacred vessels and vest- tancing and to avoid overcrowding and bot- “Parishioners in Miri have options to that allowed for 100 persons to come to ments, and to disinfect the sacristy church. On June 18, we received another tleneck situations,” he said. choose from – they can register to attend 5. A team to ensure toilet cleanliness memo increasing this to 250. He said the open air Mass at the CMD car- mass in church or they can attend the open The required protocols are similar to 6. An even larger team to disinfect the park was ideal for families with young chil- air mass held at the carpark of the Church of what is needed when you enter shopping whole church before Mass and again after dren and for those in high risk group as they Mater Dei where they will remain in their malls, ie temperature screening, contact everyone has left the church. will remain in their cars at all times. cars at all times, or they can follow live During the Mass, holy communion will be streaming Mass from home,” he added. tracing using MySejahtera, COVID-Trace, As a Church, we do not have the finan- brought to them and no booking is needed. Those who wish to attend masses in QMUNITY apps, hand sanitisers, wearing cial resources to employ additional staff for The carpark can accommodate over 100 church need to register and book a seat in masks and maintaining one metre social these tasks unlike the shopping complexes. cars with proper social distancing on a first advance. distancing at all times. As we have always done, each church has to come, first served basis, with the church They must call the dedicated phone num- What is also required is that the whole depend on a team of dedicated volunteers. gate opening at 6.00am. ber for the church and book a seat for the church and seating pews have to be sani- We now need to form new teams before we Bishop Ng said the eagerly awaited reo- Mass of their choice. tised before and after each Mass. can reopen our churches. COVID-19 has pening this weekend, which would adhere Due to the limited number of seats avail- After reflecting on the SOP for worship also cut down our existing volunteers such to the government’s standard operating pro- able, each caller is only allowed a maximum in our Catholic Church, we realise that a as those who are considered high risk be- cedures (SOP), would also involve the main of two bookings. — Borneo Post specialised ministry has to be set up: cause of some existing ailments or age. 1. The church needs to immediately come Ultimately, our mission is to ensure that up with a way to get parishioners to register our church is a safe environment for wor- Sibu Catholic Church to limit for seats at Mass. We are in the process of ship where all Catholics can come to re- designing and testing an online registration ceive Holy Communion. app now. And also to provide a list of the Thus on behalf of your priests, as your congregation to 100 person who have successfully registered Archbishop, I beg your indulgence to be SIBU: Rt Rev Joseph Hii, the Bishop of “For example, maybe this week, the Mass for verification when the person arrives at patient and understanding in your respec- Sibu, said the Church would limit the size will only be attended by certain Basic Ec- the church entrance. tive parishes. City parishes will utilise the of the congregation to 100 people although clesial Communities (BEC). next two weeks to set up the SOP system 2. At the church entrance, a team will con- Sarawak now allows up to 250 people in a “Then next week, other parishioners will and teams to be trained in the SOP require- duct the temperature screening with IR house of worship from June 20. have a chance to attend Mass. But this is not ments. We will evaluate the COVID-19 thermometer and monitor log book record- Nonetheless, Hii welcomed the decision confirmed yet. We will see how it goes,” report in the State and hope to resume our ing which is needed for contact tracing, of the Unit for Other Religions (Unifor) to he said, adding that not all parishes would public Masses on the weekend of July 4-5. helping with QR Scanning etc increase the permitted capacity today as this adopt the plan. We will start with the 100 persons to en- would allow churches to accept people who Hii said he was working with the lead- 3. The most wonderful and challenging able our team to safely handle a smaller task is in the distribution of Holy Com- might arrive late for services. ers of various movements in the church to group during reopening. In the meantime, Hii, however, said he was not certain if make this possible. munion to attendees. This team will need to the live-streaming will be continued for the guide each communicant — from the pew any churches would be open this weekend “Only through this can we have some or- over 30,000 that are currently following as they had only received the green light to der in the number of the congregation. Or to the point of receiving Holy Communion our Masses every weekend. in a way that minimises points of contact resume on Tuesday, June 16) and they were else, the number would be out of control,” while keeping to the one metre social dis- now working hard to ensure that the stand- he said. tance in the queue. The aisle and floor will ard operating procedure (SOP) was in place. He added that he was looking into the need to be clearly marked to indicate where In making sure that the standard operat- possibility of adding more Masses during to stand, when to lower the mask briefly to ing procedure (SOP) was adhered to, he re- the weekends. + Most Rev Simon Poh, D.D. receive Holy Communion, and how to re- vealed that he was studying the possibility There are 12 parishes in the Diocese of Archbishop of Kuching turn to the assigned seat in the pews. This of allowing the congregation to take turns to Sibu and about 20 small chapels. — Borneo attend Mass when the church reopens. Post team needs training and familiarisation to June 19, 2020

 Turn to Pg 13 for some of the guidelines HERALD June 21, 2020 Home 5 Church of St John Vianney, Tampin, first to resume public worship TAMPIN: After 13 weeks of the Movement Control Order, a handful of Catholic faithful were privileged to participate in the Eucharis- tic Celebration on Corpus Christi Sunday at the Church of St John Vianney (SJV). The authorities selected three Catholic churches/Mass centres — SJV, the Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Cameron High- lands, Pahang and the Catholic Mission in Kuala Terengganu - for reopening after 10 June. How- ever, SJV was the only parish in the country to be approved by the Ministry of National Unity (MNU) to reopen as early as 14 June. “I was excited yet anxious to be the first par- ish to reopen. Ensuring safety while complying with government and archdiocese Standard Op- erational Procedures (SOP) was my top prior- ity,” said parish priest Fr Peter Anthoney. The Church Project Committee, led by Jesu The parishioners from two BECs at Mass at Dass Muthu, began working on the needful al- the Church of St John Vianney, Tampin. most immediately. the Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur. “It took us about a week to pull everything “I also mentioned the congregation receiv- together. This included drafting the internal ing Holy Communion as the SOP states that no and external layout of the parish, sanitising the food or drinks to be served/consumed. They said church, selecting attendees and submitting the Communion was fine, that the clause referred to relevant procedures in compliance to the Na- fellowship.” tional Security Council (NSC) to be endorsed The multilingual Mass was scheduled for and approved by MNU,” said Jesu Dass. 9.00am, but the parishioners began strolling in Only 30 people were allowed inside the around 7.30 am. Although there were only 30 church for Mass. They included Fr Peter, two worshipers, it took time to go through the dif- seminarians, a musician and 26 parishioners ferent steps. from two of the parish’s six Basic Ecclesial Four coordinators from the remaining BECs Communities (BECs). were designated as hospitality ministers to On selecting the 26 faithful to attend the first guide parishioners before and after service. As public Mass in the country, Jesu Dass said, the they were not allowed to participate in the Mass, Fr Peter Anthoney distributing communion to a parishioner. Project Committee drew lots to see which two once everyone was settled, three of them waited thing and complimented us on adhering to the BECs would be the first. Then the BEC coor- outside the church premises, while one stood SOP,” said Fr Peter. Parishioners of St John Vianney guard at the lavatory because attendees were not “I thank the government for all steps taken to dinators presented a list of members who were share their experiences within the approved 13 to 69-year-olds age encouraged to use the facilities unless it was an bend the COVID-19 curve rather quickly. We group. emergency. are also grateful for the simple protocol given to n attending the first public Mass Several families were not ready to return for Coordinators from the two selected BECs comply, to restart public Masses. Oin the country, “It was a beauti- public Mass, so those interested totalled 30 peo- waited for their members at the church’s en- “My team did a great job preparing the church ful and heavenly experience. I was so ple. trance and ticked names off a list as they arrived. for reopening in a short time and the parishion- happy to attend a full, live Mass with Fr Peter said, “Since we only had 26 slots, I After parking their vehicles, the mask-clad wor- ers were also wonderful in following all proto- friends and relatives after the long called a family of four whom I know well, and shippers registered and had their temperatures cols.” break. I missed the Lord in my life, asked if they would sacrifice their seats. They recorded before receiving a number to their pre- Fr Peter, who was not used to saying Mass in especially in Holy Communion.” immediately understood our predicament and allotted seat. front of a camera, was happy to have a congre- “I thank the Lord, Archbishop graciously agreed.” As stated in the SOP, nobody was allowed to gation before him as he presided over Mass last Julian and the Government for al- On Friday, June 12, two days before the first change seats, talk or mingle with each other at Sunday. The two readings were in Mandarin and lowing us to reopen our Church. Mass, Fr Peter met the Pengerusi Jawatankuasa any time. This was another concern for Fr Peter, Tamil while the Gospel was in English and the It felt like going back to school.” Bertindak Kesihatan, Alam Sekitar, Koperasi as his flock are generally an affectionate bunch. Homily was delivered in Bahasa Malaysia. — Tampin native Roslin d/o dan Kepenggunaan YB Tuan Veerapan A/L Su- “We greet each other with a handshake or a “God is merciful. He played a role in helping Pularendran peramaniam, Jabatan Kesihatan Daerah Tampin hug, sometimes we hold hands in prayer. Every- and guiding us to take care of our congregation. Head of COVID-19 and Dr Megat Jelai at their one sitting rigidly felt a little robotic, but that’s And what better day than the Solemnity of the am so happy to attend Mass respective offices to brief them on the opening ok, our worshipers complied.” Body and Blood of Christ to resume Masses. “Iafter three months. Thanks to of the church and submitted the approved SOP Also present were four representatives from “Depending on this week’s SOP, we may be the Malaysian Government for al- by the MNU. the MNU (1), the Ministry of Health (2) and a able to increase our congregation from 30 to one lowing us to start public Masses. “I wanted everything to be in order so officials CID from Polis Di Raja Malaysia. They arrived third our usual capacity which is around 220 lo- Hope we can have more people and would not have reasons to disrupt our service, in at 8.00am and stayed on the church grounds un- cal parishioners and 100 visitors. In compliance more Masses in future.” — Xavier case we fall short,” said the parish priest, who is til the service was over. with the current SOP, we can host up to 80 pa- Kathamuthu also the Director of Social Communications, for “Thankfully, they were pleased with every- rishioners at a time.” — By Gwen Manickam

Fr Peter Anthoney with the Church Project Committee members and four representatives of the Some of the signages prepared. Ministry of National Unity. 6 Home HERALD June 21, 2020 Wait no longer — Continue discovering Christ today PENANG: Many would still recall the Pentecost Sunday homily deliv- ered by Bishop Sebastian Francis when he exclaimed: “The call to mission begins and it begins now. MCO or no MCO, I pray for you to be part of this mission – no more waiting,” That call was a clear and strong affirmation for the Penang - Dioc esan New Evangelisation Commis- sion (PDNEC) to resume its Dis- covering Christ (DC) programme online. Originally held in February over a period of nine weeks, the programme was postponed indefi- nitely due to the enforcement of the Movement Control Order (MCO). PDNEC spiritual advisor Fr Michael Raymond OFM Cap and File picture of the programme being conducted at St Michael’s Church, Ipoh, in February before the postponement due to the MCO. head Simon Wong jointly wrote a letter to announce the commence- for five Tuesdays via Zoom from topics on the Resurrection, the ment of the programme online. 8.30pm to 9.45pm to help partici- Holy Spirit and the Church. “It is impossible to predict when pants listen to the Good News and “Let us move forward with the things will get back to normal – for all to encounter Jesus in a per- online Zooming sessions of DC The schedule for the Discovering Christ programme. enough for us to decide to continue sonal manner. as we make every effort to ensure gramme owner in the United States Interested participants are en- the programme online after much Invited speakers such as Dea- that you will be able to familiarize have made resources available for couraged to sign up via Whatsapp prayer, discussion and discern- con Lazarus Jonathan and Deacon yourself with the online tool,” they free, an added incentive and con- or SMS with Jeanne Saw at 016- ment,” the letter stated. Clement Samuel, together with Fr said. venience for participants following 4554597. Dither no longer, the mis- Sessions will resume on June 30 Michael and Fr Wong will cover Video talks by the DC pro- the programme. sion continues! — By Aaron Lim There is healing during Holy Communion KUCHING: The Solemnity of the In his homily, Archbishop Poh Body and Blood of Christ or Cor- spoke of the power of healing pus Christi Sunday was celebrated through the Blessed Sacrament. worldwide on June 14. Corpus He expressed his understanding of Christi is Latin for ‘Body of Christ’ the Christian community’s acute and is celebrated as the memorial awareness of being deprived of of Christ’s sacrificial love and real physically going to church to re- presence in the Eucharist. ceive Holy Communion these past Under the current (RMCO) cir- three months. He promised that on cumstances, Christians attended their behalf, he would plead before Masses online. At the live telecast the Lord. from St Joseph’s Cathedral, it was The Mass concluded with a short rather poignant to listen to the pre- Exposition and Adoration of the sider, Archbishop Simon Poh, as- Blessed Sacrament. Then Arch- suring the faithful that they could bishop Poh carried the Blessed Sac- still receive the Lord’s blessings by rament in the monstrance in a pro- their belief of the real presence of cession to the carpark to ask Jesus Jesus when they make a Spiritual to bless the city and our families. It Communion. “Focus on the conse- was a far cry from the huge street crated host in the monstrance and processions of the past. — By Ivy tell