 Catholic Church in Malaysia | |
|---|---|
| Malay:Gereja Katolik di Malaysia | |
 Cathedral of Saint John in Kuala Lumpur | |
| Type | National polity |
| Classification | Catholic |
| Orientation | Latin |
| Scripture | Bible |
| Theology | Catholic theology |
| Polity | Episcopal |
| Governance | Catholic Bishops' Conference of Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei |
| Pope | Leo XIV |
| Apostolic Nuncio | Wojciech Załuski |
| Region | Malaysia |
| Language | Latin,Malaysian language,English,Chinese,Tamil,Telugu,Malayalam,Panjabi,Kadazan,Dusun,Bidayuh,Iban,Thai,Korean |
| Headquarters | Petaling Jaya,Selangor,Malaysia |
| Origin | 1511 Malacca,Malacca Sultanate |
| Branched from | Catholic Church in Portugal |
| Members | 1,292,000 (2021)[1] |
|
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TheCatholic Church in Malaysia is part of the worldwideCatholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of thepope in Rome. The apostolic nuncio to Malaysia is currently ArchbishopWojciech Załuski, who was appointed on 22 September 2020;[2] The current resident ambassador of Malaysia to the Holy See is Hendy anak Assan.[3]
The first Catholic priests landed inMalacca in 1511 as military chaplains to the Portuguese. The missionaries were Franciscan and Dominican friars. Malacca subsequently became a stop-over for thousands of missionaries who spread the faith to South and Far East Asia. Until today, small Christian communities can be found in these places as a result ofmissionary zest. Malacca holds a special place in the history of the Church in this region.
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From the 7th to the 14th century, numerous small kingdoms which were stronglyHindu, existed at river mouths. TheSri Vijaya Empire extended its great influence to the region. In 1403, a prince from Sumatra,Parameswara, founded Malacca. He later converted toIslam and took the name of Sri Maharaja Mohammed Shah.
The year 1511 marked the arrival of the Portuguese, led by AdmiralAfonso de Albuquerque, and the first Catholic chaplains. The Portuguese captured Malacca for its well-known spice trade. Between 1545 and 1552, StFrancis Xavier preached in Malacca. By 1557, Malacca was raised to a suffragan see (deputy diocese). In 1641, the occupation of Malacca by theDutch began and the authorities in power suppressed Catholicism. The bishops and priests fled toTimor.
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In 1786, SirFrancis Light took over Penang from thesultan of Kedah. Finally in 1809, the College General in Penang was opened again and seminarians from all over Asia came to be trained there. In 1819, SirStamford Raffles took residence inSingapore. In 1824, theAnglo-Dutch Treaty was signed and the Netherlands exchanged Malacca for Bencoolan, Indonesia. Later, in 1826, Penang, Province Wellesley, Malacca and Singapore became theStraits Settlement under British rule. In 1852, the Sisters of St Maur or the Infant Jesus sisters (IJ) and theInstitute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools (La Salle Brothers) sailed over to found Christian schools in major towns in Peninsular Malaysia. The sisters also began orphanages. In 1864, Chinese tin miners settled at the confluence of the muddy Klang and Gombak river mouth, the beginning ofKuala Lumpur. In 1874, theTreaty of Pangkor marked the direct British rule over the Malay states, while the sultans still maintained religious sovereignty. By the end 19th century, Malaysia was booming with massive immigration of Chinese and Indians who were invited to work in the tin mines, rubber plantation and railways by the British.
Catholicism first came toNorth Borneo (nowSabah), when a Spanish mariner turned priest,Carlos Cuarteroni, established a Catholic mission in 1857 inLabuan, with stations established inBrunei and Looc Porin (nowKota Kinabalu). However, problems with his assistants left him alone from 1860 and the mission made little progress, and he returned to Spain. The CatholicMill Hill Missionaries arrived in North Borneo in 1882 to re-establish the Spaniards effort, and focused mainly on the Chinese and indigenous communities, such as theKadazan-Dusun people.[4]
Meanwhile, inSarawak, the Mill Hill Missionaries was invited by theWhite Rajahs in the hope that it would be a stabilizing influence to the nativeIban people.
