Malacca Johore Diocese News Update #225
Dear friends of MJD,Today, we celebrate Pentecost. In the days leading up to it, there were 10- day novenas to the Holy Spirit and Life in the Spirit Seminars (LSS) held in various places. For many Catholics and parishes, everything peaked with Easter. The often forgotten or taken-for-granted iconic event is Pentecost. Pentecost is about the birth of the Church. The fearful community goes out into the streets to declare God's wonders, words and works. May we not forget the Holy Spirit, and its fire of mission.
Local takes: The old narratives, mythologies and battle cries mean nothing to the 10 million young voters. The PM said that political appointments are a fair reward for service. The HR Ministry is reviewing to raise the nation's retirement age to 65. A total of 4,170 unlicensed factories have been identified operating illegally throughout Selangor.
Hopeful Times: In his first address, after being elected as pope, Leo XIV outlined his vision and agenda: to continue Francis' call to synodal conversion of the Church; to reform structures to be more inclusive and welcoming; to promote peace inside the Church and within the world; to build bridges with dialogue and encounter.
A Thought for The Week: The three things Chen Ziqin asked Confucius's son: 'Does your father teach you something that we don't know?' The other answered: 'No. Once, when I was alone, he asked if I read poetry. I said no, and he told me to read some, because poetry opens the soul to the path of divine inspiration. 'On another occasion he asked whether I practised the rituals of adoration of God. I said no, and he told me to do so, because the act of adoring would make me understand myself. But he never kept an eye on me to see if I was obeying him.' When Chen Ziqin left, he said to himself: 'I asked one question and was given three answers. I learned something about poetry. I learned something about the rituals of adoration. And I learned that an honest man never spies on the honesty of others.'
Something's Happening Near You:
The Journey of the Pilgrim Cross
2. the Diocese celebration of Pesta Kesyukuran Menuai will take place on June 25 at Majodi from 9.00am-3.00pm, coordinated by the South Johore Vicariate BM Team.
3. Two Pillars, One Mission: a stayin camp exclusively for single men and women, aged 18 and above. At the Church of St Philip, Segamat, from June 27 - 29. For more details, Contact: Kevin 017-7574490 or Clarence 017-7433817
QnQ! Q asks? Spiritual Maturity? How to attain it?
3. Jesus came to change our minds about God — and about ourselves — and about where goodness and evil really lie.
The Holy Spirit @work: 'He gives liberty to the Christian, direction to the worker, discernment to the teacher, power to the Word, and fruit to faithful service.' Samuel Chadwick
Something To Tickle You: 'When we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better too.' -- Paulo Coelho
Bishop Bernard Paul
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It would also be an offering of thanks to God for sparing the country from the epidemics, civil wars and famines that had plagued its neighbours, he said. But then he revealed a third reason for its construction. 'I made a pledge to God that if I become the president – after two unsuccessful attempts – in the 2016 presidential elections, I will build a cathedral to the glory of God,' he said, according to official readouts of the event. The statement turned out to be a gift to Akufo-Addo's opponents, who argued that the president should not be allowed to use public money as part of a personal bargain he made with God – let alone US$58mil of it. Paul Opoku-Mensah, the executive director of the agency overseeing the project, said demonising the cathedral quickly became 'a political strategy'. In March 2024, one member of parliament, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, led a march to the construction site, cutting a red ribbon at its gate to poke fun at the president for commissioning what was still a giant hole. 'We are demanding that the contracts must be immediately terminated to avoid further financial loss to the state,' he said. If using the cathedral to target the president was a political strategy, it worked. John Mahama, a former president who promised to create jobs and fix the economy, pulled off a dramatic comeback in December's election. He made Okudzeto Ablakwa his foreign minister. Corruption accusations often take centre stage in Ghanaian elections, and the large sums involved in the national cathedral project convinced many Ghanaians that officials had been skimming off the top. A public ombudsman said procurement rules had been breached and recommended a forensic audit. But in an interview by the big hole in early April, Opoku-Mensah said he had nothing to hide and had handed over all the accounts to the investigators. He explained that the cathedral was not really intended as a church, but as a major monument that had needed state money to get started but would eventually become a profit-making magnet for visitors. 'It's a fundamental misunderstanding of the vision,' he said. Akufo-Addo also seemed befuddled about the controversy. 'I find it difficult to see what is so problematic about it,' he said in an interview in April in his book-lined home office surrounded by a lush garden. He mused aloud about whether people believed it 'would be too big a tribute to my leadership'. Now that the country's leaders have changed, few Ghanaians admit to supporting the cathedral. Those who do say Akufo-Addo and others should foot the bill – but not taxpayers. 'It should be funded through donations,' said Esi Darko, an architect, as she left church one recent afternoon in an Accra neighbourhood known as Christian Village. 'It shouldn't be imposed upon everyone because not all are Christians.' There are also around five million Muslims in Ghana, a country of more than 35 million people, and, lately, a growing number of atheists. 'Don't believe in God?' reads a billboard in central Accra. 'You are not alone.' — ©2025 The New York Times Company This article originally appeared in The New York Times