Jesus your needs,” he said. Archbishop Simon Poh blessing the city from St Joseph’s Cathedral's carpark after the Corpus Christi Mass. Chai, Today’s Catholic We are transformed by the Body and Blood of Christ KOTA KINABALU: The suspen- Wong said we should honestly vine Food.” our own selves to Him so that He sion of Mass during the recovery ask ourselves, “Do we really be- In the Discourse on the Bread of can keep living, suffering, giving stage of the movement control or- lieve that the Bread and Wine have Life in the Gospel of John Chap- Himself and rising again in us. In der (RMCO) continues to deprive become the Body and Blood of ter 6, this was exactly what Jesus other words, we “let the life of Je- the faithful of their “Divine Food” Christ?” announced in “the Multitude of sus continue in us”. – the Body and Blood of Christ. He underlined, the Body and Loaves” that one day he will give He concluded by saying that one The live streaming of the Mass Blood come down from heaven people another type of Bread – the does not eat nor partake in the and not holding the traditional out- and become our daily Bread and Bread of life to nourish our spir- Body and Blood of Christ just to door Corpus Christi procession af- our sustenance in our journey of itual hunger. be closer to Jesus, nor do we use it ter Mass were part of the ongoing life. Archbishop Wong declared that as an occasion to just ask for par- efforts to contain the spread of the Each time we celebrate the Jesus never meant that we had to ticular favours, taking advantage coronavirus. Eucharist, he added, we remember “receive Holy Communion many of the fact that He has come to In previous years at Sacred what happened in the past, how in times”. Rather when Jesus said visit us; rather “communion with Heart Cathedral, the solemn pro- feeding the people with manna, that it was necessary to “eat Him”, Him” is to identify ourselves with cession in which the parish priest God made them understand that He meant that we must receive Him, to be One in Him and Him carried the monstrance containing “man does not live on bread alone Archbishop John Wong IT with faith, that is, we must be in us. the Blessed Sacrament through the but on every word that comes from manly speaking, are desperate. To ready to be transformed into His Just as the Lord makes us one lanes within the church compound the mouth of God”. those becoming exhausted or tired Person. with Him in the Eucharist, let us would be lined with over a thou- “And the Word of God” main- in their journey of life, Jesus is of- As we “communion with” or not turn away from those around sand parishioners. tained Archbishop Wong “is capa- fering us a completely New Bread “eat” the “Divine Food – Body us, especially in this time of the In his homily, Archbishop John ble of solving situations that, hu- – His Word and His Body – the Di- and Blood of Christ”, we “offer up pandemic. — By Agnes Chai, CS HERALD June 21, 2020 Home 7 Reviving George Town’s heritage site under new norms PENANG: The Church of the ang have remained closed. Assumption was the starting “We will adhere to the stand- point for Penang Chief Minis- ard operating procedures (SOP) ter Chow Kon Yeow in his tour and guidelines for places of of the George Town UNESCO worship as stipulated, and our World Heritage Site on June 13. application to reopen churches The Chief Minister was wel- are still pending approval,” the comed by Right Rev Datuk Se- Bishop said. bastian Francis, Bishop of Pen- Bishop Sebastian also shared ang, together with City Parish that an announcement will be assistant priest Fr Francis An- made soon with regards to the thony and several parishioners. Feast of St Anne in Bukit Mer- Chow was accompanied by tajam in keeping with the SOPs Penang State EXCO for Tourism, and restrictions in place. Arts, Culture and Heritage, Yeoh Besides the Assumption Soon Hin, state assemblymen Church, the Chief Minister also Teh Lai Heng and Daniel Gooi, visited several religious places Bishop Sebastian Francis with Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow (on his right) and other officials from the George Town World Heritage of worship such as St. George’s Penang government at the Church of the Assumption. Incorporated (GTWHI) manager Church, Goddess of Mercy Tem- bers and devotees to seek solace Dr Ang Ming Chee, and several ple, Masjid Kapitan Keling, Yap and pray together,” he said. government representatives. Kongsi and Cheah Kongsi in Chow shared that this visit Besides visiting the church George Town’s own “Street of was also the State Government’s building and viewing its centu- Harmony.” effort to support and boost the ry-old pipe organ, the entourage The visit ended at Armeni- morale of businesses and tourist also toured the Penang Diocesan an Street, the heart of George sites which suffered losses due Museum and discovered the his- Town’s heritage tourist site, to the Covid-19 crisis. tory of the local church. where the Chief Minister gave a “If we are able to follow the Bishop Sebastian shared short press conference. SOPs and practice self disci- that since the enforcement of “The visit to religious places pline, we will be able to break the Movement Control Order of worship was to understand the chain of transmission in (MCO) on March 18, Catholic their preparations to reopen, and combating the virus,” he said. – Bishop Sebastian Francis explaining some of the history of the church to churches in the Diocese of Pen- they are ready to welcome mem- By Aaron Lim Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow at the Penang Diocesan Museum. Mission kindergartens not forgotten Pioneer Sister of Mount in pandemic Miriam dies at 80 KG SULIT, Paitan: Students, PENANG: Sister Jennifer Chan, Sister in charge of finance and hos- teachers and staff of Tadika Har- one of nine pioneer Sisters of pital administration, supported by moni in Kg Sulit benefitted from Mount Miriam Cancer Hospital in a team of volunteers. an initial donation of 200 kg of Penang, passed away on June 11 at After moving on from this role, rice, which was delivered to its the age of 80. she committed herself entirely to threshold on Jun 11. She had celebrated 50 years of the pastoral care of patients. Sr Dorothy Laudi, administra- consecrated life in May this year, “With her listening ear and gen- tor for the mission kindergartens the hospital said. tle spirit, she brought much com- that are managed by the Fran- She was a member of the Fran- fort to her patients. ciscan Sisters of the Immaculate ciscan Missionaries of Divine “God bless her soul and her heart Conception (FSIC) was on hand Motherhood (FMDM) that was of simplicity, humility and joy. to receive the rice, which was tasked to carry out the late Penang “The FMDM Sisters are very donated by Herman Anggin from Bishop Francis Chan’s dream of grateful to all who have extended Kota Kinabalu. setting up a facility for cancer pa- support to Sr Jennifer and the Sis- At the same time 130 packets of tients. ters,” the hospital said in a state- a hygiene kit comprising reusable Sr Dorothy Laudi receiving the donated rice and re-usable face masks. The not-for-profit, single disci- ment. cloth face masks from another Looking on are her staff and others from Kota Kinabalu. In the background is pline cancer hospital opened its A funeral Mass for Sr Jennifer KK donor, Shannen Wong, were the Mercy Malaysia transportation involved in the humanitarian effort. (CS) doors in 1976 and is currently one was held at 10am on June 12 at handed over to Sr Dorothy. of the leading cancer hospitals in Our Lady’s Convent, Ipoh. Besides government efforts mas in 2005. the region. Due to the recovery movement The humanitarian effort was (RM1600 and food packages per Sr Dorothy said that the gov- made possible with the assistance Sr Jennifer was on the ground control order, only the Sisters par- family) to ease the difficulties of ernment had visited Kg Sulit and from the hospital’s first day as the ticipated in the Mass. — The Star of the non-government organi- the people during this unprec- plans are in the pipeline to build sation, Mercy Malaysia, which edented global pandemic, gener- a more sturdy cement structure to helped transport the heavy load to ous gestures from magnanimous replace the wooden building that the remote village school. individuals went a long way to houses the present kindergarten. Though the school was emp- help the deprived, the poor and Though grateful that the gov- tied of its 28 students because of the vulnerable who were hardest ernment and certain corpora- the lockdown (MCO) imposed to hit. tions and individuals had jour- curb the spread of the coronavi- The school administrator ad- neyed alongside them these last rus, Sr Dorothy would see to its vised that during the lockdown, 15 years, Sr Dorothy hoped that distribution. with the school vacated of stu- more sponsors would be chal- At Kg Sulit too is a boarders’ fa- dents, the teachers used the time lenged to partner with FSIC to de- cility, the Asrama PRIDE, a CSR to plant cash crops in anticipation velop further education prospects project of Sabah Credit Corpora- of a second wave of the pandemic. for the children of the outback. tion, which was built and handed FSIC has established eight mis- After all, a university degree has over to the FSIC in August 2016. sion kindergartens spread out in to start with the first step – the At the time of the humanitarian the villages of Dalamas, Batan- kindergarten. And where there visit, the boarders were also not gon, Tawanan, Rakanan, Sulit, is no kindergarten, the children lodging at the hostel and had re- Lubang Buaya, Lakang and Koi- languish, their hopes for further Sister Jennifer (middle) at the Mount Miriam Cancer Hospital. With her turned to their respective villages boton in the sub-district of Paitan. education dashed. — By Agnes in this 2011 photo are (from left) Sister Cyrilla Baptist, Sister Katherine because of the MCO. The first was set up at Kg Dala- Chai, CS Mascrinhos, Sister Pauline Sewell and Sister Agnes Ken. 8 World HERALD June 21, 2020 Hong Kong senior clergy risk jail under new security laws HONGKONG: Church leaders sup- roiled Hong Kong and cracked open city’s Basic Law under which its ju- plicitly backed protesters’ demands porting Hong Kong’s pro-democ- its fragile peace with Beijing. diciary is independent from China as and Bishop Ha gained a measure of racy movement, including Cardinal “Under very special circumstanc- well as the Hong Kong government. fame last year for his vigils at Hong Joseph Zen Ze-kiun and Auxiliary es, the central government retains ju- “I think this is ... clear evidence Kong universities, helping to get Bishop Joseph Ha Chi-shing, could risdiction over some cases involving that they are using this law as a la- students who had barricaded them- be sent to mainland China to be tried criminal acts that seriously endanger bel to quash political opposition,” he selves in from the police out of the under its opaque, politicised system national security,” Deng Zhonghua, told reporters. buildings. when onerous new security laws are deputy director of the cabinet-level Along with long-time protesters To rub salt into the wounds of her passed by Beijing as early as the end Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Of- Cardinal Zen and Bishop Ha, many increasingly angry and bewildered of this month. fice, told the conference. hundreds of other clergy and regular countrymen and women, Hong The official draft of the laws has He also continued to claim that churchgoers are active in protests Kong chief executive Carrie Lam yet to be officially released but both cases where the new laws were used against Beijing imposing security has doubled down on her backing the Chinese and Hong Kong govern- would be rare, and that they would laws on the territory. of Beijing and relentless attacks on ments have said they will cover sedi- still be prosecuted “according to Many student protesters are Catho- protesters. tion, secession and acts of terrorism. the rule of law as upheld in Hong lics and Christians. Joshua Wong, the She also exposed how far out of Beijing has said it considers the Kong,” but legal experts in Hong leader of the Umbrella movement, is the decision-making loop she is in Cardinal Joseph Zen has been a street protests that began in June vocal critic of the Chinese Commu- Kong and elsewhere remain wary a member of the United Christian the city of which she is now only 2019 as terrorist acts and any calls nist Party's regime. (Photo: AFP) due to Beijing’s history of reneging Community Church, a Hong Kong- nominally in charge. for Hong Kong’s independence from on promises, especially in relation to founded Protestant group. “Without the details about the pro- China as acts of sedition. stamp parliament, on May 28. security matters. Hong Kong Diocese’s Justice and visions in the legislation, and how The laws are expected to be passed The most recent detail — that Conviction by a mainland court Peace Commission has been a vocal they are going to be applied, it is not by the Chinese Communist Party’s China would have the option of de- would almost certainly mean jail supporter of the protests, backing the possible and not appropriate because 176-person Central Committee by ciding to try anyone charged under time in one of China’s notoriously five core demands of the protesters I’m not party to the lawmaking insti- the end of June after permission to the legislation on the mainland — brutal prisons. that include universal suffrage and an tution to comment on the individual write the laws was backed almost emerged at a Shenzhen conference Veteran pro-democracy lawmaker independent investigation into police comments made by my mainland unanimously by the annual National on June 15, a day ahead of the first Dennis Kwok said he believed the violence against protesters. counterparts,” she said. — By People’s Congress, China’s rubber- anniversary of the protests that have jurisdiction plan would breach the The activist bishops have also ex- Michael Sainsbury, ucanews.com Ancient Christian cross Southwark Bishops’ Message to Catholic Schools: No Place For Racism found in northern Pakistan Dear Young Friends exclusion in any form.’ He also went on our parishes, schools, and communities The events surrounding the death of to speak about the violent protests fol- are places where everyone is welcomed, KARACHI: A Christian cross be- Mr George Floyd have caused outrage lowing Mr Floyd’s death: ‘[violence] where everyone is affirmed, where eve- lieved to be up to 1,200 years old and and anger, not only in the United States, is self-destructive and self-defeating. ryone is encouraged; where everyone is weighing more than three tons has but also in cities across the world, in- Nothing is gained by violence and so respected for the person God has cre- been discovered in Skardu in north- cluding London. Mr Floyd was an Af- much is lost.’ (General Audience, June ated them to be and for the person God ern Pakistan. rican American who died while being 3, 2020) is calling them to become. We have, in A three-member expedition team restrained by police in Minneapolis on Our Catholic Faith does more than our Church, some inspiring examples from the University of Baltistan, May 25, 2020. In shocking video foot- condemn racism; it also calls us to chal- of people who spoke out against slavery Skardu, discovered the huge marble age he is heard to have said repeatedly, lenge racism, to eliminate its causes, and and worked to overcome the sufferings cross high in the mountain range of ‘I can’t breathe.’ to heal the wounds it brings. We each of those enslaved. Their voices must be Kavardo in Baltistan. The way in which Mr Floyd died have a part to play in this, first by mak- alive in us today. One of these was Jose- The team — led by vice-chan- sparked demonstrations and protests. ing sure that we always think of every phine Bakhita, a Sudanese woman who cellor Muhammad Naeem Khan, It raises important questions about the other person as someone worthy of re- was sold into slavery, eventually brought together with director of academ- reality of racism in our society here spect. We must uphold the rights, the to Rome, and cared for by a community ics, Zakir Hussain Zakir and direc- and now. We know that many people equality, and the sanctity of every hu- of nuns. She became such an outstand- tor of external links, Ishtiaq Hussain feel very strongly about this, especially man life. To God, and to us, every life ing example of what it means to be a Maqpoon — visited the site to study young people. This is why we wanted to is a gift and irreplaceable. We affirm that Christian that she was declared a saint in the cultural find accompanied by lo- write to all the students in our Catholic every person’s life matters and that the the year 2000. cal villagers and mountain guides. Villagers observe the huge Christian schools across the Archdiocese. We are life of every black person matters. Our Archdiocese covers all of South “The huge cross of marble rock united with you in asking for justice Back in 1979, before you, the young London, Kent, and the Medway Unitary weighing 3-4 tons and measuring cross in Kavardo, Baltistan. (Photo: pamirtimes.net) and equality for every person, no matter people in our schools were born, the Authority. It is beautifully diverse. Peo- approximately 7x6 feet was found what colour their skin happens to be. We Bishops of the United States said this: ple in our parishes and schools represent universities and develop academic some two kilometers from the base believe that every human life is sacred, ‘Racism is not merely one sin among a rich variety of cultural, ethnic, and ra- links with local historians to ascer- camp, high in the mountains of Ka- from its first beginning to its natural end. many; it is a radical evil that divides the cial backgrounds, from countries in Af- tain the exact date of the cross and to vardo, Baltistan, overlooking the In- The Lord Jesus commanded us to ‘love human family and denies the new crea- rica, the Caribbean, Asia, Latin America, scientifically describe the “Kavardo dus River,” the team said in a press one another.’ (Jn 15:12) He did not allow tion of a redeemed world. To struggle and from Western and Eastern Europe. Cross,” as it has been dubbed. release on June 14. for any exceptions and we should not against it demands an equally radical We believe that this diversity is a gift and “It is indeed great news for all of According to initial estimates, the make any exceptions. transformation, in our own minds and that there is a place for everyone in our us that an ancient cross was found cross is believed to be 1,000 to 1,200 Racism is incompatible with the Cath- hearts as well as in the structure of our Church. in Skardu. It shows that Christianity years old. olic Faith. Whether expressed by the at- society.’ (Pastoral Letter on Racism) Dear young friends, we want you to existed in this area and there must be Khan described the discovery of titudes or behaviour of an individual, or These are powerful words and they ap- use your passion for justice to make a a church and houses of Christians. the cross as if “it descended on Kara- the behaviour of a group, or through un- ply today. difference to your schools and parishes, There are currently no Christian fam- karum directly from the heavens.” just structures in society that exclude and We cannot be silent about racism. It your neighbourhoods and communities. ilies in that area, but they were once According to researcher Wajid discriminate, there is no place for racism must be challenged. In doing so, our Make them places where the gifts and present,” said Mansha Noor, execu- Bhatti, it is a Thomanian cross and at any time or in any place. We say this first responsibility is to recognise that skills, the experience and heritage, of all tive director of Caritas Pakistan. one of the biggest crosses discovered again: there is no place for racism. racism does exist, whether in individu- people, of every background, are hon- “I request the authorities to invite on the subcontinent. The Catechism of the Catholic als, in groups, in organisations, or in oured, valued, cherished and celebrated. international historians to find out This is the first evidence of a holy Church teaches very clearly that: ‘Every society. We need to decide the best way There is no place for racism. Let us work more about the accurate history of cross in Baltistan. Throughout the form of social or cultural discrimination to overcome racism, knowing that vio- side by side to make it part of our his- the cross.” centuries, the cross in various shapes in fundamental rights on the grounds of lence never solves anything, even when tory, not part of our present or of our Norman Gill, a Catholic banker and forms was a symbol of vari- sex, race, colour, social conditions, lan- injustice makes us angry. Let the energy future together. based in Karachi, expressed joy at ous beliefs. In pre-Christian times it guage or religion must be eradicated as that comes from our anger be channelled With our prayers and best wishes the discovery of the ancient cross. was a pagan religious symbol found incompatible with God’s design.’ (CCC into changing hearts and minds, begin- Yours sincerely in Christ “The Christians here should be throughout Europe and Western 1935) Commenting on the death of Mr ning with our own, to speak the truth in + John Wilson allowed to visit the area and see the Asia. Floyd, Pope Francis said ‘we cannot tol- the service of peace. Archbishop of Southwark cross once all formalities are com- The university plans to reach out erate or turn a blind eye to racism and We are committed to making sure that — ICN to European and North American pleted,” said Gill. — ucanews.com HERALD June 21, 2020 World 9 Cardinal Nichols, Archbishop Welby pray together at reopened Westminster Abbey LONDON: Two of the country’s pany.” most senior church leaders vis- Though the Abbey has been ited Westminster Abbey June 15, closed to the public since the end when the Great West Door opened of March, clergy and residents for the first time in three months have continued to worship in the since churches were closed for the precincts. The Abbey has also COVID-19 lockdown. produced a podcast of readings, Following Government guid- prayers and a short sermon on ance, the Abbey now has re- Sundays and festivals. HRH The opened for private prayer. Two Prince of Wales recorded a read- of the first visitors were the Arch- ing for the Easter Day podcast. bishop of Canterbury, the Most Westminster Abbey was found- Reverend and Right Honourable ed by King Edward the Confessor Justin Welby; and Cardinal Vin- but though his church was finally cent Nichols, Archbishop of West- consecrated on Holy Innocents’ minster. Day, 28th December 1065, he was They were welcomed to the Ab- too ill to attend and died a week bey by the Dean of Westminster, later. He was officially canonised the Very Reverend Dr David Hoy- Cardinal and Archbishop of Canterbury pray at Westminster Cathedral and Westminster Abbey to mark the re-opening as Saint and Confessor by Pope le, and taken to the Shrine of St of churches for private, individual prayer © Mazur/cbcew.org.uk Alexander III in February 1161. Edward the Confessor behind the open the doors of the Abbey with den. Today, the Abbey opens for isolation in prayer. Prayer brings The shrine, at which the Archbish- High Altar where they all prayed the words ‘Peace to this house’. private prayer; public worship us into the presence of God, into ops prayed today, which contains in silence. We have talked so much about will follow later. This is a good the communion of saints and into his mortal remains was completed The Dean said after the visit: isolation in recent months. For moment to be reminded, by the the company of the whole Church. in 1269 when Henry III rebuilt his “In Westminster, we rejoice as we many that has been a heavy bur- two Archbishops, that there is no Today we are in the best of com- ancestor’ church. — ICN Cardinal Schönborn welcomes successor after 22 years at helm of bishops’ conference VIENNA: Austria’s bishops elect- bishops’ plenary assembly at Mari- conference in 1998 and continu- ed a new president, ending Cardi- azell, in the southeastern state of ously re-elected in the years that nal Christoph Schönborn’s 22-year Styria, the Austrian bishops’ con- followed. In 2016, he was elected term at the helm of the country’s ference said Tuesday. for another six-year term. bishops’ conference. Speaking after the vote, Schön- But this March, two months after In a vote on June 16, the bishops born, a renowned theologian who his 75th birthday, he submitted his chose Archbishop Franz Lackner helped edit the Catechism of the resignation as president. The bish- of Salzburg as their new leader. Catholic Church, said that his ops were due to elect his successor The 63-year-old Franciscan suc- years in charge were at times “full later that month, but their assembly ceeds Schönborn, who turned 75 in of conflict and scandal,” but he was postponed until June because January. was nevertheless grateful for the of the coronavirus pandemic and They also elected Bishop Man- opportunity. he continued to serve as president. fred Scheuer of Linz as vice- “I am convinced it was the Schönborn, a Dominican friar president of the conference. The right time to hand over the reins,” descended from the Austrian no- 64-year-old will take over the role he told the Austrian Catholic news bility, tendered his resignation as from Lackner, who served in the Archbishop Franz Lackner of Salz- agency Kathpress. archbishop of Vienna before his burg succeeds Cardinal Christoph position for five years. Cardinal Christoph Schönborn The archbishop of Vienna was 75th birthday on January 22. — The voting took place during the Schönborn as the President of the elected president of the bishops’ CNA (Daniel Ibáñez/CNA) Austrian Bishops’ Conference. Italian bishops increase aid to dioceses hit hard by COVID-19 ROME: The Italian Bishops’ ian government had defined as ence received more than 1.13 Conference has distributed an- “red or orange zones” for their billion euros ($1.27 billion) from other 10 million euros ($11.2 high levels of COVID-19 infec- the tax scheme. The money is million) to the dioceses in north- tions, hospitalisations and deaths used to pay the salaries of priests ern Italy hardest hit by the COV- brought the total emergency aid and other pastoral workers, sup- ID-19 pandemic. provided by the Bishops’ Confer- port charity projects in Italy and The money will be used for ence to almost $267 million. around the world, to run seminar- emergency aid to individuals and The money comes from an ies and schools and to build new families struggling financially, to emergency fund established us- churches. support organisations and institu- ing part of the proceeds the Bish- At the beginning of the pan- tions that are working to combat ops’ Conference collects each demic, the Bishops’ Conference the pandemic and its effects and year from citizens’ tax designa- distributed 200 million euro to help parishes and other church tions. When paying their income (about $225 million) in emer- entities in difficulty, said a state- tax to the government, citizens gency aid with most going to ment from the Bishops’ Confer- can designate that 0.8 per cent the country’s 226 dioceses. The ence. — or 8 cents for every 10 euros conference also gave more than The funds were distributed in — go to a government social-as- $562,000 to the national food- A file photo shows people in need receiving free food outside St Luke’s Parish early June and must be used by sistance program, to the Catholic bank foundation, more than $10 in Milan during the COVID-19 pandemic. (CNS photo/Marco Passaro, IPA/ the end of the year, the statement Church or to one of 10 other reli- million to Catholic hospitals and ABACAPRESS.COM via Reuters) said. A detailed report on how the gious organisations. schools in the world’s poorest funds were spent must be submit- While more than half of Ital- countries and more than $9.4 mil- where other news services simply have the resources to reach. And ted to the Bishops’ Conference ian taxpayers make no choice, lion to 12 Italian hospitals that can’t or won’t go. We report the we report on the emerging life of by Feb 28, 2021. of those who do, close to 80 per were handling the most COVID stories of local people and their new Churches in old lands where The additional distribution of cent choose the Catholic Church. patients. experiences in a way that West- being a Catholic can at times be funds to dioceses in what the Ital- For 2019, the Bishops’ Confer- We report from the ground ern news outlets simply don’t very dangerous. — CNS 10 Editorial HERALD June 21, 2020 HERALD Pope Francis soldiers June 21, 2020 Southeast Asia keeps on with his mission to COVID-19 in check nlike in Europe, North America, Russia, Brazil and, recent- Uly India, the COVID-19 pandemic has applied the brakes to its killing spree in Southeast Asia. reform the Vatican Curia A few months ago, much of Southeast Asia appeared to be ome has started to buzz again, as become positively addicted to it. A lot of them are cardinals, mostly old heading for a health crisis. However, the region’s worst fears residents of the Eternal City ea- And it shows right now. and doddery. have been mostly avoided due to deft handling of the situation. gerly look for ways to return to Via della Conciliazione, the long and There’s one! Famous for posing in Tourism-oriented Thailand was reported to be vulnerable due R some semblance of life as it was before wide (mostly) pedestrian avenue lead- outlandish ecclesiastical costumes from to the large number of travellers it had received from Wuhan, the coronavirus caused it to shut down for ing from the Tiber River to St. Peter’s a bygone era, he makes his way down where the pandemic first emerged in China. By January end, it nearly three months. Square, is usually so crowded with peo- Borgo Pio. He’s completely covered in had the second-highest number of cases outside China. Almost all stores and shops were able ple that it’s almost impossible to navigate black – a long cassock, wide-brimmed Initially, the virus caused deaths and misery across the region, to resume business on May 18 and just a with a bike. fedora and black leather gloves. particularly in the Philippines, in Indonesia and in cramped mi- couple of weeks later, on June 3 to be ex- But these days you could easily land a With his anti-coronavirus mask drawn grant workers’ dormitories in Singapore and Malaysia. act, people could start travelling to other Boeing-747 on its empty stretch. up to the frames of his spectacles, he But now, six months after the pandemic began, Southeast regions of the peninsula. All the countries The square itself remains pretty much looks as if he’s wearing a burka. Indeed, Asia has won kudos for its response after economic and social in the European Union also opened their deserted. At certain hours of the day, wafting from a coffee shop in the distance life started ticking again in accordance with the “new normal.” borders. mostly nuns and priests, their faces cov- one can hear the sounds of A Whole New By acting quickly, and by pressing into service people-friend- Restaurants and cafes in the Italian ered with surgical masks, can be seen tra- World, the hit song from the Disney film ly healthcare systems, health ministries in many Southeast capital, especially those with outdoor versing its cobblestoned expanse. Aladdin… Asian countries avoided the explosion in community transmis- seating, are