Screenshot of participants with Fr Michael John Modoit (2nd row, 1st left) on the ZOOM discussion session on 6/3/2021
By Eddy Liew
Mar 11 2021
KOTA KINABALU – Since the COVID-19 pandemic came onto the scene in Malaysia in March 2020, physical church activities have pretty much come to a halt due to the implementation of MCO, CMCO or MCO 2.0.
Embracing the new normal, the Apologetics Ministry of Sacred Heart Cathedral parish (SHC) made the decision to move its usual physical class sessions for the topics it organizes to the online platform.
The online platform has opened up new opportunities for the topics that the apologetics ministry conducts whilst still complying with the stipulated SOPs. Participants for the programs are usually parishioners in the vicinity of Kota Kinabalu, because of copyright issues.
The current series conducted by the Apologetics Ministry SHC is called Engaging Today’s Culture: A Catholic Perspective. This series addresses issues such as relativism, LGBTQ+, contraception, divorce and assisted suicide, issues that the current climate of the world finds itself in, especially among the younger generation.
The aim of this series is to give the whats and the whys of our Catholic teaching on such issues. This series started on Feb 27, on Saturdays at 8.00 pm and will be ongoing for eight weeks.
The videos are streamed online to participants who have registered. The current series has about 110 registered participants. After the video for the session is finished, the ministry organizes ZOOM discussions for participants to exchange their thoughts or share their stories. Furthermore, a priest is also present in ZOOM discussions to provide guidance and insight. On the other hand, those who are on the quiet or shy side can still participate in the whatsapp group discussions in order to grasp the sessions better. This series is still open for those who have not yet registered but would like to join. Please contact the following people via whatsapp: Pauline Soon 0168044728 or Julia Wong 0198815009
Last year, the ministry conducted a few series online. These were Lectio Eucharist, Lectio Mary, Beginning Apologetics as well as Jesus and the End Times. This last series is a Catholic view of the Last Days by Dr Brant Pitre, a renowned Scripture scholar who obtained his Ph.D in New Testament and ancient Judaism from the University of Notre Dame, Indiana, USA. All these programs aim to explore the reasons for why and what the Church believes and also why it conducts its liturgy in such a way, looking deeper into the richness of the Catholic Faith.
Stay tune to the church bulletin or SHC social media page to see any new series the Apologetics Ministry will be conducting in the future. We will continue to use the online platform until the pandemic is no longer an issue.
