Pakiam Booted Out By Vatican?

Pakiam seriously misjudged the atmospherics (Malaysiakini).

Terence Netto

2:22 PM Dec 17, 2013

Murphy Nicholas Xavier Pakiam, the third Catholic Archbishop of Kuala Lumpur, tendered his resignation as required by church law on Dec 6 when he turned 75, the mandatory retirement age for prelates.

Contemplating the Via Dolorossa. Eli, Eli lama sabachthani?

The usually long drawn out process of electing a successor has not been completed in Pakiam's case, which is why the alacrity with which the Vatican accepted his resignation has given rise to speculation that Rome is glad to see him go. 

The Vatican posted news of its acceptance of his resignation within days of receiving Pakiam's letter although the election process for a successor has a long way to go.

If a successor has not been firmed up, Rome has been known to take its time about acceptance, in which case the incumbent will continue until news of acceptance of resignation is simultaneously announced with the name of the successor.

My comments : Oh well. I think the Vatican has come to its senses. There really are more important things for the Vatican to consider about their franchise operations in Malaysia than Pakiam's misguided attempts to help the opposition parties play politics with the 'Allah' word. For instance the Vatican has to worry about this :

To digress do you know who was the first Prime Minister of Malaysia to visit the Pope in the Vatican?

a. Najib Tun Razak
b. Mahathir Mohamed
c. Hussein Onn

Answer is b. Mahathir Mohamed who visited the Pope John Paul II in 2002. (Dr Mahathir saw the light and became a dictator after that visit !)

Coming back to Pakiam's ouster, there is also a new "boss" in town who reports back to the Vatican about Pakiam. He is the new Vatican Ambassador to Kuala Lumpur. 

Joe Marino is watching

The Apostolic Nuncio in Kuala Lumpur is Archbishop Joseph Salvador Marino, who was named to the position by Pope Benedict XVI on 16 January 2013. The embassy is located at 168 Jalan Imbi, 55100 Kuala Lumpur. 

Religion is serious business. No money no religion. Pakiam tak faham pasal business. There is also a new Boss-man in Rome. His name is Pope Francis. Francis understands the religion business.   Focus on delivering quality service. The money will follow soon after.

The Church must be clean. 
Importantly the Church must come clean. 
Even more importantly the Church must be seen to be clean.  

The Catholic Church is still recovering from its worldwide affliction of child molest, rape, sodomy and tak tahu apa lagi. Church fathers in Germany and elsewhere have been behaving like Templars.  (Read here : Vatican Suspends German Bishop Accused of Lavish Spending on Himself)

The Church has been taken to the cleaners (to Court) in the US, Australia and Europe over the misbehaviour of its priests. Billions of US Dollars have had to be paid in Court imposed settlements. 

In the US, Europe and elsewhere attendance at Church is falling through the bottom. Worse Catholic Churches are closing down by the dozen. Here is some news from the US :

More Church Closings 

"It has become routine these days to here of multiple church closings in various dioceses throughout this country. The recent news comes from the Archdiocese of St. Paul – Minneapolis which is planning to close 21 parishes over the next three years." 

It looks like not only the lights will be going out, but the "spirit" is leaving town too. 

However since no one is yet to see a "spirit" I dont think anyone will suffer serious withdrawal symptoms. "Feel good" always has easy substitutes.  We thank "Allah" that there are no substitutes for "do good".  

To shorten the story, the Vatican's coffers are now quite strained. Toll rates must be hiked up. So now is the time to return to the good path. Take your nose out of politics. Go back to basics - education, good deeds, righteous works and justice. Show the way - do not identify justice with church, language or religion.  

It is going to take some time but if the Church gets back on track, then the flock will come back too. Then the business side will be ok too. 

Why on earth would the Church want to teach Arabic to the Dayaks in the jungles of Borneo? They do not even recognise the Malay word 'Tuhan'.  How will the Dayaks recognise the Arabic word 'Allah'? Pakiam tak faham business lah. 

"These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates" Deuteronomy 6.