showing encouraging signs Probably they are either coming from sion seen elsewhere. of life again. or going to work in the Roman Curia or In Cambodia, 2,900 healthcare workers were given training Time for true reform And the traffic is back, as the Urb’s some other place in Vatican City. Meanwhile, in this bizarre Vatican world, and deployed throughout January and February. “They imple- notoriously aggressive motorists try to Pope Francis tries his best to carry on mented aggressive rapid detection and contact tracing,” said Dr. reclaim the city’s potholed streets from with his mission to re-energize and “con- Li Ailan, WHO representative to Cambodia. Pope World on the Tiber a surprisingly significant chunk of the There are also several police cars parked vert” his fellow Catholics to Gospel- In Thailand, more than one million health volunteers were population that recently discovered how in the square and at its outer edges. The based Christianity; re-unite the separated sent to monitor communities. to ride a bicycle. cops have been keeping watch here since Churches in full communion; and bring Vietnam, a country of 97 million people, has not reported a But the tourists, whose presence and the lockdown and the re-opening, check- together the entire world in an urgent, single coronavirus-related death. The communist nation has had pocketbooks have become increasing ing the few stragglers that have, so far, fraternal project to save our planet – our just 341 confirmed cases despite its long border with China and essential to the local economy, are still made their way back to “Pope World on common home. the millions of Chinese visitors it receives each year. few and far between. So few, in fact, that the Tiber”. “Praise be to you, Lord!” This is a remarkable feat for a lower-middle income country Rome seems like a “normal” city right And, ironically, that’s exactly what the The coronavirus lockdown brought which has only eight doctors for every 10,000 people, a third of now. Vatican feels like right now – a Disney- the Roman Curia to a halt. It deprived the ratio in South Korea, according to the World Bank. It’s actually quite nice to have the town like theme park that’s been closed for the the Holy See of much needed revenue All those diagnosed as COVID-19 positive were hospital- all to ourselves again, something we’ve season. There are no crowds. There are from its tourist trade, especially through ised, even if they were asymptomatic, in most Southeast Asian not experienced since the last century no tourists. the Vatican Museums. And it grounded a nations. They also conducted mass testing across buildings or when there was still something called It is a sad spectacle. And conveys a pope who usually travels abroad four or neighbourhoods where positive cases were identified. “low season” for tourism. worrying message. This has long been five times a year. Of course, mistakes have been made. Singapore neglected That ended with the Great Jubilee of seen as the centre of Catholicism. Or as a Christianity did not collapse. And the migrant workers who live in overcrowded dormitories, which 2000 when the Vatican and the City of friend once remarked with irreverent sar- world did not stop turning. resulted in most of its 40,197 cases. Malaysia’s biggest spike is Rome teamed up to create a tourism in- casm: “It’s the dead centre of the Church, But the structure and functioning of attributed to an event at a mosque near Kuala Lumpur, after a frastructure with a very specific goal – emphasis on dead.” Rome-based, Euro-centric Catholicism failure to ban religious gatherings. ensure that there will always be hordes of The mobs of tourists and “pilgrims” has never looked more anachronistic. The However, the countries in the region got their act together visitors all year round. that usually fill St Peter’s Square and clog post-Constantinian Church continues to soon. Restrictions on people’s movement in Malaysia were up its surrounding streets served to hide implode. particularly strict. Only one person from a family was allowed how dead – and irrelevant – the Vatican is And Pope Francis, now 83, should outside to shop for groceries, and even fitness freaks were not A Vatican that’s addicted to tourism Even during the once sacrosanct summer already and is becoming more still. probably shelve any more foreign trips allowed out for daily exercise. holiday period of Ferragosto, when eve- But now that they are not here, it’s a lot and focus entirely on his long, drawn-out “Early and aggressive measures by member countries, includ- rything used to be closed during the entire easier to spot the characters in this clerical plan to truly reform the Church’s bureau- ing unprecedented physical distancing measures, have helped month of August, the city now plays host theme park – Pope World’s alternatives cratic headquarters, the Roman Curia. keep the number of cases low as compared to other parts of the to lots of tourists. to Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Winnie The lockdown has shown that now’s world,” the Southeast Asia office of the WHO said on May 15. If much of Rome has become over-reli- the Pooh, Cinderella, Tinker Bell and all the time. LCI The youthful demographic in some countries in the region — By Robert Mickens, ant on the tourist industry, the Vatican has the rest… (https://international.la-croix.com) also worked to their advantage. After the pandemic was brought under control, roads in Southeast Asia are once again filled with traffic, while markets are thronged with mask-wearing customers who have their tem- Retired pope Benedict travels to peratures checked regularly. In the city state of Singapore, curbs on schools, weddings and funerals have been lifted since the beginning of this month. Sin- Germany to visit his sick brother gapore had reported 41,473 cases and 26 deaths as of June 18. VATICAN: Retired Pope Benedict XVI, Cambodia’s approach has been successful, despite its initial who is 93 years old, travelled to Germa- downplaying of the pandemic. As of early June, it had reported ny to visit his ailing older brother, Msgr 126 confirmed cases with 124 recovered patients and no deaths. Georg Ratzinger, who is 96. Southeast Asia cannot afford to be complacent. The region The Vatican press office confirmed that containing one quarter of the global population continues to be Pope Benedict went to Germany June 18 vulnerable due to high population density, huge urban slums, to visit his brother. migrant groups and socioeconomic barriers to compliance with “The pope emeritus is now in the city social distancing. of Regensburg, where he will spend the — By Joseph Benny, ucanews/com time necessary,” said Matteo Bruni, di- HERALD — The Catholic Weekly rector of the Vatican press office. Jointly published by the Pope Benedict was accompanied by Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur, his personal secretary, Archbishop Georg Diocese of Malacca Johore, Diocese of Penang Ganswein, one of the consecrated lay- and Diocese of Keningau women who cares for him and his house- Editor: Fr Lawrence Andrew, SJ A file picture of Benedict XVI with his brother, Fr Georg Ratzinger (Vatican News) HERALD, 5, Jalan Robertson, 50150, KL hold, a doctor, a nurse and the vice com- Tel: 03-20268290/20268291; mander of the Vatican gendarme corps, always been close. While his brother was and a summer holiday with his brother. Fax: 03-20268293 Bruni said. pope and even after he stepped down The two also had a sister, Maria, who Online: www.heraldmalaysia.com. The two brothers, who were ordained from the papacy, Msgr Ratzinger would died in 1991. — By Cindy Wooden, E-mail: [email protected] to the priesthood together in 1951, have come to the Vatican to spend Christmas CNS HERALD June 21, 2020 Focus 11 The whole planet is experiencing a crisis t this most serious moment there Francis spoke about how he is living and is a need for guidance to accom- contemplating the coronavirus crisis. In a Apany us and help us understand the world in isolation as Easter draws near, he meaning of what we are living through. is preparing himself practically and spiritu- In this situation we need voices that are ally for the consequences, and inviting hu- able to speak to everyone, leaders able to manity to convert to a different and better understand what is happening, but also to way of being. The Pope is deeply troubled point the way to the post-coronavirus fu- and grieved by so much suffering and sac- ture. The Pope is “confined.” For a pontiff rifice. But what shines through is his con- who from the beginning of his Petrine min- fidence in the possibility of transformation istry has declared that the Church should be that is now being offered to us “outgoing,” the situation of being in “con- finement” is paradoxical. How can we be ‘close’ to others? The liturgical celebration that ended with a blessing Urbi et Orbi in an empty St Pe- Radical pastoral conversion ter’s Square on Friday, March 27, was the This is clearly a favourable time for “pasto- image of a universal condition. The empti- ral conversion.” Those who travel with him ness of the square absorbed into itself the on his journeys and audiences know how voices of a world sick or at risk of illness, important direct contact with people is for of those called to stay at home, in isolation Francis. I remember that at the end of his or quarantine. Never has St Peter’s Square visit to Colombia he seemed really tired. been more crowded with people as on that The papal retinue was surprised and heart- Friday. ened to see him rejuvenated by the joyful With discretion Francis does not cease to crowd awaiting him at the Nunciature. And be profoundly aware of the sobering events right there he made a spontaneous speech of this world. He does so from his Santa of great passion, accompanied by gestures Marta residence; he does so with gestures that revealed an unsuspected strength. The and initiatives, and also with other inter- pastor cannot be separated from the people. ventions and messages. Pope Francis gives his blessing from the window of the library in the Apostolic Palace April 13, The condition linked to the coronavirus 2020, after a live transmission of the "Regina Coeli" prayer. (CNS photo/Vatican Media) Francis’ voice resounds in a world thirst- crisis is one of “separation,” of painful but ing for meaning. His voice is gentle, but necessary distancing. How does the Pope the people; he must “stay close” to them. so in Brazil, on his first apostolic journey, also decisive and robust. Austen Ivereigh, a react? He says in this interview: “Think- The passion to care is rooted in Francis. He when he refused to travel in an armoured British scholar and journalist, the pontiff’s ing of people anoints me, it does me good, sees the Church – as he told me in the inter- car saying: “I couldn’t go to see these peo- biographer and a reliable interpreter of his it takes me out of my self-preoccupation.” view for La Civiltà Cattolica in 2013 – as ple, who have such a big heart, behind a thought, interviewed Francis for The Tablet The very thought of the people of God con- a “field hospital.” For this reason, Francis’ glass screen.” The virus prevents physical and Commonweal Magazine. firms and reinvigorates pastoral conver- thinking stretches beyond the conventional. contact for the good of all. And so Francis This interview is important and should be sion. He does so by quoting from memory The tries to understand how to be “close” now. read with care because it helps us to move And Francis reflects on his Petrine minis- Betrothed, a 19th century Italian novel set This is the issue of the pontificate at the forward in this challenging time. Pope try. He feels that now he must “accompany” in a time of plague. He had already done present moment. Moment of great uncertainty ut Francis also wonders what awaits it is necessary “to give space to the crea- Creativity ing up new horizons, opening windows, opening Bhim after the crisis as part of his tivity that only the Spirit is capable of The key word is creativity, then. If one examines transcendence toward God and toward people, “service as bishop of Rome, as head arousing. It means finding the courage the writings of Jorge Mario Bergoglio one under- and in creating new ways of being at home.” Here of the Church”? We feel all the drama to open spaces where everyone can feel stands how this word is precisely a key for him. Francis repeats in an updated form the adage of of these words because of the aware- called, and to allow new forms of hospi- He often uses it, for example, when he speaks to an anonymous Jesuit: Non coerceri a maximo sed ness that the post-coronavirus period: tality, fraternity and solidarity.” This is a educators, teachers and catechists. Creativity helps contineri a minimo, divinum est, that is, “Do not “That aftermath has already begun to time when we must prepare for a future people to be with incomplete, open thinking. be constrained by the greatest space, but be able be revealed as tragic and painful.” He that cannot be like the past. Uncertainty In this interview the Pope recalls “a verse from to stay in the smallest space. This is divine.” He is living this moment “with great un- – which is the dominant feeling – must the Aeneid in the midst of defeat: the counsel is knows that it is “not easy to be confined to your certainty,” like everyone else. And yet be combined with inventiveness in not to give up, but save yourself for better times.” house.” But this “prepares for better times.” “Take he knows that this is “a time for invent- search of solutions. The Church herself There is here a very strong message of hope, care of yourself for a future that will come,” he ing, for creativity.” He had said this on must express “apostolic creativity, crea- which resonates in the interview: “The creativ- exclaims, “we must face staying at home with all March 27 in the empty square, declaring tivity purified of many useless things.” ity of the Christian needs to show forth in open- our creativity.” How to take care of the future ut how? The economic thoughts of the encyclical Laudato Si’, his vision of the The Church ‘Go up to the mountain’ Bpontiff return here; he knows well that world. What about the Church? “The Church is an we must fight against the “throwaway cul- Attention to the poor is central and they One of the tragedies of this coronavirus institution,” says Francis, to prevent people time is the social distance between gen- ture,” which risks managing the emergency return to it again and again in this interview. from imagining – or even dreaming about erations. The young cannot stay with the with criteria that do not protect the weak Francis calls them the “deprived.” And he – an abstract Church of beautiful souls. But old for fear of infecting them if they are and which, on the contrary, seem to favour expresses himself by quoting Dostoevsky, what makes the Church “institution” is the asymptomatically positive. The old have to the promotion of the strongest. “A photo who is very dear to him. The invitation is Holy Spirit, who “causes disorder with char- appeared the other day of a parking lot in to descend into the “underground,” to turn isms, but in that disorder creates harmony.” stay “separated” to avoid risks. The dying Las Vegas where the deprived had been put to the “suffering flesh of the poor,” to pi- The Church is “a pilgrim and evangelising know that they are destined to leave this in quarantine. And the hotels were empty. etas. This is an appeal for a more human people, always transcending every neces- world in solitude, a tragedy that deprives But the homeless cannot go to a hotel,” he world, which is the only one that can give sary institutional expression” (Evangelii the young of the wisdom of the old and the says. substance to the future. Gaudium, 111). Spirit and institution for old of the future energies of the young. He is “worried by the hypocrisy of cer- Francis’ gaze is rich both in direct pas- Francis never deny each other. The Church The Pope addresses the elderly as fol- tain political personalities who speak of toral experience and in the readings that is institutionalized by the Holy Spirit and lows: “I know you feel death is close, facing up to the crisis, of the problem of nourished him. I note that they are the same this avoids “ecclesial introversion” (EG 27) and you are afraid, but look elsewhere, hunger in the world, but who in the mean- readings that he mentioned to me in the thanks to a “tension between disorder and remember your children, and do not stop time manufacture weapons.” interview he gave me in 2013: Manzoni, harmony caused by the Holy Spirit.” This dreaming. This is what God asks of you: to And in the end he says: “we must slow Virgil, Dostoevsky, Joseph Malègue. The means that there is a fluid process of insti- dream.” And he asks the young people to down our rate of consumption and produc- last-mentioned, the so-called “Catholic tutionalization and deinstitutionalisation: have “the courage to look ahead.” He says tion and learn to understand and contem- Proust,” a French writer dear to him, lends what is needed remains, and not what is no that with Virgil. When Aeneas, defeated in plate the natural world. And to reconnect the expression “the new saints next door,” longer needed. The future of the Church is Troy, had lost everything, he had two alter- with our real surroundings.” The Covid-19 who in this difficult moment are the “doc- neither static nor rigid. The Church lives natives: either stay there and die, or – and crisis is an opportunity for social, econom- tors, volunteers, religious, priests, workers “the freedom of the Spirit at this moment in this is what Francis is asking us today – “go ic and ecological conversion. In this situa- who carry out their duties to enable this so- a situation of crisis.” The ultimate criterion? up to the mountain.” — By Fr Antonio tion we rediscover the significance of the ciety to function.” Canon Law offers it: the salus animarum. Spadaro, SJ, La Civiltà Cattolica 12 Varia HERALD June 21, 2020 Dying with dignity

