Bishop Bernard Paul
By Herald
February 12, 2020
KUALA LUMPUR – The Catholic Bishops Conference of Malaysia Singapore-Brunei (CBCMSB) has decided to establish Caritas Malaysia and re-organize the existing Office of Human Development in Malaysia.
During the July 2019 meeting, CBCMSB had a dialogue with the heads of Caritas International, namely the Secretary-general and Ecclesial Assistant, and Caritas Asia.
Following up on this, the Conference sent Fr Joachim Robert and Msgr Michel Mannayagam to the Caritas Asia Regional retreat and meeting in November 2019.
At the recent January 2020 sitting, the Bishops of Malaysia unanimously decided to have one national office embracing all the dioceses in Sabah, Sarawak and Peninsular Malaysia.
The office will be based in Kuala Lumpur. Bishop Bernard Paul has been appointed as the Chair of Caritas Malaysia.
In the role of Executive Secretary of the Conference, Charles Bertille has been asked to give part of his time and effort towards establishing the national and diocese offices. He will now be based in Kuala Lumpur.
Bishop Bernard Paul will call for a meeting/consultation of representatives from all nine dioceses by the first quarter of the year. The dates will be announced later.
Caritas Internationalis is a confederation of more than 160 members who are working at the grassroots in almost every country of the world. When a crisis hits, Caritas is already on the ground. The diverse members give us our strength – from small groups of volunteers to some of the biggest global charities. Inspired by the Catholic faith, Caritas is the helping hand of the Church – reaching out to the poor, the vulnerable and the excluded, regardless of race or religion, to build a world based on justice and fraternal love.
Caritas Internationalis has its headquarters in Rome – co-ordinating emergency operations, formulating development policy and advocating for a better world for everyone. All national Caritas organizations are members of their own regional Caritas networks and the international confederation.
From the founding of the first Caritas in Germany in 1897, to the setting up of Caritas Internationalis in 1951, until today, Caritas has had a rich history of listening respectfully to the suffering of the poor and giving them the tools to transform their own lives. The deep moral and spiritual principles of dignity, justice, solidarity and stewardship still guide Caritas today.
