Catholic bishop speaks out against sex video
Terence NettoPublished: Mar 29, 2011 2:58 AM | Updated: Mar 29, 2011 12:46 PM
Catholic Bishop Dr Paul Tan Che Ing said today the state of a society's morals was in greater danger from its leaders' negligence than from their ignorance.
Catholic Bishop Dr Paul Tan Che Ing said today the state of a society's morals was in greater danger from its leaders' negligence than from their ignorance.
The Bishop of the Melaka-Johor diocese, who is also president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference, said if leaders preferred to muddy the waters rather than go for the jugular when a moral issue of magnitude flares in the national arena, they will "contribute to a situation where events will be in the saddle and will ride humankind."
Speaking to Malaysiakini on the videotape allegedly depicting a leading politician in a compromising situation with a sex worker, Bishop Paul said: "If the authorities do not take action against those responsible when laws are flagrantly flouted, then they are engendering a situation where fair is foul and foul is fair."
"This is a dangerous pass, one in which people, especially the young, will think that there is one set of rules for a privileged few and another set of rules for the rest," he added.
"The moral relativism that results from this disparity in rule enforcement is a quagmire from which society will find it very difficult to emerge."
He said Malaysian society was in "greater danger from its leaders' negligence than from their ignorance."
"When you purport to sponsor and lead discussions promoting interfaith harmony and understanding and then arraign leaders who deliver learned speeches aimed at aiding that process, what is the message you are sending?" he queried rhetorically.
'Unity in plurality'
He declined to be specific but it was clear the Catholic prelate was referring to the decision by the de facto religious minister, Jamil Khir Baharom, to investigate Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim for a speech on religion and pluralism at the London School of Economics in March last year.
"A friend afforded me the privilege of reading that speech and I could not help but be struck by the way it echoed the sentiments advanced in documents emanating from the Vatican and from recent popes, especially Pope Benedict, concerning inter-religious dialogue," offered Bishop Paul.
"The essence of those documents can be encapsulated in the phrase ‘Unity in plurality' and the essence of that now arraigned speech is the same: how to see infinity in a grain and divinity in wild flowers."
Bishop Paul said he felt the speech was the pronouncement of a person whose stands firmly on the foundations of his religion "but his eyes survey the world."
"Incidentally, that is a good standpoint from which to initiate interfaith harmony and understanding," he observed.
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The Bishop of the Melaka-Johor diocese, who is also president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference, said if leaders preferred to muddy the waters rather than go for the jugular when a moral issue of magnitude flares in the national arena, they will "contribute to a situation where events will be in the saddle and will ride humankind."
Speaking to Malaysiakini on the videotape allegedly depicting a leading politician in a compromising situation with a sex worker, Bishop Paul said: "If the authorities do not take action against those responsible when laws are flagrantly flouted, then they are engendering a situation where fair is foul and foul is fair.""This is a dangerous pass, one in which people, especially the young, will think that there is one set of rules for a privileged few and another set of rules for the rest," he added.
"The moral relativism that results from this disparity in rule enforcement is a quagmire from which society will find it very difficult to emerge."
He said Malaysian society was in "greater danger from its leaders' negligence than from their ignorance."
"When you purport to sponsor and lead discussions promoting interfaith harmony and understanding and then arraign leaders who deliver learned speeches aimed at aiding that process, what is the message you are sending?" he queried rhetorically.
'Unity in plurality'
He declined to be specific but it was clear the Catholic prelate was referring to the decision by the de facto religious minister, Jamil Khir Baharom, to investigate Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim for a speech on religion and pluralism at the London School of Economics in March last year.
"A friend afforded me the privilege of reading that speech and I could not help but be struck by the way it echoed the sentiments advanced in documents emanating from the Vatican and from recent popes, especially Pope Benedict, concerning inter-religious dialogue," offered Bishop Paul.
"The essence of those documents can be encapsulated in the phrase ‘Unity in plurality' and the essence of that now arraigned speech is the same: how to see infinity in a grain and divinity in wild flowers."
Bishop Paul said he felt the speech was the pronouncement of a person whose stands firmly on the foundations of his religion "but his eyes survey the world."
"Incidentally, that is a good standpoint from which to initiate interfaith harmony and understanding," he observed.
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'Datuk T not eligible for legal protection'
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Anwar: Focus on S'wak, ignore diversions
'Strip sex video trio of their datukship'
Sex video: A case of history repeating itself
Are NGOs doing the job of the muftis?
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