By Ruben Sario
KOTA KINABALU – Sabah’s three Catholic dioceses have for the first time come up with a Pastoral mission serving as guidelines at parishes throughout the state.
The nine point Pastoral mission came at the end of an inaugural three-day regional assembly of delegates from the Kota Kinabalu Archdiocese and the Dioceses of Keningau and Sandakan at the Sacred Heart Cathedral from May 11 to 13, known as Sabah Regional Pastoral Assembly (SRPA) 2025.
Among the 600 representatives – comprising priests, religious and laity – were Kota Kinabalu’s Archbishop John Wong, Keningau’s Bishop Cornelius Piong and Sandakan’s Bishop Julius Gitom.
The regional assembly was a prelude to the first ever Malaysian Pastoral Convention (MPC) involving representatives from nine Catholic dioceses around the country next year.
The Pastoral Mission of the Sabah Catholic church was the result of questions posed to the delegates following spiritual conversations focusing on the history of the church in the state and reports from the respective dioceses.
Entitled ‘Recalling history, Continuing the legacy, Building the Kingdom of God in a Synodal Spirit’, the Pastoral Mission spells out that:
- Faith is a heritage and responsibility
- Family and youth are the heart of the mission
- The church is built from the grassroots
- Synodality is the lifestyle of the church
- Service is rooted in the Holy Spirit and prayer
- Identifying and responding to the Call of Life
- Celebrating the Sacraments as a source of life
- A church that is inclusive, missionary, active and proclaims the Gospel and
- Continuous repentance is the key to the Synodal way of life
Following the closing of the Eucharistic celebration to mark the end of the Regional Pastoral Assembly, Abp John described the Pastoral Mission Statement proposed by the Drafting Committee as initial fruits of the Assembly.
“This will require further prayers and discernment before it is finalized,” he added.
Thanking the delegates for their active participation at the assembly, Abp John described it as another opportunity of strengthening the bonds of a large Catholic church family in Sabah.
“This is an opportunity for old friends to meet. I hope the memories of this gathering will be an impetus for you to serve at your respective parishes with renewed vigor,” he added.
“Let us journey together from this moment as this is by no means the end. It is instead the beginning of another chapter in the Catholic church in Sabah,” Abp John noted.
In his remarks, Bishop Cornelius Piong said the challenge ahead for everyone was the implementation of the Pastoral mission.
He said this was possible with the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Jesus tells us to live in the Holy Spirit, in the Word of God. Let us live our daily lives guided by the Word of God. What we read, discern, we carry out. The Holy Spirit is always with us. The Holy Spirit teaches us and reminds us of the teachings of Jesus.
“Early Christian communities lived in unity, they lived in the Holy Spirit and they lived according to God’s will. Let us walk together in that Spirit,” Bishop Cornelius added.
Crediting the Holy Spirit for guiding the delegates throughout the three-day assembly, Bishop Julius said the seed had been planted for the Catholic community to walk together as a church in Sabah.
“The Holy Spirit has guided us, showed us the direction of how we can move ahead together through the nine points in our Pastoral Mission. Looking through these points, I see some are already being carried out at each of our dioceses.
“There are some that may pose a challenge while others may serve as guidelines to improve what we are already doing as part of the pastoral journey at our respective dioceses” Bishop Julius added.
The closing of the inaugural regional pastoral gathering also marked the beginning of the Perjalanan Salib where three wooden crosses would be taken to the various parishes within the Kota Kinabalu, Keningau and Sandakan dioceses over the next few months. The crosses would be joined with six others to form a single cross at the MPC next year.
Article amended on Jun 3 2025
