Dearly beloved brothers and sisters in the Lord,
May the grace and peace of the Lord be with you all!

On 11 September last year the World Trade Centre was destroyed by terrorist action. Since then there have been many other terrorist activities elsewhere. We have the continued conflict between Israelis and Palestinians and the uncertain situation in Iraq. As a result of all this, many people, particularly the Americans, are living in fear and insecurity. Our State has been a peaceful land for many years. But today we also feel insecure because of the increase in the number of thefts, robberies, murders and rapes. We are all searching for security and peace. In this quest I exhort you to turn in prayer to God, who is our almighty and merciful Father. It is he alone who can give us the protection and peace that we are craving for. Jesus is the King of Peace. May the world listen to his message of peace! May all who believe in him work to promote peace.

Permit me to use this opportunity to draw your attention to a few matters that are of pastoral concern to me.

My Pastoral Letter

After a year of reflection and preparation I finally delivered the long-awaited Pastoral Letter to you last  October. In the letter I included all the proposals made by representatives of all our parishes at the Archdiocesan convention in October last year. The Pastoral is truly the fruit of our joint efforts. It is now in your hands. I hope that you will read it and study it and carry out its recommendations with concerted action. I hope, also, that our pastoral council and its commissions, all our parish councils, all our lay organizations, and all our action-groups will draw up programmes to implement the various proposals of the Archdiocesan convention. I firmly believe that if we have the will to do so we will not lack the power to do what is planned. In the words of my Pastoral Letter, "The Spirit of Christ is with us all in the Church. He has led our Church through the past tweny-five years and he will continue to do so in the years ahead. Let us constantly recognize his various charisms, invoke his guidance, trust in his power and pray for his blessings, as we labour to carry on Christ's mission for the glory of the Father and for the salvation of the world" (No 210). As Pope Paul told the Asian Bishops, the new Millenium is the time for the Church in Asia to use all its energy and all its resources to carry out Christ's mission among Asian peoples. Indeed, this is the time for all our councils, all our organizations, and all of us as individuals, to rally to the task entrusted to us by Our Lord Jesus Christ. I call upon you, my dear priests, religious, lay people, parish councils and lay organizations to "look round you and see how the fields are ripe for harvesting" (Jn 4:34).

Guard our hidden treasure

"The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field" (Matt 13:44) .

We have in our possession that hidden treasure, our Catholic faith. I firmly believe in our Catholic Church as the Church of Christ handed down from the apostles. I firmly believe that our Church, through the apostles, has faithfully handed down the divine truths and the teachings of Jesus to us. And I firmly believe, also, that the Spirit of Our Lord Jesus is living in our Church, guiding our Pope and Bishops in their teaching and protecting them from doctrinal and moral errors. Therefore, I would rather die than depart from this Church.

We thank God for the religious freedom we enjoy in our country. But we lament the fact that some people abuse it and spread harmful ideologies and erroneous religious practices. Hundreds of new religious sects and churches have arisen in our land. Some of them employ unfair means to attack, criticize, and calumniate other religions and Churches. Our Catholic Church has been the target of constant and malicious attacks by these new sects and churches. Some of our Catholics, confused and deceived, have been drawn away to follow them. Our Lord Jesus, foreseeing this danger, warned his disciples saying, "Beware that no one leads you astray" (Matt 24:4). Even in the early days of the Church there were Christians who contradicted the teaching of the apostles and spread confusion. The apostle Paul wrote to his Christians, "There are some who are confusing you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should proclaim to you a gospel contrary to what we proclaimed to you, let that one be accursed" (Gal 1:8). Paul could not use stronger language to warn his Christians.

Dear brothers and sisters, I exhort you to appreciate your Catholic faith and guard it zealously. I implore you to remain firm in your belief in the Church of Christ. Stoutly resist those who come to you using sweet words and false doctrines in order to confuse you and lead you away from the true faith. The faith that you have received from the Catholic Church is truly the hidden treasure that Christ has given you. Meanwhile, pray for the return of those who have been misled and who have left the Church.

The importance of faith formation

To guard our hidden treasure, our faith, we must know its contents. Hence the importance of faith formation. It is important indeed for both adults and children to have ongoing instruction in their faith. It is sad that there are not many opportunities available for faith formation. Sunday School may be the only opportunity for your children to learn their faith. Except for the RCIA programme there is no regular faith formation programme for adults in our Archdiocese. The result is that many Catholic adults do not know their faith adequately and many young Catholics grow up without a proper foundation in their faith. There is a real need for programmes to help these people. I appeal to all parish priests and parish councils to give serious thought to programmes for the faith formation of both adults and children. As a pastoral activity this should receive top priority.