he movie Million Dollar partners. It is also a sneaky term. human body by robbing it of its would loosen. What can be more Baby tells the story of Sometimes it no longer means vitality and physical attractiveness humiliating? What can be less Ta young woman who what it used to mean and nowhere as being a dignified one. And yet beautiful? becomes a professional boxer. is this truer than when the term that is normally how the death Yet, who would say that Jesus did Young, strong, and physically very is applied today to “death with process works. If you have ever not die with dignity? The opposite. attractive she captures your heart dignity”? What defines death with journeyed with someone dying We are still contemplating the as, against all odds, she eventually dignity? from a terminal disease and been at beauty of his death and the dignity rises to the top in her sport. But Shortly after Brittany Maynard their bedside when he or she died, displayed in it. But that is within then the story turns tragic; she died by euthanasia in a case that you know that physically this is a different aesthetics, one that our is unfairly hit by an opponent caught wide public attention, not pretty. Disease can do horrible culture no longer understands. and ends up paralysed, her body Jessica Keating wrote an article things to the body. But does this For us, dignity and beauty are broken and with it her health and in America magazine assessing destroy dignity? Does it make one inextricably tied to physical health, attractiveness. And her condition that death from various points of less beautiful? physical attractiveness, and lack of is permanent, there is no cure. She view. At one point she takes up the Well, that depends on one’s humiliating diminishments within chooses to end her life through question of dignity and writes: “The Fr Ron Rolheiser spirituality and on what one our physical body. Within that euthanasia. use of the term dignity to describe considers as dignified and perspective there is, seemingly, no I had gone to this movie with this death is deeply problematic, dignity. This has not always been beautiful. Consider Jesus’ death. dignity to Jesus’ death. a young couple, both solidly since it masks the reality of fear the case; indeed in former times By today’s concept of dignity, his I am the first to admit that the committed to their church and and equates dignity exclusively sometimes the opposite was true, was not a very dignified death. issue of death with dignity is an their faith. Yet both of them were with radical autonomy, choice, and an aged, physically diminished We have always sanitized the extremely complex one that raises in strong sympathy with how this cognitive capability. The result is a body was seen as something crucifixion to shield ourselves legal, medical, psychological, young woman chose to die. Perhaps not-so-subtle implication that the dignified and beautiful. Why is our from its raw “indignity”, but familial, societal, ethical, and it was more their emotions than person who chooses diminishment view of dignity different today? crucifixion was humiliating. When spiritual questions for which there themselves speaking when they and suffering dies a less dignified They are different because of the Romans chose crucifixion as are no simple answers. But inside justified her manner of death: “But death.” (America, March 16, 2015) how we conceive dignity and a method of capital punishment all of these questions there still lies she was so young and beautiful! It In much of our talk about death beauty. For us, these have to do they had more in mind than just an aesthetic one: what, ultimately, wouldn’t have been right for her with dignity today there is in fact the mainly with physical health, ending someone’s life. Besides makes for beauty? How, to spend the rest of her life in that not-so-subtle implication that the physical vitality, and the physical wanting to make a person suffer ultimately, do we see dignity? terrible state!” In their young eyes, person who chooses diminishment attractiveness of the human optimally, they also wanted to Does a person with a still attractive, her debilitated state stripped her of and suffering over euthanasia dies body. For us, aesthetics is a totally and publicly humiliate him undiminished, physical body who her essential dignity. a less dignified death. That is hard house with one room – physical by humiliating his body. Hence voluntarily chooses to die before What is dignity? When and how to deny, given the dominant ethos attractiveness. Everything else the person was stripped naked, that beauty is despoiled by disease is it lost? of a culture wherein physical assaults our dignity. That makes it with his genitals exposed, and die more dignified than did Jesus? Dignity is a promiscuous term, diminishment and suffering are difficult for us to see any process when he went into spasms in the — By Fr Ron Rolheiser, all rights constantly shedding different seen as a very assault on our that diminishes and humbles the moments before death, his bowels reserved The evolution of America — the National Weekly s hard as it may be to be- lieve, this autumn will Amark the eighth anniversa- ry of my editorship of this review. On Oct 1, 2012, Twitter was only six years old. The iPhone was five years old. Instagram was two years old. And America magazine was 103 years old. In those first few months, we launched an ambitious, multiyear initiative to transform America into a media ministry that would meet the challenge of the digital revo- lution and allow America to lead Fr Matt Malone, SJ, president and editor-in-chief of America Media, speaks Oct 30, 2018, during a town hall on the conversation about faith and Latinos and Catholic education in the United States held at The Catholic University of America in Washington. Fr John Wynne, SJ, the founder of America Media and the university hosted the discussion. (CNS photo/Tyler Orsburn) culture in a new century. We an- America nounced a multiyear strategic plan to take America from a weekly events was so great, he dreamed of print magazine with little digital a day when America could publish From print to digital media presence to a multiplatform media daily. Well, I’m pleased to say that hat we have discovered dur- with those details. As always, I en- financials of America Media are ministry with vital, engaging con- this day has arrived. America now Wing these years of transfor- courage you to visit our website at strong, stronger than those of many tent well beyond print. publishes every day, multiple times mation is that reporting, analysing americamagazine.org and to sign other media organisations, even in To achieve that vision, America a day, and even hourly when news and discussing events is now best up for our daily e-newsletter. the for-profit world. Second, we has been steadily growing. In 2012, is breaking. accomplished through digital me- In a recent column, I wrote that still believe in the power of the we had 16 full-time employees. America’s position in relation to dia, while in-depth reflection and every crisis is also an opportunity. printed word. We believe that print Today we employ 43. Our online the news cycle has not changed. As long-form journalism are best ac- The COVID-19 crisis has given is the best platform for in-depth, readership is nearly 10 times what Fr Wynne wrote, our main task is complished in print. To accom- us an opportunity to work fully long-form reporting, analysis and it was in 2012. We’ve redesigned not to be a newspaper but a jour- modate that, it is necessary to shift remotely and to realise anew the commentary. A monthly frequency and relaunched our print and digi- nal, a forum for commentary and our human and financial resources power of a digital-first editorial gives us the time and the resources tal editions, launched a video di- analysis. We continue to report from print to digital, allowing both strategy, its capacity to reach people to do that well. vision, started a media fellowship some news, but our main task is to platforms to do well what each on a scale our forebears could only As much as things change, some for young professionals, rebooted explain what is happening, to put it does best. That also makes sense dream about. And the economic things stay the same. We remain the Catholic Book Club, produced in context, to analyse what is hap- when you consider that nearly a pressures that have been brought to committed to giving you the news, award-winning podcasts, and re- pening from a Catholic, Jesuit per- million people read America online bear on the media by the pandemic- analysis and spiritual resources you cruited a worldwide network of spective. every month, while 70,000 read it induced recession have reminded need to make sense of events at the correspondents and contributing And just as Fr Wynne did, we are in print. all of us of the importance of being intersection of the Church and the writers. And we have done all of always asking what the best means For these reasons, beginning flexible and innovative in order to world. We renew our promise to this while maintaining the standard are for accomplishing those goals this summer, America will shift to remain commercially viable. you, the same promise Fr Wynne of excellence that is our hallmark. of reporting, explaining, discussing a monthly frequency for our print But let me be crystal clear about made to our readers in 1909: “Nei- I believe that our founder, John and reflecting on events. In 1909, edition. If you are a print sub- two things: First, this is not a fire ther labour nor expense will be Wynne, SJ, would be proud. When the only means was the printed scriber, your current subscription sale. We are not reducing our fre- spared to make America worthy of he founded America, he told its word. This is obviously no longer will be automatically extended. A quency in print because we are go- its name.” — By Fr Matt Malone, readers that because the press of true. separate communication will arrive ing out of business. The underlying SJ, America HERALD June 21, 2020 Reopening Preparations 13 Guidelines for parishioners Temperature Check and Contact Listing One Entrance, many Exits 1. Parishioners must be advised to 1. Only one entrance should be arrive at least 30 minutes before the opened for the purpose of tempera- start of the service to facilitate tem- ture checking. perature checking and registration 2. A different door from the entrance, for contact listing. if this is possible, should be desig- 2. Each parish should maintain a nated as the exit. The parish, if this register to record the details of each is warranted, could identify several person who wishes to participate in exits to facilitate quicker egress of the service in a Visitors Book. De- the congregation from the premises. tails should include: name, contact 3. Exit doors should be left open so details, temperature reading, time Temperature needs to be checked. as to avoid touching door handles. of visit, place visited. An alternative Movable barriers could be placed to way of doing registration, if this is services to allow parishioners to been taken and their details regis- temperature scanning and registra- block these exits from being used as available, is by scanning a QR code leave the church before the next con- tered. It should be used before they tion will be given a sticker (to in- entrances. These barriers could be re- or using a mobile application. Video gregation arrives and to allow the enter the church. Both the Visitors dicate that they have been scanned moved as needed by appointed min- surveillance, if CCTVs are avail- church to be cleaned. Book and the hand sanitiser should and registered, in the event that they isters of hospitality/wardens. able, could be used as an alternative be placed on a table at the entrance need to leave the church to use the 6. Parishioners are to be remind- means of visually recording attend- of the church next to the area where toilet or for some other urgent pur- 4. Members of the congregation who ed to not remain in the church or ees. the temperature scanning is done. pose). arrive for the next Mass should be re- church compound and to refrain All persons should sanitise their quested to stay outside until the end 3. Persons responsible for tempera- 6. The priest, staff, liturgical min- from spending an unduly long time hands before picking up the pen to of the earlier service. A designated ture check should be given prior isters and volunteers must pass in church praying to allow the next write their details and they should waiting area (with sufficient social training in the SOP and use of the through the temperature scan and congregation to enter. sanitise their hands again when they distancing) could be set aside for this temperature scanner, and provided registration and be cleared before are done writing. If a QR code is purpose. The waiting area should not 7. At the conclusion of the Mass/ ser- with face masks and face shields, if being allowed to enter the church scanned, they only need to sanitise be located near the exit point of the vice, it is recommended that the min- available. for the service. once before entering the church. church to avoid congestion. isters of hospitality (wardens/ushers) 4. A bottle of hand sanitiser should should direct the congregation to Please see Appendix M for details. 7. Anyone exhibiting a temperature 5. Preferably there should be a mini- be made available to all parishioners of more than 37.5 degrees Celsius leave the church row by row to avoid 5. Everyone who has completed mum 60 minute interval between for use after their temperature has should not be admitted. a crowd building up at the exit. Safe Distancing Cleaning

