By Fr Adrian Kho
KUCHING — A total of 70 clergy from around Malaysia, who are alumni of St Peter’s College, were gathered for a refresher course from 4-7 September 2023 at St Peter’s College, Kuching Major Seminary.
The guest-speakers for this refresher course were Fr Clarence Devadass, from the Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur, and Dr Estela Padila, who is the Executive Secretary for the Office of Theological Concerns of the Federation of Asian Bishops Conference (FABC).
Both speakers spoke about the need for having an Asian approach to doing theology, to complement the Western approach, which is predominant in most theological discourses. As some participants put it: “This refresher course is encouraging us to take-off our shoes, and theologize with our bare-feet, grounded in this land of Asia”.
Participants were also enlightened about the organisation of the FABC, and its role in supporting or being at the service of the different bishops conferences from the 28 countries in the Asian region.
Throughout the sessions, priests and bishops were also divided into small groupings where they had the opportunity to share their vision for a Malaysian church. The various small-groups also had the opportunity to share their own life experiences in the pastoral field, as well as give their views on the synodal way of being a Church.
To conclude the refresher course, Archbishop Simon Poh gave a session on the issue of sexual abuse of minors and vulnerables. The session gave some insights into the reasons for the relatively low reports of abuse cases in Asia, and he also presented some guidelines on the standard procedures to follow, when such cases do surface. He stressed that the Church must remain credible in its efforts to ensure that a safe environment for all, is always safeguarded.
In addition to these, Archbishop Simon also spoke about caring for the well-being of the mental health among the clergy, who go through the stresses of life in the ministry. Thus far, this is an issue that has been over-looked.
