By APC Synod-MPC2026 Central Working Committee
The Birth: From Peninsula Malaysia Pastoral Convention (PMPC) to Pan Malaysia Pastoral Convention (PMPC)
The post Vatican II growth of the Peninsular Malaysia Church began with the 1976 Aggiornamento which focused on BECs for renewal and a spirituality of communion. This meant that there was one pastoral thrust with one pastoral think tank—PMPT (Peninsular Malaysia Pastoral Team). This ecclesial growth was followed by a review every 10 years by the Peninsular Malaysia Pastoral Convention (PMPC) 1986, PMPC II (1996), PMPC III (2006) and PMPC IV (2016).
At the PMPC IV (October 2016), representatives from East Malaysia were invited to participate in the Convention. It was there that Archbishop Julian Leow first mooted the idea of a Pan Malaysian Convention. Archbishop John Ha, then Archbishop of Kuching, foresaw serious challenges. So, he proposed to have an assembly of the whole Malaysian Catholic Clergy to precede the Malaysian Pastoral Convention.
In December of that same year, the Malaysian Bishops, at their Malaysian Bishops’ Meeting, met and agreed to hold the first Malaysian Clergy Assembly in 2018 as the first initiative to bring together the whole Catholic Church in Malaysia.
The rationale for the 2018 Clergy Assembly:
a. Fostering a greater understanding of and familiarisation with the East-West Malaysia’s uniqueness and diversity.
b. Addressing the realities associated with the migratory movements of people as one Malaysian Clergy.
c. Reflecting on the One Malaysian Church.
The Thrust
A meeting of the initiators was earlier held on 11 January 2017 with three bishops representing the three regions—Bishop Bernard Paul (Peninsular Malaysia), Bishop Julius Dusin (Sabah) and Bishop Richard Ng (Sarawak). Each bishop then named one diocesan representative to be in the Central Working Committee (CWC). It was decided that all diocesan clergy and religious priests involved in pastoral ministries in the nine Arch/dioceses would be invited to participate.
A questionnaire was circulated in 2017 to gather feedback from the clergy. The first meeting of the CWC was held from 6–8 June 2017, at Majodi Centre, Plentong, Johor Bahru. The CWC then planned a more detailed programme and subcommittees were formed.
The first Malaysian Catholic Clergy Assembly (MCCA) was held in Majodi Centre from 16–21 July 2018. It was truly a historical moment for the Malaysian Catholic Church, where 281 clergy, comprising bishops, priests and deacons from the nine Arch/dioceses in Malaysia gathered in discernment, prayer and fellowship.
Towards a Pan Malaysia Pastoral Convention 2026 (later renamed Malaysia Pastoral Convention 2026)
In January 2019, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei held its meeting at Majodi Centre. One of the items on the agenda was the meeting of nine priests representing the nine Arch/dioceses of Malaysia with their Arch/bishops. This was to begin the process of planning for the Pan Malaysia Pastoral Convention which would eventually replace the Peninsular Malaysia Pastoral Convention (PMPC), with the participation of the Arch/dioceses from Sabah and Sarawak.
The team had drawn up a proposal which includes a roadmap to facilitate the Arch/dioceses and parishes to undertake the necessary preparations to be part of the journey towards 2026. This proposal was endorsed by the Arch/bishops for the team to continue with their discussion and planning. The team will be led by Archbishop Julian Leow of Kuala Lumpur for Peninsular Malaysia, Archbishop John Wong of Kota Kinabalu for Sabah and Bishop Joseph Hii of Sibu for Sarawak.
The Arch/bishops also met with the Major Superiors of the Religious Congregation to invite those in Malaysia to participate and prepare for the Pan Malaysia Religious Assembly (PMRA) which was held in 2022. This is a follow up to the Malaysian Catholic Clergy Assembly (MCCA) which was held in July 2018.
Thus, began the process of planning the Pan Malaysia Pastoral Convention (PMPC) which in 2023 was renamed as Malaysia Pastoral Convention 2026 (MPC 2026).
The Roll Out
At their CWC meeting in 2020, the whole thrust of PMPC 2026 was discussed and finalised.
The vision of being a one Malaysian Catholic Church is to come together as clergy, religious and laity to celebrate the beauty and uniqueness of cultures in the different regions, to listen to pastoral progress and initiatives in the various regions, and to walk in the Light of the Lord (Isaiah 2:2-5), focusing on responding to the challenges affecting the Church, Family, Society and Ecology.
In carrying out this mission, the MPC 2026 roadmap laid out the following major events to be undertaken by each Arch/diocese to bring every community together in this 5-year journey:
2020-2021: Parish Pastoral Assembly (PPA)
2022: Pan Malaysia Religious Convention (PMRC), Diocesan Pastoral Assembly (DPA)
2023-2024: Regional (Sabah, Sarawak, Semenanjung) Pastoral Assembly
2025-2026: Journey of Salib Malaysia
2026: Malaysia Pastoral Convention 2026 (MPC 2026)
The Process
The mandatory national lockdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic from March 2020, caused the roll out journey towards MPC 2026 to be delayed. That same month of March, Pope Francis announced the next Synod of Bishops assembly would be held in October 2022 with the theme, “For a synodal Church: Communion, Participation and Mission”. This subsequently became the “Synod on Synodality.” In May 2021, Pope Francis declared that the Synod of Bishops would assemble in 2023 and 2024 and this would involve an unprecedented worldwide consultation at the diocesan, national and continental level and universal levels. The purpose of this Synod mission is to bring the entire People of God to discern together on how to move forward on the path towards being a more synodal Church in the long-term.
Preparation by Kuching Archdiocese– Integrating Synod on Synodality and MPC 2026
Concurrent with the preparation for Synod on Synodality 2023-2024 and the Malaysia Pastoral Convention 2026 (MPC 2026) activities, 2022 was also a time for Kuching Archdiocese to undertake the 5-year review of its vision and mission action plans drawn up during the Archdiocese Pastoral Assembly (KAPA) in 2017. Kuching Archdiocese accordingly initiated its preparatory activities as early as 2021, integrating the synodal process in its planning for KAPA 2022 and MPC 2026.
During the MCO period from January to March 2022, the synodal engagement process took place through questionnaires sent out to all parishioners in the 12 city and rural parishes, and online group discussions. Feedback from these engagements were collated, synthesised and shared back to the respective parishes to facilitate their preparation for their own Parish Pastoral Assemblies. The assemblies were conducted between June and July 2022. All parishes had to draw up their 5-year Pastoral Plans ensuring alignment with the vision and mission of the Archdiocese, the spirit of synodality encapsulated and the readiness to journey towards one Malaysian Church.
In October 2022, the Archdiocese held its second Kuching Archdiocesan Pastoral Assembly (KAPA 2) to discern, deliberate and endorse the Parish Pastoral Plans. The outcome of KAPA 2 will be shared at the first Sarawak Regional Pastoral Assembly 2024 to be held in Sibu on 18 and 19 September 2024.