Keep a safe distance of 1 metre 1. Disposable gloves and plastic respective seats and kneelers. They bags need to be made available for are to be personally responsible for emergency use should there be a removing all discarded items from body fluid spill. the pews, as failure to do this would increase the risk of contamination 2. Church and common areas should for others. An announcement could be cleaned after every service. be made or shown at the end of the 3. Microphones, ambo (lectern), service to remind people of this. organ keyboard, confessional and 5. Volunteers for the cleaning crew liturgical items need to be cleaned should be provided with a kit – fa- and where possible disinfected after 1. Queuing lines - Spots should be four slots within an elevator. The sons occupy only both ends of each cial mask (shield, if available), every service. marked on the floor to ensure a min- elevator should be reserved for disa- alternate pew. For the next pew, the gloves, cleaning cloths, and other imum of 1 metre between people. bled and the elderly. Other parish- person may be allowed to sit only 4. Parishioners need to be trained to cleaning solution and equipment This should be done at the entrance ioners should be encouraged to use in the middle. This system should maintain general cleanliness at their needed for the job. of the Church and for communion staircases. continue in an alternate fashion to ensure that there is safe distancing. lines leading to the sanctuary, con- 3. No contact – All persons must Depending on the length of the pew, fession lines leading to the confes- avoid physical contact with each small families of not more than 4 sional, queues before entering toilets other. and elevators. persons (or disabled person with 4. Pews and seating – Benches caregiver), may be seated together, 2. Elevators – Slots should be clearly should be marked to ensure that provided that there is sufficient dis- demarcated on the floor of the eleva- there is a distance of at least 1 me- tance from the person on the other tor to ensure that there is sufficient tre from the next person on the same end of the pew. (See diagram above) social distancing – 1 metre apart pew and in the pew behind or in from each other. It is recommended 5. Pews should be numbered for the front. It is recommended that per- Church and common areas should be cleaned after every service that there should not be more than purpose of contact tracing. Face Masks Holy Water Toilets and Waste disposals 1. Holy Water fonts at the en- 1. Parishioners should be encouraged should observe social distancing (with trances of the as far as possible to use toilets at home. markers on the floor). Church should 2. Church toilets should only be used 5. Hand soap should be made available be emptied. X for emergencies. in all toilets. 2. Parish could 3. Cubicles and urinals must be marked 6. Dustbins with foot pedal activated consider prepar- with alternate units closed to ensure lids should be placed throughout the ing small bottles that there is sufficient social distanc- church compound and in toilets. of holy water ing. Barricades or tape or signs should 7. Used face masks and gloves, which The priest(s) and all staff, as well for people’s col- be used to indicate that the unit is not cannot be recycled, should be disposed as volunteers and members of the lection, to avoid to be used. congregation attending any ser- contact with a of in separate bins designated for this vices, are to wear facial masks on common source. 4. There should be no waiting or queues purpose and should not be mixed with the premises of the Church. within toilets. All queues outside toilets other waste material. Material Source: Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur / Image Source: Freepik & Shutterstock 14 Focus HERALD June 21, 2020 One thousand Sister Doctors counsel those distressed in other countries on COVID-19 KATTAPANA, INDIA: Sr Lijo Joseph Joseph is among 12 sisters in India mortality rate of coronavirus patients India, a national body of the Catho- calls a Kenyan number on WhatsApp who are doctors who have joined Co- is lower than other diseases and ad- lic hospitals and clinics based in the from a hospital in Chikmagalur, and a rona Care, a global counselling net- vised her to take preventive measures, southern Indian city of Hyderabad, young woman responds, “Hello.” work to support those suffering from such as social distancing and frequent launched the counselling network The member of the Congregation of the coronavirus and those needing washing of hands. Feb. 26. the Mother of Carmel then says: “I am immediate medical guidance. “After more than 15 minutes of Claretian Fr George Kannanthan- Sr Lijo Joseph, a doctor calling from The Kenyan mother was afraid her counselling, she was happy and am, the association’s deputy secre- Corona Care from India.” daughter, who had a sore throat, had thanked me for sparing time,” she tary, said they thought of the network The woman on the other side im- contracted COVID-19. One of the said. to help those suffering in China and mediately responds, “Yes, I contacted daughter’s friends had tested positive. The Indian nun said the network other countries where the pandemic your office.” The panic-stricken wom- “I gently told her that it was not offers her a great opportunity to go was raging at that time. an begins to narrate her three-year-old yet confirmed if her daughter was to the peripheries to heal human suf- “India then had only a few corona- daughter’s health condition. infected,” Joseph said. “In the worst fering. She also works as a doctor at virus positive cases,” said the priest. “I listened without interrupting her. Sr Lijo Joseph of the Congregation of case, the girl could easily recover a church hospital in Chikmagalur, a Besides the 12 sister doctors, the When she realised I was listening, she Mother Carmel talks to a patient over with proper care in consultation with diocese in the southwestern Indian network has 18 psychologists and the phone in her clinic in Chikmagalur local doctors.” state of Karnataka. social workers in India, said Kannan- sounded more comfortable,” said Jo- Diocese, Karnataka, India. (GSR seph. photo) Joseph assured the mother that the The Catholic Health Association of thanam, who coordinates the project. COVID-19 call centre Giving correct information he nuns led it from the start. coronavirus pandemic. r Beena Devasia Madhavath, an India reported the first COVID-19 “TThey trained themselves “I have to attend to the patients SUrsuline of Mary Immaculate nun case Jan 29 in the southwestern In- to deal with the crisis and readied visiting me directly and to panic who heads the Sister Doctors Forum dian state of Kerala. The patient was a others in the network to help the calls from anywhere in India and of India, said they started the network medical student who came from Wu- needy,” said Claretian Fr George abroad,” Thaikkadan said. after reading about people in China han, China, where the global pandem- Kannanthanam. Kannanthanam said anyone can who had no access to the right infor- ic was first identified. Two others who Three months after the launch, call the network directly or email mation on the virus from trained doc- travelled with her also tested positive, the volunteers counsel people by with their queries. Three people at tors. but all of them recovered. phone in approximately 20 lan- the help desk attend to the calls and “Many lived in uncertainty and con- The scenario in India, however, guages, including Chinese, English, connect them to a doctor immedi- fusion,” said Madhavath, who leads changed when Prime Minister Naren- French, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, ately. more than 1,000 nun doctors working dra Modi imposed a 21-day lockdown Slovakian and Spanish. If a doctor is not available imme- in various parts of India. beginning March 25 that he further “The service is available round diately, the person who answered However, the network had to focus extended to May 3. The lockdown has the clock,” the priest added. the call collects the caller’s details Sr. Alphy Thaikkadan, center, on India, too, where the virus was since been extended multiple times Another Corona Care member, and fixes a convenient time for the a Sister of St Francis of Assisi, spreading fast. and now runs through June 30, though Sr. Alphy Thaikkadan, is a general doctor to call back. The help-desk attends to patients at her clinic in Madhavath, a gynecologist, now rules are relaxing in some places. physician in a private hospital in Ja- attendant also refers cases to physi- Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, India. serves as the medical superintendent Madhavath said they wanted to balpur, a town in the central Indian ologists or social workers if the (GSR photo) of the Holy Family Hospital in Mum- provide common people with correct state of Madhya Pradesh. caller requests. made tie-ups with volunteers in bai, capital of Maharashtra, the west- information about the virus and free “My life has new challenges eve- John Santosh, the founder of Bil- other countries. Calls can be made ern Indian state that has the most coro- their worries and uncertainties in life. ry day now,” she said. lionLives, which provides technical directly to them after selecting the navirus cases in the country. “During calamities like this, peo- Besides attending to patients in support to the network, said Corona language,” said Santosh. As of June 15, Maharashtra ac- ple look up to the Catholic religious her hospital, the School Sisters of St Care has received calls from Eng- The Catholic technocrat said they counted for 3,950 of India’s 9,520 for immediate help,” Madhavath said. Francis nun attends to the spiritual land, Japan and Persian Gulf coun- do not record call details, as those deaths from COVID-19 and nearly “This was another reason for develop- and psychological needs of those tries, among others. are the “privacy concerns of the 10,800 of the 333,007 cases in the ing the online platform with sisters for locked down in India because of the “As the demand increased, we caller.” country. counselling and guiding people.” People are desperate Fear of dying Other countries haikkadan said the prolonged about his doubts about COVID-19 he counsellors say a major worry he network also has volun- and traumatised. Tlockdown has made people all and asked if his son could infect oth- Tamong all callers is the possibility Tteers in other countries, such as “My life becomes meaningful over India desperate. ers in the family,” she said. of dying from COVID-19. Claretian Fr. Jijo Kandamkulathy when it is spent for others,” said “I get most calls from various None of the family members, who One such caller was the father a six- in Macau, China. the Indian priest. “The Catholic states in India. Many want to con- completed the 14-day mandatory year-old girl from Bengaluru, the capi- “The sisters are the backbone Church has given me education firm if they are infected, as they are quarantine period, had contracted tal of Karnataka state. He talked to Sr. of this network,” Kandamkulathy and opportunity to serve others. I scared of the virus,” she said. the disease. “But still, fear haunted Prema Misquith, a homeopathic doctor told GSR. “They find time to help am making good use of it by help- them.” working in the northeastern Indian state people from their tight schedules in ing those suffering from COV- Thaikkadan said people who live of Mizoram. their hospitals.” ID-19.” in poverty require more than words The Sisters of Little Flower of Betha- Kandamkulathy, who “strongly” Similarly, a group of health care of consolation. They want evidence, ny nun said the man called the network believes “social work and charity professionals in the United King- such as ultrasounds, to assure them because he was not satisfied with his go together,” attends to calls from dom, mostly from India, who are they are not infected. In such cases, visit to a local doctor. Chinese people and arranges re- associated with Caring Hands the doctors show them images from Misquith said the man sounded sources for those who are sick. India seeks the help of the nuns’ the ultrasounds. frightened as he narrated his daughter’s For him, the network is a plat- counselling network: They have “They have more faith in sonogra- fever, stomach pain and vomiting. The form to connect with people, es- asked the nuns to counsel their par- phy, although they don't understand first thing he wanted to know was if his pecially when they are confused ents living in India. Sr. Alphy Thaikkadan distributes free anything. They believe us after see- daughter was infected with COVID-19. rations to village women in Jabalpur, ing the image. They also carry the Because stomach pain and vomiting A great help Madhya Pradesh, India. (GSR photo) image to their village to convince are not usually symptoms of COV- others that they are fine,” Thaik- ID-19, “I told him that she was not in- ne of the professionals, Soji even after the lockdown is lifted. According to her, both the educat- kadan said. fected with the viral disease and there OAlex Thachankary, said the “It has a huge network in India ed and the uneducated are ignorant Many poor villagers approach was no need for him to panic,” she said. network is a great help for their and abroad,” he said. about the virus. Thaikkadan for food, as the lock- Misquith also offered to pray for his parents at home, “as we cannot Madhavath agreed. “They really believe they would down has dried up their income. daughter’s speedy recovery. “I was sur- visit them physically during lock- “We understand our duty does die if they contract COVID-19, so “We try to provide them dry ra- prised when the Hindu man readily ac- down.” not end fighting the deadly - dis they want to take as much precaution tions as far as possible,” she said. cepted my prayer offer. He thanked me He said the network’s dedicat- ease. We have to be available as possible,” she said. Thaikkadan said she is happy she for the prayers and agreed God would ed sister doctors are available day to people who suffer from post- She attended to a political leader joined Corona Care. The pandemic heal his daughter.” and night for “everyone in dis- COVID trauma. So we will be from Kerala whose son had returned and the counseling have “helped me The nun also shared with him a list of tress, whether in India or abroad.” around even after the corona war from the United States. become rooted more in Christ to help government hospitals in his city for him Thachankary said he sees the is over.” — By Saji Thomas, “He spoke for almost half an hour the suffering.” to approach in an emergency. network continuing its service NCR HERALD June 21, 2020 Children 15 LittleLittle CCatholicsatholics’ CCornerorner

"Are not two sparrows God knows it! If God sold for a penny? Yet cares when a little not one of them will sparrow falls to the fall to the ground ground, can you im- apart from the will agine how much he of your Father. And cares for you? Well, even the very hairs I'll tell you how much of your head are all God cares for you -- numbered!" ( Mat- He cares for you so thew 10: 29-30) much that He sent Dear children, the His only Son, Jesus, Bible tells us that to die on the cross so God knows exactly that you could have how many hairs are everlasting life. Now, on your head. Look that's amazing love! around in our fam- Children, today is ily or friends, some also Father's Day. of us have a lot of Let us thank him hair and some don't for providing all our have very much. It physical needs such doesn't matter how as a place to live, much or how little food and clothes. hair you have, God Let us ask Jesus to knows how many hairs bless all Fathers in are on each person's the world, especial- head! ly Fathers who have The Bible also says lost their loved ones that God knows ex- during the pandemic actly how many birds coronavirus. are in the air and if one of them dies and Love falls to the ground, Aunty Eliz