I am happy to see many new buildings coming up in our parishes over the past number of years. I suggest that we now turn our attention instead to building up parish communities that are firmly rooted in their faith and in the moral teaching of the Church. Was it not the cry of the Archdiocesan Convention last October that there is a great lack of structures for faith formation, particularly for youth and children? I would like to see every parish turning its attention immediately to providing for its parishioners the faith formation structures that are lacking. Catechism books suitable for adults are now available. I propose that every parish house should have a moderate stock of these books for its people. I believe that our efforts to provide formation facilities will produce a bountiful harvest of good fruit and will obtain a rich reward. The apostle Paul says, "The one who sows sparingly will reap sparingly, and the one who sows bountifully will reap bountifully" (2 Cor 9:6). I add, "If we don't sow we will have no harvest at all". It is indeed a great responsibility for us, but at the same time a great privilege, to be entrusted by Our Lord with the task of forming his people in his faith. Let us honour this responsibility and privilege!

I thank you for your attention, and I wish you, my dear brothers and sisters in the Lord, a grace-filled Christmas and a blessed and peaceful New Year.

Peter Chung
Archbishop of Kuching
1 December 2002

KUCHING -  On 16 November the LaSallian Rural Education Service (LRES) held a gathering of former students of St Joseph's School (Kuching) and Sacred Heart School (Sibu) in the KTS Function Room. The purpose was to explain the ideals of the LRES.

In his opening address, Datuk Chris Sim, the Chairman, spoke on the basic objective of the LaSallian Rural Education Service which is tuition for rural children in their own environment, their kampung area irrespective of race and religion.

This is to be a completely free service from the LRES Board. What was required was a "genuine understanding of the present plight of these disadvantaged rural children" and to adopt measures to respond to their situation.

To offer such a service, Datuk Chris invited former students of St Joseph's and Sacred Heart Schools to rally to this challenging venture and make a simple contribution on the form of individual sponsorship. This could in time change the whole ethos and disposition of these rural children and create among them a desire to rise to the challenges of the world around them.

Datuk Sim explained what the Board has already accomplished. A Tuition Centre has been set up in Kpg Sibuluh in Bau. There has been an encouraging response from the Tua Kampung, the parents and children. The Board is now looking at a possible second area of concern in Tiang Bekap in Padawan.

Lim Choon Yang outlined in graphic terms what the LRES represents. He encouraged the former students of Sacred Heart and St Joseph's "to help the kampung children to accomplish what we already achieved in school". He urged the alumni members present to consider either a monthly contribution of RM50 or an annual donation of RM600 and at the same time to appeal to their colleagues to do likewise.

Mr Michael Benzie, the Supervisor of St Matthew's Tuition Centre at Kpg Sibuluh, thanked the Chairman and Board members for their sincere concern of the education of the children there. He made a very substantial point when he stated that kampung children could make tremendous advances in education "if they were offered similar opportunities as children in the towns". He said the whole programme had run very smoothly so far and the results of the UPSR in the Primary School in Kpg Sibuluh for 2002 were very encouraging. In English 4 students achieved A's, and there were 15 with B's and 14 with C's. Maths 9 obtained A's, 14 had B's and 15 received C's. In previous years no student in this school had obtained straight A's in the UPSR but this year, Michael announced 3 students scored 5 A's and 2 had 4 A's.

Cheryl, a Primary 5 student from St Matthew's, spoke confidently of the devoted service of the Supervisor and teachers at the Centre and was very appreciative of the concern and financial assistance of the Board members of LRES and the similar interest of the alumni of St Joseph's and Sacred Heart.

Bro Albinus finally launched the LRES. 

Contributed

SABAH - 208 Catholics women attended the 4th Conference of the Catholic Women of East Malaysia held from 16-21 November at Bundu Tuhan Retreat Centre, Ranau (KK), with the theme, "Women at the Foot of the Cross". As women are in the front line, guiding and influencing their children, spouses, neighbours and colleages, Bishop John Ha the retreat master, emphasized the importance of prayer, reflection and faith formation.

