By Charles Bertille
PENINSULAR MALAYSIA — The tears of a young woman at the recent Peninsular Malaysia Pastoral Assembly (PMPA) left an imprint on our souls. The young woman shared her pain at being treated as ignorant and inexperienced by priests and parish leaders, not respected, not listened to. Her efforts to serve seemed futile and unappreciated.
A bishop shared how he is so overwhelmed by the demands put on him, and it affects his ability to truly listen and be present to his people. Another bishop could not attend due to his health condition, not unrelated to his workload as pastor.
The chairperson of a large parish confided in private that he is unaware of the findings of the Regional Pastoral Assembly (RPA), as it was not discussed in the parish, nor the Synod report findings of the parish or diocese. Their parish pastoral focus seems to be different.
For a moment, the assembly touched the suffering flesh of Jesus. These are all signs that the Body of Christ is ailing. We are unable to cope with the workload, current ways of working, and work structures. Something will give way – the minister, the bonds of relationships, the quality of listening, the mission… but are these not essential to our way of life as Catholics?
No issue or need stands isolated – it is part of the system we have constructed or maintained over the years and now needs to be re-examined in the light of a synodal Church.
Voices of the People of God
While there have been many activities and assemblies – parish, diocese, region – to consult the People of God (which consists of bishops, priests, deacons, religious, laity) on the Synod questionnaire, as well as the thematic areas (family, church, society, ecology); there seems to be a lack of awareness and limited participation in the ecclesial journey of the Semenanjung Church. This lack needs to be explored to bridge the gap between synodal efforts and the subjects of participation, that is, the larger portion of the People of God. Is it due to the lack of connection with real-life issues affecting the people within the thematic areas? Is it a lack of understanding of synodality and what it means? Or are the demands of daily life preventing people from reflecting and journeying with the Church? How can this faith journey take flesh and form in the lives of our people and not become another activity?
The animation and leadership of the various assemblies (parish, diocese, regional, national) is strongly led by clergy. The voices and participation of others are not very visible. Where are the young, the lay, the women, the Indigenous, and more in the animation? The Catholic faith teaches that every voice matters: for none of us is saved alone. The Fathers of the Church (St Cyprian) teach us the fundamental communal nature of the People of God with a triple “nothing without”: “nothing without the bishop”, “nothing without presbyter and deacon”, and “nothing without the consent of the people” (Final Document of the Synod 88), each contributing to a symphony of differentiated coresponsibility (FD 89).
The Malaysia Pastoral Convention (MPC) 2026 is envisaged as a historical turning point in the journey of the Malaysian Church. After 63 years of nationhood, we are coming together, thanks to all our bishops, for the very first national pastoral assembly. What will this new chapter mean for the Malaysian Church and Catholics? The scripture verse selected for the MPC 2026 (Isaiah 2:2-5) includes these lines, “They will beat their swords into ploughshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.”
What does this prophecy of Isaiah mean for us in Malaysia, called to be synodal, missionary, and prophetic in this millennium? (We are a small number in a multi-cultural, multi-religious, and challenging environment. Official statistics show that Chinese and Indian communities will continue to dwindle in the coming years.)
If the Bishops are seeking and have agreed to a unified pastoral thrust for the country, as has been stated during the RPAs and other instances, or as Canon Law says; “the organisation of common pastoral action” (CIC 445), then the participation within the MPC can be enhanced as a preparation towards a gradual adoption of actual synodal structures already provided for in Canon Law in the following year/s (cf. International Theological Commission, 2018, Synodality in the Life and Mission of the Church”, 70). This will help us move towards the needed “change in [ecclesial] culture” (FD 102).
The Malaysian Church needs to amplify its message regarding synodality and participation.
The Voices of the People of God from the three regions (Sabah, Sarawak, and Semenanjung) and representing the four areas (church, family, society, and ecology) can be carried through print and social media, parish councils, and pulpit. It can be done in close collaboration with the Perjalanan Salib, especially when the Salib moves to the peripheries. All these should be viewed in the perspective of “extending the tent” (cf. Isaiah 54:2) and giving the people and the poor a voice rather than taking their voice away and retelling their stories. Their voices can highlight how synodality is lived out and experienced, or not.
A New Synthesis
Through all the assemblies, what is the “new synthesis” that is emerging for the Malaysian Church? It is good to recall here the new synthesis that the original renewal team of seven members, known as 5 Loaves and 2 Fishes, brought forth for the Aggiornamento 1976. They were women and men, religious and clergy, coming mainly from a pre-Vatican training, foreign missionaries, and Malaysians, yet worked together for a new synthesis among them and for the Semenanjung Church. They initiated processes that continue to generate new life and did not seek to occupy spaces of power.
The late Archbishop Dominic Vendargon, Bishop James Chan, and Gregory Yong took the risk of calling the 123 priests to leave their parishes for an entire month and come together to listen, study, and discern the way for the Peninsula Malaysia Church at the Aggiornamento.
The local churches did not suffer a collapse – rather, laity and religious women rose to the occasion in the parishes to celebrate the Word of God every Sunday and continued the various pastoral ministries.
The three regions of Sabah, Sarawak, and Semenanjung are invited to continue promoting the “exchange of gifts” (FD 69 – 74) – between churches, vocations or states of life, ministries, offices, and persons. And through such an exchange, a new synthesis will emerge, reconciling our differences and diversities not into uniformity but unity. For an exchange of gifts lived out in reciprocal love is the place and form of encounter with God (FD 44).
Cast the net together
When the fishing had not caught anything and the dejected disciples wanted to return home, a voice rang out: “Cast the net to the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” (FD 79, cf. Jn 21: 5-6). Some scholars and translations emphasize ‘Cast the net together…’ How can we cast the net together for the mission? And would it not require weaving the net together first?
Very often, we have gone fishing with our individual single-line rods, working in silos or in competition, while Vatican II had already set out a more collaborative theology.
“The whole is greater than the parts.” In all living systems — human bodies, ecological systems, or the Church — the whole becomes qualitatively greater than the individual parts.
Each part contributes unique gifts, perspectives, and experiences, yet it is their interconnection, mutual support, and shared purpose that gains transformative power richer than what each could achieve alone. This reflects St Paul’s ecclesiology (1 Cor 12) where no one in the Body of Christ can say to another, “I do not need you.” Our “dependence on one another embodies the heart of synodality” (FD 13). The Church’s vitality does not derive only from individual holiness of its members but from their communion. Synodality thus transforms the individual ‘I’ into a collective ‘we’ (FD 50).
The Highest Dignity
Building on the theology of Vatican II, the Synod document states, “There is nothing higher than this baptismal dignity, equally bestowed upon each person… The name ‘Christian’.. contains the grace that is the basis of our life and enables us to walk together as brothers and sisters” (FD 21). How far we have wandered away from this truth! Like the African Ubuntu philosophy, the principle of reciprocal existence says, “I am because we are.” It is the ‘People of God’ in whom we are born into new life in Jesus Christ, who give us our deepest identity as sons and daughters of God, and through whom flows all vocations and ministries. When we forget our fundamental identity and the reciprocity that animates it, domination takes over.
An intensive and ongoing human formation together with life in the Spirit will be a vital ingredient for all states of life. Formation must generate the capacity for “openness and encounter, sharing and collaboration, reflection and discernment in common” (FD 143). Each one and the local Churches are being invited to examine attitudes, relations, processes, and structures. Only through a kenosis or self-emptying can the process of ecclesio-genesis of Christ’s synodal body in this time and place take flesh.
Charles, a layperson, has dedicated over 30 years to full-time ministry, including starting new missions both regionally and internationally.
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