Let's Colour

Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven (Matt 10: 32) HERALD YYOOUTHUTH June 21, 2020 OPENING OUR HEARTS AND EYES AS TEENS UALA LUMPUR: The prep- cred Heart. aration for the feast of The Form 4 class was well rep- the Sacred Heart of Je- resented by five enthusiastic and K privileged teenagers in reciting the sus went into full gear for the chaplet to the Sacred Heart of Je- second week running, when sus. With the guidance of their class the teenagers from Form 1 to catechists, Josephine Raymond, Form 5 were handed the rare and Andrew Dass, these five teen- opportunity to animate the agers, Rachel Christabel, Sandra Mass and partake in an online Kareena Anne, Hendrick James Anthony, Joanne Andrina Johnson session, “Opening our hearts and Arldrin Lee Chun Ming, came and eyes as Teens”. Teenage forward and recorded their video. years are truly exciting yet Hearts Ablaze, the teen choir of challenging years. the parish, also gave two song rendi- The online session was a joint effort tions. The effort at collating individu- between the two seminarians based als singing independently from their at the Church of the Sacred Heart homes into a choral rendition was a The teenagers recite the chaplet of the Sacred Heart of Jesus online. of Jesus, Phillip Asirwalam and An- feat coordinated by catechist Irene life. Using everyday language and ated and improved in the effort of thony Robert, working with the input Lourdes. contemporary examples, he tried to ministering to teenagers. of Fr Lionel Thomas from Melaka and Earlier at the Mass celebrated for attract the teenagers to live as dy- Meanwhile there will probably be the secondary school catechism. teenagers, the celebrant, Fr Simon namic young Christians. many more times to come for these Each class was given the oppor- Lau, mentioned the joys and pitfalls The Mass and session for teens was teenagers to find their direction tunity to contribute towards the ses- of growing up. The teenage years a first time online effort for many of in life and pledge their hearts and sion either in the form of reciting the are important years of discovery for those involved. It was a learning ex- minds to the Most Sacred Heart of chaplet or singing songs to the Sa- one’s self-identity and purpose in perience that needs to be evalu- Jesus. Malaysia joins global Rosary Relay, praying for the sanctification of priests KOTA KINABALU: Malaysia joined over the Kota Kinabalu Cathedral parish to cel- began on June 11 until June 19,” Lim add- 85 countries in prayer in conjunction with the ebrate its patronal feastday. ed. The novena materials were prepared by Annual Global Rosary Relay for the Sanctifi- She explained, “The Feast of the Sacred WorldPriest and have already been circulated cation of Priests June 19. Heart has always been timed to coincide with to the parishioners. Sacred Heart Cathedral in the Archdio- the World Day of Prayer for the Sanctifica- She encouraged all Malaysians to partici- cese of Kota Kinabalu led the Rosary from tion of Priests. So, we wrote in to WorldPriest pate “Since Sacred Heart Cathedral is the the Blessed Sacrament Chapel at 8.00pm of our interest to participate in the rosary re- only location that participates from Malay- through their Youtube channel at “Sacred lay. That’s how they included us in this year’s sia, all Malaysians are welcome to tune in to Heart Cathedral, Kota Kinabalu”. programme. join in the relay as one with us.” The Cathedral’s Parish Youth Pastoral “Throughout the whole day June 19, there WorldPriest Apostolate is a lay organisa- Team was responsible for taking up the ini- will be different locations across the world tion of professional communications lay tiative to participate in this global prayer. reciting the allocated mysteries. For our loca- people formed in 2003 to ‘affirm the dignity, Aline Lim, coordinator of the youth team, tion, we will recite the Sorrowful Mysteries. beauty and gift of the priesthood of Jesus said the initiative was a preparation for the “In preparation for the Rosary Relay, a Christ to humanity’. — By Linda Edward, Feast of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus for nine-day Novena to the Sacred Heart of Jesus CS HERALD June 21, 2020 Youth 17 Why The Little Youths unite in Things Matter Taize Prayer I remind you of the good news we received as a gift on the morning of A screen capture of Sharing Seeds. the Resurrection: that in all PENANG: A live sharing by the when things happen. Faith the dark or painful situations Seeds Music Ministry of the and hope come hand in hand. Diocese of Penang was led by With faith, there is always that we mentioned, Brenda Julianose, accompa- hope! Love speaks about do- there is a way out. nied by Jonathan D’Ovliveiro. ing anything, big or small, out Christus Vivit 104 They chose to elaborate on of love. This is how St. Jose- the life of St. Josemaria Escri- maria Escriva lived his life to SANDAKAN: For the first time, va. St. Josemaria Escriva lived the full. Sandakan Diocese Youth Aposto- a life of faith, hope and love. late (SDYA) held a livestream Taize In 1 Corinthians 3:13 it says, St Josemaria Escriva Mission Prayer on June 1. “and now faith, hope and love  A universal call to holiness The prayer was devoted to healing abide, these three; and the  To sanctify the value of and to prayers for the end of the COV- greatest of these is love.” ordinary work ID-19 pandemic. Faith is the assurance that SDYA took this effort to reach out to everything will be fine even ‘Great Holiness consists in youths through social media as most when things are not favour- carrying out the little duties of of them have been longing to gather able. Hope keeps us moving each moment’ - St Josemaria and pray together. and expects us to change Escriva. — By Sabrina Smith The event was made possible by the participation of the youth as they Follow Seeds Music Ministry on: made recordings of spiritual songs and Taize songs using applications such as ’Virtual Choir’, ‘Wondershare’ and ‘Kinemaster’. All of these recordings were compiled and broadcast live dur- ing the Taize Prayer broadcast live. The Gospel Ancient Hopefully through this Taize Prayer, the faith of the youth will be strength- but Current ened. The youths are also reminded that even in this difficult times, God KUALA LUMPUR: On June will surely show us a way out. 11, MOVE Youth organised Taize prayer will be livestreamed a webinar “In case you next month again and we invite youth missed it, The Gospel, An- and their families to join. — Dospo cient but True” via Zoom. Sandakan Sandakan youths with their families participating in the livestream Taize prayer. The webinar’s main speak- er was Bro Pius OFM Cap. Bro Pius shared the sig- nificance of modern day Invitation to take part in media and its advantages of spreading the Gospel. He started off by saying that Jesus is the ultimate a new process exploring example of the use of So- cial Media to share God’s Word. Jesus’ constant The opportunity that is youth accompaniment participation in the market brought forward to us is that LONDON: Million Minutes is utes wish to hear from a range of place, getting on the ground now we have the available launching a new process to ex- people who have experience of to speak God’s Word to the media tools at our disposal plore how the Church can bet- accompanying young people in people is His most effective to propagate the Gospel. ter accompany young people. different settings both formally method. The question left to be an- Responding to Pope Francis call and informally. Curtin contin- In comparison to that, he swered in our hearts is, “Do for ‘a Church capable of walking ued: “We don't just want the for- raised a question, “With all we want Christ to be known at people’s sides’ they want to mal examples of youth leaders the latest modes of technol- in the world?”. The message learn from what’s already hap- and chaplains. We also want to ogy, hardware and software, of Christ through the Gospel pening. They then plan to invite know about those people doing are we really high tech in is aimed at bringing good people to collaborate together to it in other ways. It could be a spreading God’s Word?” The and providing life to every- explore the learning, and to de- choir member who is a confidant Church has long withstood one. What more, in this 21st velop approaches and resources to the younger singers; or maybe challenges and has existed century, we have the tools to support people in, what Pope the person who runs the parish all through out history, and to broadcast this message to Francis calls, the “art of accom- youth group; or the parishioner hence has made the continui- large numbers of people at paniment’. who’s just a natural at it or may ty of faith a reality till this day. our fingertips. Danny Curtin explained: “It is be even someone offering spir- This is evident and only possi- The session ended with Bro a process to encourage, develop people is timeless. But in a world itual direction. It might also be ble through a loving encoun- Pius encouraging the youth and support a culture of accompa- undeniably changed by COVID-19, someone doing this away from their ter of our Lord Jesus with His to take the first step to initi- niment of our young people within the need for genuine accompa- church setting. It may be a teacher followers. ate programmes and ideas Catholic communities. That means niment is greater than ever. Our or support worker who listens and The intelligence of modern through the use of modern walking side by side with young communities possess an incredible encourages; may be a professional day media, with all its fea- media to share God’s Word. people, taking time to be with them, capacity to extend God’s love to whose faith is part of how they sup- tures and extension, comes However small or large the listening attentively and helping young people and walk shoulder to port young people.” — ICN from our Creator, channelled audience may be, the main them to hear the ‘good spirit’ within shoulder with them, in their lives through human ingenuity. It goal is to always to touch them as they journey through life, and in how they help lead the world Readers are invited to take part in would have never been pos- hearts and transform lives to- both in their small steps in their and the Church, in the response to a short survey, as the first phase of sible, if God had not planted wards the Love of God. — By most significant life choices. current times.” a longer project. this ability or potential in us. Ian John “The call to accompany young To begin the process Million Min- See: http://tiny.cc/xazcqz 18 HERALD June 14, 2020 For more enquiries, please contact: Email: [email protected] Tel: 03-2026 8290 / 03-2026 8291 HERALD June 21, 2020 Saints of the Week & Short Readings 19 Getting to know Daily Short Reading Sunday, June 21 St Aloysius Gonzaga (2 Timothy 2:8,11-13) Remember the Good News that I he Lord can make to Florence to be educated; father. Eminent churchmen and lay- the disease. A fever persisted after carry, ‘Jesus Christ risen from the saints anywhere, by age 11 he was teach- people were pressed into service to his recovery and he was so weak he dead, sprung from the race of Da- Teven amid ing the catechism to persuade Aloysius to remain in his could scarcely rise from bed. Yet, he vid’. Here is a saying that you can the brutality and poor children, fast- “normal” vocation. Finally he pre- maintained his great discipline of rely on: ‘If we have died with him, license of Renais- ing three days a vailed, was allowed to renounce prayer, knowing that he would die then we shall live with him. If we sance life. Flor- week, and practic- his right to succession, and was re- within the octave of Corpus Christi, hold firm, then we shall reign with ence was the ing great austeri- ceived into the Jesuit novitiate. three months later, at the age of 23. him. If we disown him, then he will “mother of pi- ties. When he was Like other seminarians, Aloysius disown us. We may be unfaithful, ety” for Aloysius 13 years old, he was faced with a new kind of pen- Reflection but he is always faithful, for he Gonzaga despite travelled with his ance — that of accepting different As a saint who fasted, scourged cannot disown his own self.’ his exposure to a parents and the ideas about the exact nature of pen- himself, sought solitude and prayer, Monday, June 22 “society of fraud, Empress of Austria ance. He was obliged to eat more, and did not look on the faces of (Judith 8:25-26,27) dagger, poison, to Spain, and acted and to take recreation with the other women, Aloysius seems an unlikely and lust.” As a son as a page in the court students. He was forbidden to pray patron of youth in a society where Let us give thanks to the Lord of a princely fam- of Philip II. The more except at stated times. He spent four asceticism is confined to training our God who, as he tested our ily, he grew up in royal Aloysius saw of court years in the study of philosophy camps of football teams and boxers, ancestors, is now testing us. Re- courts and army camps. His life, the more disillusioned he and had St Robert Bellarmine as his and sexual permissiveness has little member how he treated Abra- father wanted Aloysius to be a mili- became, seeking relief in learning spiritual adviser. left to permit. Can an overweight ham, all the ordeals of Isaac and tary hero. about the lives of saints. In 1591, a plague struck Rome. and air-conditioned society deprive all that happened to Jacob. For At age seven Aloysius experi- A book about the experience of The Jesuits opened a hospital of itself of anything? It will when it as these ordeals were intended enced a profound spiritual quicken- Jesuit missionaries in India sug- their own. The superior general discovers a reason, as Aloysius by him to search their hearts, so ing. His prayers included the Of- gested to him the idea of entering himself and many other Jesuits ren- did. The motivation for letting God now this is not vengeance that fice of Mary, the psalms, and other the Society of Jesus, and in Spain dered personal service. Because he purify us is the experience of God God exacts against us, but a devotions. At age nine he came his decision became final. Now nursed patients, washing them and loving us in prayer. — franciscan- warning inflicted by the Lord on from his hometown of Castiglione began a four-year contest with his making their beds, Aloysius caught media.org those who are near his heart. Tuesday, June 23 (Isaiah 55:1) A Married saint: St Thomas More Oh, come to the water all you Patron of: Attorneys, Civil Serv- riage was a happy one, cut short by writer (Utopia) and a statesman. who are thirsty; though you have ants, Court Clerks, Lawyers, Politi- Jane’s death at 22. He is best known for his clash with no money, come! cians, Public Servants and Adopted Left a widower with four small King Henry VIII over the king’s de- Buy corn without money, and eat, Children children, More quickly married cision to divorce his wife Catherine and, at no cost, wine and milk. Marriage is both a public institu- Alice Middleton, a silk merchant. of Aragon and marry Anne Boleyn. tion and a private relationship. St Known for her sharp tongue, Alice He refused to take an oath that de- Wednesday, June 24 Thomas More defended the institu- faced the tough task of raising her clared the king’s first marriage - in (Malachi 3:23-24) tion with his life and lived the rela- stepchildren — she and More had valid and recognised Henry as