The 3 talks by Bishop John Ha touched on discipleship and fidelity to God's Word. He gave examples of women in the Gospel who were suffering and asked the participants to reflect on their own responses and their own sufferings, the main thrust of the talk/sharing was the invitation to imitate Mother Mary to be a model disciple of Jesus.

The retreat programme included penitential services followed by personal confession. A service of the Cross and resurrection saw many participants visibly moved, renewed and invigorated with the love of God.

Goodwill visits were made to Ranau, Sandakan, Ulu Dusun, Dontozidon and Penampang with many opportunities for Christian fellowship and sharing amidst warm welcome and genuine love.

The delegates resolutely agreed that the Diocese of Keningau will host the 5th Conference in year 2005, with focus on prayer, and the theme, "Lord, teach us to pray". 

Contributed

KUCHING - A retreat for the deaf was successfully held in IJ Convent, Cheras, Kuala Lumpur from 31 August to 1 September. It was organized by the REACH Ministry for the Hearing Impaired, St Francis Xavier's Parish (Petaling Jaya) and conducted by a deaf priest from the United States, Fr Mike Depcik.

The retreat was atteded by 50 deaf and 17 hearing people from all over Malaysia and Singapore. The REACH Ministry for the Hearing Impaired of St Joseph's Parish (Kuching) sent three deaf working adults and one deaf student to the retreat. They were accompanied by three voluntary escorts.

The focus of the retreat was help deaf Catholics in deepen their relationship with God through prayer and the sacraments. The retreat started with a morning praise and worship session led by the group from Kuching. It was followed by a series of input sessions given by Fr Mike Depcik. He addressed the importance of prayer for all Christians and then taught the participants a simple and effective way to pray.

Fr Mike celebrated Mass in the evening on the first day of the retreat. The retreat ended on the second day with a penitential service and a sharing session. Many deaf Catholics shared what they has received from the retreat and some gave very powerful testimonies on how they came to believe in Christ. 

Fr Mike urged the deaf Catholics to fully participate in the liturgical celebrations and to be active in their own parishes. Apart from the retreat, he has also conducted a workshop on pastoral care for the deaf and met with a number of Catholic communities in Peninsular Malaysia to do awareness programmes for the hearing during his two-week stay in Malaysia.

The REACH Ministry continues to bridge the gap between the deaf and the hearing persons by providing sign language classes to parishioners and a signed Mass service at Carmelite Church every Sunday morning. 

Contributed

BAU - The Vocation Promotion Team of the Sisters of St Francis of Sarawak (SSFS) held a Discernment Retreat from 11-13 October at the Franciscan Vocation Centre in Bau.

The retreat was organized for girls who expressed their interest in joining the Franciscan Sisters.

This type of retreat is organized yearly. It is the last of the three stages of a programme organised by the Sisters. Prior to this is the Vocation seminar in December and the'Search-in' retreat (July).

The objectives of this programmes are:

To help young people know a little about the religious life is all about, to guide them in their search to find their way of life and to guide them in their discernment of God's call for them to the religious life.

Interested please contact:

Vocation Directress
Franciscan Vocation Centre
P O Box 3
94007 Bau
Tel: 082-764903/763179

by Sr Perpetua Nyarung
SSFS Vocation Directress

SHAH ALAM - Have you been offered a place at UiTM Shah Alam or other IPTs around Shah Alam? Or do you know someone who in studying in Shah Alam? Or are you studying in Shah Alam and confused about where to go your Sunday Mass?  Then this article is for you.

The Catholic Students Society (CSS) is made up of students studying in UiTM Shah Alam and other nearby IPTs. Although it may sound that this Society is for Catholics only, it also caters for students of other Christian denominations. The majority of the members are Sabahan and Sarawakian students.

The CSS meets at 2/2 Jalan Bunga Melati (Shah Alam). This venue is a double-story house owned by the Diocese of Miri. Holy Mass is celebrated every Saturday by Fr Lawrence Andrew and a prayer meeting is held every Friday.

In addition, there are other activities such as annual camp, coffee morning, welcoming gatherings, farewell gathering, and examination Mass.

For more information visit the CSS website at:
www.csssa.cjb.net or www.members.tripod.com/css_sa
or contact Kevin (019-3497761/borneo_boys@hotmail.com)
or Andy (019-8362096).

BUNAN GEGA - St Jude's Parish celebrated its feast day from 26-27 October.

