CLS in the News

The Al-Islam magazine has apologised to the Roman Catholic Church and Christians for publishing a special report which involved the desecration of a religious rite.

The apology was posted on the website of its publisher, Utusan Karya. Read more »

The Attorney-General should explain why he decided not to prosecute two Al-Islam reporters for desecrating a Catholic rite, said Kuala Lumpur Archbishop Tan Sri Murphy Pakiam.

"I appeal to the Attorney-General to explain the decision not to take further action in the Al-Islam journalists' case. An explanation should be given to the complainants and clarification to the church authorities," said Pakiam, who referred to the incident last year. Read more »

The Attorney-General should "appreciate the severity" of the conduct of two reporters of a Malay-language periodical who had allegedly desecrated the holy eucharist of the Catholic church and not dismiss their actions off-hand, said Catholic Lawyers Society, Kuala Lumpur, president Mabel Sabastian.

"Ignorance of the law is no defence in the commission of a crime. The A-G as the guardian of our laws must foremost appreciate the severity of the acts and conducts of the offender, particularly bearing in mind the severity of the issues involved in a multiracial society like ours," she said. Read more »

A Catholic priest from Shah Alam will be charged at the Petaling Jaya Magistrate’s Court tomorrow for taking part in an illegal assembly organised by the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections, better known by its Malay acronym Bersih.

Rev Father Paulino Miranda was among 24 people who were arrested at the PJ Civic Centre in November last year, allegedly for taking part in an illegal rally, organised by Bersih in conjunction with its first anniversary. Read more »

The Catholic Lawyer’s Society of Kuala Lumpur claimed today that the Home Ministry’s decision to ban the Bahasa Melayu edition of the Herald is unconstitutional.

Society President Mabel Sebastian said Home Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar’s decision to bar the Malay edition inside the weekly paper contravened Article 3(1), 10(1)(a), 11(1) and (3) of the constitution which “grants the right to freely practise one’s religion, the general freedom of speech and expression and the right of every person and religious group to propagate and manage its own religious affairs”. Read more »

The General Elections are here. It is a time for debate and decisions. Catholics have the same rights and duties to vote as any other citizens, but are called to carry them out in light of the truth, faith and justice as taught by the Catholic Church.

We are called to respect human authority and obey those who govern society for God's sake and to live as free people without using that freedom to cover any wrongdoings (1 Peter 2:13-17). Read more »

Never grow tired of doing what is right (2 Thes 3:13).

Jesus Stands Trial before Pilate (Jn 18:28 - 19:11)

Jesus was taken from trial before the Jewish Sanhedrin to trial before the Roman governor, Pilate, in Pilate's palace.

Pilate knew what was going on; he knew that the religious leaders hated Jesus, and he did not want to act as their executioner. They could not sentence him to death themselves - permission had to come from a Roman leader. But Pilate initially refused to sentence Jesus without sufficient evidence. Read more »

In line with the recent call by the Catholic Bishops of Malaysia to the Catholic community on the ramifications of the process of Islamisation that is being systematically introduced in our country, the Catholic Lawyers’ Society has deemed fit to respond by embarking on a series of seminar talks and forums at the level of various Catholic parishes in the Klang Valley and around Peninsular Malaysia.

The Catholic Lawyers’ Society hopes to conscientise the Catholic community at large on the dangerous consequences that affect our non-muslim community particularly in respect of the conversion to Islam that is increasingly rampant among our Catholic youth. Read more »

The Catholic Lawyers’ Society, KL together with the Selangor Bar Legal Aid Centre held a “Law Awareness Programme” at the Church of St. Anne in Port Klang, Selangor.

The legal clinic was held on the last day of St. Anne’s feast that was celebrated for a week long at the Church. Read more »

The Catholic Lawyers' Society of Kuala Lumpur has recently endorsed an Article 11 coalition open letter to the Government of Malaysia to uphold the supremacy of our Federal Constitution.

Article 11 coalition is fully committed to upholding those fundamental rights for all Malaysians regardless of religion, race, descent, place of birth or gender. Read more »