head Know that I am going to send tionship faithfully and fruitfully. no children of their own — and of the Church of England. He was you Elijah the prophet before my More was born in 1478 in Lon- running the household. One biog- convicted of treason on the basis of day comes, that great and terri- don. His mother died when he was rapher observed: “In this marriage religious upbringing of his children, perjured testimony and beheaded on ble day. He shall turn the hearts young. After an excellent education, — whatever may have been lacking and well as their general education. July 6, 1535. of fathers towards their children he seriously considered joining a in beauty — there was at no time a He made sure that his three daugh- More was canonised in 1935. He and the hearts of children to- religious order, but realised that he lack of mutual respect or of a clear ters received as fine an education shares his feastday, June 22, with an- wards their fathers, lest I come could not renounce marriage and understanding as to the competence as his son, at a time when few girls other English martyr, St John Fisher. and strike the land with a curse. family life. In 1505 he married Jane of each spouse.” were educated. St Thomas More, pray for us. Thursday, June 25 Colt, 10 years his junior. The mar- More paid close attention to the Thomas More was a lawyer, a — foryourmarriage.org (Romans 8:18-21) What we suffer in this life can Responsibility of Christian citizenship never be compared to the glory, ike all historical events of con- over the papacy. To temper that influ- of England, Thomas More, a highly and feel sympathy for More. There is as yet unrevealed, which is wait- sequence, King Henry VIII’s ence, Clement allied himself with the educated and worldly figure, stood up a severe lack of orientation among to- L ing for us. The whole creation marital theatrics and Thomas More’s king of France, Francis I, an enemy of against when he refused to endorse day’s governors, who cloak their own is eagerly waiting for God to re- reserved objections did not occur in Charles. By the time Henry VIII came Henry’s claim over the Church. More political interests in hollow pitches veal his sons. It was not for any a vacuum. It’s easy, even typical of knocking on Rome’s door for an an- was not naïve about the politics of his and promises to a presumed ignorant fault on the part of creation that people today, to presume that Henry’s nulment, the city had been sacked by country or his Church. His allegiance citizenry. They appear to be winning. it was made unable to attain its steamy infatuation with Anne Boleyn Charles’ army and the pope, who had to authority was never blind, but al- And many Christians themselves purpose, it was made so by God; (who became his second wife) was barely escaped, was reluctant to ruffle ways informed and nuanced. confusedly ingest the propaganda but creation still retains the hope the source of the impending rift be- the Emperor’s feathers again. What makes Thomas More really they serve. It is a great irony, for ex- of being freed, like us, from its tween England and Rome. But we Needless to say, protecting the stand out is the quality of his faith ample, that the Judeo-Christian tradi- slavery to decadence, to enjoy shouldn’t miss the political complexi- Church’s teaching on the indissolu- amidst the wild politics of his day. tion, which is filled from beginning the same freedom and glory as ties of that historical moment, which, bility of marriage may not have been Knowing what he knew of Henry, to end with divine commands to wel- the children of God when considered, only enhance the the Pope’s primary motivation for de- Pope Clement, Charles, and other come the stranger, could be twisted to reputation and legacy of St Thomas nying Henry’s request. Even within powerful men in Europe — of the justify turning them away. .Friday, June 26 More, whose feast we celebrate on the papal entourage came more crea- personal and worldly interests at Thomas More was many things: (Galatians 2:19-20) June 22. tive suggestions – that Henry could play, of the politics cloaked in theo- a talented statesman, a gifted orator, Henry’s father had won the throne take on a second wife who would ap- logical and moral justification — he and a loving husband and father. He Through the Law I am dead to the of England after decades of dynas- pease all parties, for example. remained loyal to Christ, even to the was also a well formed and informed Law, so that now I can live with tic war, so it was an insecure hold It was indeed an era of power point of sharing the way of the cross. Christian, highly intelligent and ra- God. I have been crucified with on authority that he bequeathed to politics, not to mention the underly- More was killed for believing a tional, and not naïve to the power Christ, and I live now not with my his 18-year-old son. Twenty-four ing complication of finances. The truth: that a king could not be the politics of his day. He remained con- own life but with the life of Christ years into their marriage, Henry VIII English parliament, aristocracy, and head of the Church. But to him it was nected to the one guiding light that who lives in me. The life I now live and Catherine had not given birth even episcopacy (with the exception not an abstract conviction. A human- cannot be dimmed or corrupted. in this body I live in faith: faith in the to a male heir, which compromised of Bishop John Fisher) were all too ist deeply concerned with the general A citizenry should educate itself Son of God who loved me and who Henry’s claim to the throne and suc- happy to support legislation in 1534 progress of society and the inclusion about politics to keep its elected of- sacrificed himself for my sake. cession in such a precarious political which, apart from annulling Henry’s of its citizens (he penned Utopia in ficials accountable. Likewise, Chris- Saturday, June 27 moment. first marriage and declaring him head 1516), More knew what corruption tian citizens should educate them- (Apocalypse 12:1) Catherine was the aunt of Span- of the Church of England, halted followed such exploitation of reli- selves about the faith to keep their Now a great sign appeared in ish emperor Charles V. Charles was the steady flow of money from their gious power. The king was the king, Christian elected officials account- heaven: a woman, adorned crowned Holy Roman Emperor by homeland to the papal coffers. but he was not Christ’s vicar. able. Thomas More is a good model with the sun, standing on the Pope Clement VII in 1520, and by It was this chaotic and complex po- Today, conscientious Christians to follow in that regard. — By Sebas- moon, and with the twelve virtue, exercised enormous influence litical theatre that the Lord Chancellor may look at the political landscape tian Gomes, saltandlighttv.org stars on her head for a crown. Evangelisation: The Way of the Heart We pray that all those who suffer may find their way in life, allowing themselves to be touched by the Heart of Jesus.

Download the Click To Pray updates now. THE CATHOLIC WEEKLY June 21, 2020 UN experts slam Israel’s annexation plan: ‘21st century apartheid’ JERUSALEM: Dozens of United The new Israeli government, led ing the annexation.” “Two peoples”, Nations human rights experts have by Prime Minister Benjamin Netan- concludes the note, “living in the condemned the Israeli plan of an- yahu and opposition leader Benny same space, ruled by the same state, nexation of part of the occupied West Gantz, plans to annex Palestinian ter- but with profoundly unequal rights. Bank territories, calling it “the 21st ritories and legalise settlements. This is a vision of a 21st Century century apartheid”. This worries Christian religious apartheid”. According to the group’s mem- leaders in the Holy Land. For them, Saeb Erekat, secretary general of bers, about fifty in all, the project, the plans are “serious and cata- the Organisation for the Liberation strongly supported by Prime Minis- strophic,” despite being backed by of Palestine (PLO), welcomes the ter Benjamin Netanyahu, violates in- the United States through its contro- UN expert note, which represents a ternational law and leads to the crea- versial “deal of the century”, a peace reminder “to the international com- tion of a “Palestinian Bantustan”. plan drafted by the Trump adminis- munity of its responsibilities” and To date, over 600,000 Jewish set- tration. The new Israeli government, agreed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the “seriousness of the situation”. tlers live in the 140 settlements scat- For the 47 experts, appointed by opposition leader Benny Gantz, plans to annex Palestinian territories and legalise An Israeli diplomatic source, behind tered throughout the West Bank and the United Nations Human Rights settlements (AsiaNews/Agencies) anonymity because unauthorised to East Jerusalem. Much of the world Council, “the annexation of the oc- recent years by the Security Council The Israeli occupation, they add, speak to the press, replies that the community regards them as illegal cupied territories is a serious viola- and the UN General Assembly, ac- is already in itself “a source of statement “does nothing to help find under international law; faced with tion of the UN Charter and the Ge- cording to which “the acquisition of profound human rights violations a solution to the conflict or create a the opposition of the Israeli govern- neva Conventions”. The project also the territories by force or war is inad- against the Palestinian population” constructive dialogue between the ment and its US ally. contrasts with the decisions made in missible”. and is “expected to increase follow- parties”. — AsiaNews / Agencies Knights finally waking up Catholics cannot ignore the to organisation’s politicking poverty caused by the pandemic WASHINGTON: Hundreds of members of the Knights of Colum- VATICAN: Pope Francis said that the not leave him, so that you may be bus have petitioned the group’s Su- coronavirus pandemic has revealed honoured at the end of your days. preme Chaplain, Baltimore Arch- poverty that Catholics cannot ignore. Whatever happens to you, accept it, bishop William Lori, in response to “The word of God allows for no and in the uncertainties of your hum- President Donald Trump’s June 2 complacency; it constantly impels us ble state, be patient, since gold is test- visit to the Knights-owned St John to acts of love,” Pope Francis wrote in ed in the fire, and chosen men in the Paul II Shrine in Washington. The his message for the 2020 World Day furnace of humiliation. Trust him and visit came one day after the admin- of the Poor. he will uphold you, follow a straight istration ordered the use of tear gas “This pandemic arrived suddenly path and hope in him. You who fear to disperse a protesting Black Lives and caught us unprepared, sparking a the Lord, wait for his mercy; do not Matter crowd for another religiously- Members of the Knights of Co- powerful sense of bewilderment and turn aside in case you fall.’” themed presidential photo op. lumbus in their new uniforms helplessness,” the Pope said. “This Pope Francis said: “The Church Lori should respond to the peti- Aug 1, 2017. (CNS/Knights of has made us all the more aware of the certainly has no comprehensive solu- tioners’ concerns about politicking Columbus) presence of the poor in our midst and tions to propose, but by the grace of and the organisation’s own history of their need for help.” Christ she can offer her witness and prejudice and racism. organisation. Founder Fr Michael Pope Francis said that “time de- The Pope recognised that the after- her gestures of charity.” Some Knights, including NCR col- McGivney would hardly recognise voted to prayer can never become an math of the coronavirus pandemic has “She likewise feels compelled to umnist Fr Peter Daly, have decided today’s Knights, which has morphed alibi for neglecting our neighbour in left many people feeling “poorer and speak out on behalf of those who lack to quit after decades of membership; into one of the world’s largest insur- need.” less self- sufficient.” life’s basic necessities. For the Chris- others are threatening to quit. ance companies, not to mention a “Prayer to God and solidarity with “The present experience has chal- tian people, to remind everyone of Clearly, this example of overt par- successful conservative influencer the poor and suffering are insepara- lenged many of our assumptions,” the great value of the common good tisan posturing proved the tipping and funder. ble,” he said. he said. “The loss of employment, is a vital commitment, expressed in point for many members, who likely Anderson himself is a former po- In his message published June 13, and of opportunities to be close to our the effort to ensure that no one whose joined the organisation looking for litical operative and legislative as- the Pope wrote that “generosity that loved ones and our regular acquaint- human dignity is violated in its basic opportunities for service and camara- sistant to Sen Jesse Helms of North supports the weak, consoles the af- ances, suddenly opened our eyes to needs will be forgotten,” he added. derie, not political controversy. Even Carolina, a segregationist who op- flicted, relieves suffering and restores horizons that we had long since taken The theme for this year’s World the Archbishop of Washington felt posed civil rights. During Ander- dignity to those stripped of it, is a con- for granted. Our spiritual and material Day of the Poor comes from a line the need to issue a public statement, son’s two decades at the helm of the dition for a fully human life.” resources were called into question in chapter six of the Book of Sirach: calling the decision to move forward Knights, the organisation has grown He stressed that the time given in and we found ourselves experiencing Stretch forth your hand to the poor. with the long-planned Trump event in size and influence. In the past support of the poor cannot be put sec- fear.” “This year’s theme – Stretch forth “baffling and reprehensible.” A D.C. decade, it has given $1.55 billion to ond to one’s personal interests. Francis pointed to the wisdom your hand to the poor – is thus a chapter, made up of black members, charity. “The decision to care for the poor, found in the Old Testament Book summons to responsibility and com- agreed, denouncing the visit. But not all those charities are soup for their many different needs, cannot of Sirach. “In page after page, we mitment as men and women who But those who have been follow- kitchens and homeless shelters. be conditioned by the time available discover a precious compendium of are part of our one human family. It ing the national Knights organisation Instead, the Knights have funded or by private interests, or by imper- advice on how to act in the light of a encourages us to bear the burdens of — and its leader Carl A. Anderson conservative think tanks and news sonal pastoral or social projects,” he close relationship with God, creator the weakest, in accord with the words — know this stunt is just the latest in outlets (including EWTN), the Susan said. and lover of creation, just and provi- of St Paul: ‘Through love serve one a well-documented history of ques- B. Anthony Foundation, individual “The power of God’s grace cannot dent towards all his children,” he said. another. For the whole law is fulfilled tionable, partisan involvement on dioceses and the US Bishops’ Con- be restrained by the selfish tendency Quoting Sirach chapter two, the in one word: ‘You shall love your the part of the 138-year-old fraternal ference, according to NCR’s report- to put ourselves always first,” he Pope said: “‘Do not be alarmed when neighbour as yourself,” he said. — By ing in 2017. — NCR added. disaster comes. Cling to him and do Courtney Mares, CNA