In the evening of 26 October, a "Pesta Injil" was held, organized by the Parish Council and the Parish Youth Ministry. Seventeen kampungs came forth to present their items. On 27 October, Bishop John Ha celebrated the Sunday Eucharist with the parishioners.

St Jude's Parish has 35 kampungs under its charge. Since the Parish started on 1 January 1968 with Fr Leopold Van Rooyen MHM as the first Parish Priest, it has witnessed three priestly ordinations: Boniface Panyon (who has since left the priesthood), Fr Jerome Juleng, ordained on 4 April 1991 (now stationed in St Stephen's Parish, Bau) and Fr Christopher Laden, ordained on 21 May 1994 (studying in Manila). There are also two seminarians from the Parish, Paul Harry and Jonathan, who are undergoing training at St Peter's College. Blessed as the Parish is with priestly vocations, it has yet to see girls entering the convents.

by Fr John Chong

KUCHING - The first Regional Chinese Bible Seminar was organised by the Archdiocese Chinese Bible Association of Kuching for the region of East Malaysia and Brunei, from 15-17 November. The theme of the seminar was "The Christian way of life". Thirty representatives from Brunei, Sabah, Sibu and Kuching took part in the seminar held at St Peter's Colleges Kuching.

The Seminar started off with a Holy Mass celebrated by Archbishop Peter Chung. The Seminar proper consisted of four talks, workshop and sessions and regional reports. 

The first talk by Archbishop was on "The Christian way of life". He based his talk on "The Sermon on the Mount" (Matt 5:7). The subsequent talks were "The true Spirit of Christians" by Christina Ting, "The right attitude of Christians" by Susana Bong and "The wise Christians" by Simon Lo.

It was decided during the plenary session that: (a) a regional Chinese Bible Seminar will be held and the various regions will take turn to organise it, (b) the Sibu Diocese has accepted to organise the next seminar in 2004, (c) those regions which have not yet set up their Bible Associations will do so in the near future.

Contributed

Christmas is a time of celebration ... of the birth of our Saviour Jesus Christ 
It is a time to bring peace and goodwill to all mankind
For each of us, Christmas is a time of our personal stock-taking
And a time of thanksgiving
For the abundant blessings we received from God throughout the year
For the divine providence, good life and health showered on us.
Above all, it is a good time of sharing with the less fortunate
A time to put our Faith into action.

We may not be very conscious of poverty and sufferings around us.

They are in our midst. Many cry silently in destitution. They need your help! 

In the Archdiocese of Kuching, there are more than 170 poor families assisted by our Church through the Society of St Vincent de Paul, of which 95 families are in and around Kuching. It costs around RM120.00 per month (or RM1440.00) per year to cover the very basic needs of the average family. Our Church finds this a heavy load to carry; would you care to help? Would you sacrifice what you can to share with those in dire need? Would you give generously to sponsor a needy family for a whole year? 

Would you wish to make a difference to these...least brethren of Jesus Christ. It is the call of our Christian faith to love and care for our neighbours ... This is a good time to put our faith into action

Mother Teresa of Calcutta advocated: "Charity means to give until it hurts"

We appeal to all to give according to your compassion and generosity.

Donations (in cash or chequest) can be made to : The Society of St Vincent de Paul (Kuching, or Serian, or Bau, or Padawan).

For further details, please call:

Kuching 
Simon Au 362953, 016-8927346
William Ha 365355, 013-8011108

Serian 
Lawrence Juan 640625
Terrison Taum 874762, 876670

Bau 
David Ebol 763932
Paul Risent 763201

Padawan 
Martyn Patit 242221, 013-8255623
Mary Asi 247642, 019-8567959

In this shack lives a family of four, kept together by a single mother.

This run-down shack keeps the Chai family in Batu Kawa together as a famil. Dad earns very little as a casual labourer. All six siblings sleep on hard planks over earth flooring and the roof leaks badly when it rains.

Three siblings at Kpg Peraya, Padawan. Father was killed in traffic accident, widowed mother suffers deformation of both legs, she cannot stand for long.

Mollen of Kpg Seratau suffers deformed legs, elderly father is a casual labourer with irregular jobs.

Bijon lives all alone with no family at Kpg Riih Daso, the long effect of deprivative and loneliness lingers on her face.

Helping to construct a footpath for a crippled widow at Kpg Selabi.

Kinien (Kpg Senibong) dying of cancer, she left behind a daughter to the care of an elderly grandmother.

The roof of Dios (75) an elderly bachelor was dislodged by strong wind.