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During the years 1942–1945 of theSecond World War and the Japanese occupation, schools were closed; and the people suffered a lot. In the years 1948–1960, thecommunist insurrection was very hostile to the Catholic Church. On 1 February 1948, the Federation of Malaya Government was formed. In 1955, the two dioceses of Kuala Lumpur and Penang were created and the consecration of first local bishopsDominic Vendargon andFrancis Chan took place. In 1957, on 31 August, Malaya gained independence, and its first prime minister,Tunku Abdul Rahman, was appointed. In 1962, PopeJohn XXIII called for the renewal of the Church and opened theSecond Vatican Council. On 16 September 1963, a big country uniting Malaysia with Singapore, Sabah and Sarawak was created but by 1965, Singapore broke up with Malaysia and became an independent republic. On 13 May 1969, racial violence and killings were recorded in the aftermath of the elections. A state of emergency was declared and a curfew imposed. In 1970, theNew Economic Policy was introduced with quota systems. Over the decade, Christians were discriminated against and Catholic and other Christian missionaries were expelled from Sabah. However, in 1972, the new diocese of Malacca-Johor was created, making a total of six in Malaysia (three in the West, and three in Eastern Malaysia). In 1973, Malaysia became the firstASEAN country to recognise China. From 1970 to 1975 the resurgence of communist activities in the north and in urban centres created more political mayhem and led to persecutions against the Christians. In 1974, the first permanent deacon from Malaysia was ordained. Between 1975 and 1980,Vietnamese refugees (boat people) arrived in throngs and put a new stress on the country. In 1976, a month-long Aggiornamento (in Penang) for bishops and priests of West Malaysia was held. A vision for the Peninsular Malaysia Church was formulated.
Parallel to the economical and industrial development of the nation, the Catholic Church in Malaysia grew considerably during these years, emphasising on inter-religious dialogue, oecumenism andreligious freedom.
In 1977, the first CatholicCharismatic Convention was organised in Ipoh. In 1979, the Asian Bishop's Institute for Social Action met in Kuala Lumpur for dialogue on religions. In 1981, a new gathering of all priests from West Malaysia to review the Aggiornamento of 1976 was organised. In 1983, the Malaysian Consultative Council onBuddhism,Christianity,Hinduism,Sikhism (MCCBCHS) for dialogue was formed to represent their interests with the authorities. In the same way and with a spirit ofoecumenism, the Christian Federation of Malaysia consisting of theCatholic,Protestant andEvangelical churches was formed in 1984. In 1986, the Peninsular Malaysia Pastoral Convention (PMPC I) included Ministry to Youth as part of the core needs, besides poor, inter-religious dialogue, unity, formation and community building. In 1989, Sarawak made huge efforts in a successful attempt of renewal with a Eucharistic Congress, a Bible Year and a Bible Congress.
In 1995, churches in Sarawak requested the state to allow other faith education in schools besides Islam. In 1996, PMPA II gathered reviews and reaffirmed Aggiornamento 1976 and PMPC 1986. There was a renewed call for systematic and strategic planning and implementation. In 1998, the Deputy Prime Minister was arrested and theReformasi movement started. In 1999, the Great Jubilee Year of redemption was declared open by PopeJohn Paul II. The first joint Community Spirituality retreat among bishops, priests, religious and laity was organised. In 2001, the First Peninsula Malaysia Young Catholic Leaders Forum or LEAD 2001 was organised. PMPA III was held at Kuala Lumpur re-emphasised BECs.[5]
Diplomatic relations between Malaysia and the Holy See were initiated byTun Dr Mahathir Mohammad when he metPope John Paul II before his (Tun Mahathir) resignation. The negotiations continued on until Najib Razak became the prime minister. Malaysia established formal diplomatic relations with theHoly See in 2011 during a meeting between Prime Minister Datuk SeriNajib Razak andPope Benedict XVI in Rome. Najib was accompanied by theArchbishop of Kuala Lumpur,Murphy Nicholas Xavier Pakiam. Archbishop Pakiam went to Vatican not as part of Malaysian Government, but was asked by Vatican to join the delegation as Church representative.[6]
The first resident ambassador of Malaysia to the Holy See,Tan SriBernard Giluk Dompok, was elected in October 2015 by Pope Francis. The year 2017 marked the opening of the official chancery of the Holy See in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Following the change of government fromBarisan Nasional toPakatan Harapan after the14th general election,Bernard Giluk Dompok was terminated of his service on 30 June 2018.[7]
Westmoreland Edward Palon, who was named by Wisma Putra as Malaysia's second ambassador to the Vatican on 21 March, is aBidayuh who hails from Kampung Duras, Kuching.[8]
The Apostolic Nunciature in Malaysia was established on the 27 July 2011 through an official act of the Holy SeeActa Apostolicae Sedis.[9] The current nuncio isArchbishop Wojciech Zaluski.[10]
As of 2020, half of Malaysian Christians wereCatholic; this was 4.63% of the country's population.[11]
The country is divided into nine dioceses including three archdioceses:
The Catholic Church in Malaysia has its own weekly newspaper,The Herald, distributed to all Catholic churches throughout Malaysia. Sabah and Sarawak also have their own local newspapers, such asCatholic Sabah (fortnightly), andToday's Catholic (monthly).
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