News from Home, World and the Vatican

News selected by Catholic Lawyers Society Kuala Lumpur (CLS) for Catholics in Malaysia concerned about social justice and peace.

Includes CLS Internal News | CLS in the News | CLS Press Statements

Church Honours Saint Agnes Of Rome – Patron Saint Of Young Girls, Chasity And Rape Survivors

St. Agnes of Rome was born in 291 AD and raised in a Christian family.

Agnes was very beautiful and belonged to a wealthy family. Her hand in marriage was highly sought after, and she had many high ranking men chasing after her.

However, Agnes made a promise to God never to stain her purity. Her love for the Lord was great and she hated sin even more than death! Read more »

Second Corporal Work Of Mercy: To Give Drink To The Thirsty

The second corporal work of mercy might seem redundant but is in fact a separate work of mercy.

“To give drink to the thirsty” is similar to the action of “feeding the hungry,” but addresses a different need of the body and is not easily accomplished.

There are many parts of the world, even in our own country, where fresh drinking water is scarce or impossible to find. Read more »

First Corporal Work of Mercy: Feed the Hungry

Let us examine the seven corporal works of mercy. These works of mercy focus on serving the visible needs of our neighbor and should not be neglected.

There is a real temptation to only care about the spiritual poverty in the world and to entirely forget about the poor man at our own door step.

We must fight against this temptation and seek to serve all the needs of our neighbor. Read more »

Grotto Where Jesus Was Born Takes You Back To Church Origins

From the very beginnings of Christianity, the grotto where Jesus was born has been revered as one of the most sacred places in the world.

Today, it is designated a World Heritage Site and Roman Catholics from all over the world gather here every Christmas Eve for Midnight Mass.

When you visit as a pilgrim, you travel back in time to the first Christmas. You look up at the same stars and out at the same shepherds’ fields. Read more »

No Room For Religious And Racial Extremism In Selangor

Selangor Menteri Besar (chief minister) Dato' Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali unequivocally stated that there is no room for religious and racial extremism in Selangor.

He said that Selangor is referred to as the epi-centre of people with different races and faith and the State Government is duty bound to protect the harmony and tolerance amongst all races and religious communities in the State. Read more »

Holy Door At St. Peter's Basilica Unveiled For Jubilee Of Mercy

The Holy Door at St. Peter’s Basilica on Tuesday evening was freed of the brick wall which has hidden it since the Holy Year of 2000.

The Recognitio ceremony took place on Tuesday evening and was led by the Basilica’s Cardinal Archpriest Angelo Comastri.

After a procession and short prayer service led by Cardinal Comastri, workers began to carefully remove the wall, extracting a small, metal box which conserved mementos from the Great Jubilee of the year 2000. Read more »

Church Honours Pope Saint John Paul II The Great (1920 – 2005) - The Patron Saint Of Families

“Open wide the doors to Christ,” urged John Paul II during the homily at the Mass when he was installed as pope in 1978.

Born in Wadowice, Poland, Karol Jozef Wojtyla had lost his mother, father and older brother before his 21st birthday.

Karol’s promising academic career at Krakow’s Jagiellonian University was cut short by the outbreak of World War II. Read more »

Christ The Teacher: Awaiting The Master

The following passage from Luke is related to the Endtime, that period expected fervently by the early Church, when Jesus, the Son of Man, would come in glory to lead his people into his heavenly kingdom.

But this final coming was not just a time of salvation but also of judgment.

As such, it was a cause of nervous apprehension. Read more »

Pope Francis Arrives, Reassures Americans: ‘I’m A Catholic, Not A Communist!’

Pope Francis touched down in Washington on Sept. 22 after a historic visit to Cuba, the first Latin American Pope in history on his first trip to the United States.

He comes “as a migrant,” as a top papal aide put it, on a six-day visit filled with great expectations for the popular pontiff but also numerous challenges. Read more »

Christ The Healer: He Makes The Deaf Hear

As we read the Gospels we come across the numerous cures which Jesus performed.

In fact we have no record that Jesus ever turned any sick person away, no matter how tired he may have been, no matter how imperfect the faith of the one who asked.

The Gospel writers were always aware that the healing miracles of Jesus were performed in a context, and that context was the presence of the ‘reign of God.’ Read more »

Church Honours Blessed Teresa of Kolkata

Who in today’s world has not heard of Mother Teresa?

Who among us has not taken sides over her work, or her personality?

She was born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu, the youngest of three children to a very devout couple in Albania. At the age of 18, having completed her studies, she joined the Loreto sisters in Ireland, having chosen as her new name ‘Teresa’, after St Therese of Lisieux, the ever popular French Carmelite nun. Read more »

Holy See's Statement At UN's 104th Session Of The International Labour Conference

Economic inequalities persist and are increasing on every continent: a situation that creates more unemployment and widens the social inequities that are among the most powerful causes of instability in many societies, including in some where peace is threatened or has already been undermined.

The turbulence of our times – economic, social and political – makes the achievement of social justice very much an agenda for today. Read more »

Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah: We Should Have An Elected Prime Minister

This was suggested by Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah in his keynote address to Harmony Malaysia's National Conference on 'Our Malaysian Journey - Still in the Making.'

The event, held at the International Institute of Advance Islamic Studies, saw the presences of academicians and members of the legal profession amongst others.

Also present at the event is centenarian, Samuel Kam Sheung Woo, former CEO of Lam Soon. Read more »

CFM Against Shrinking Public Space For Religious Expression And Increasing Religious Repression

The Christian Federation of Malaysia (CFM) has observed with deep concern the ever-shrinking public space for religious expression in Malaysia.

The CFM also notes the worrying trend of curbing freedom of religious expressions without prior consultation with stakeholders.

The overall environment of religious acceptance and understanding deteriorates as the country is dragged from one incident of intolerance to another. Read more »

Peter Mooney – A servant Than A Master

The family of the late Sir Dato Dr Peter Mooney arranged the celebration of the Eucharist at St Michael’s Church, Ipoh to coincide with Peter’s 92nd birthday.

The mass was celebrated by Rev Fr. Robin Andrews and con-celebrated by Rev Fr. Peter Kim, SJ on Saturday, 23rd May 2015.

Prof. Dr. Ghazali Musa, one of Peter's adopted sons, explained that although Peter’s birthday falls on 22nd May, the Mass was celebrated the following day to allow many to attend since it is a weekend. Read more »

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