Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Kuala Lumpur (Agenzia Fides) – The Catholic Church does not intend to legally pursue the two Muslim reporters that desecrated the Eucharist with a news report, although it demands a public apology from the perpetrators and the Islamic magazine that published the report. This is what Fides learns from Church sources in Kuala Lumpur, where local Archbishop Murphy Pakiam made a public statement today, saying that the Catholic Church would not pursue legal action against Al-Islam magazine and its reporters who had desecrated a ritual sacred to the Catholic community if it was offered a public apology.
"Forgiveness is an integral part of our mission," said the Archbishop, explaining that, in doing so, he wanted to close a painful story that has caused suffering and outrage in the Christian community. Many Christians, in fact, deeply wounded by the incident, reported the incident to police, asking that the two journalists be tried in court for having seriously offended the religious sentiments of a community of believers.
The two journalists made and published in May 2009 a service in which they ridicule the sacred rite of the Eucharist and the Christian religion. Posing as Christians, they attended a Mass and took Communion, criticizing Christians for believing that what they think is a piece of bread is really Jesus Christ.
After the allegations of some believers, the police opened an investigation and accused the two reporters based on art. 298/A of the Penal Code for having "caused disharmony, feelings of enmity and hatred, and undermining religious harmony in the country." Penalties for this offense include imprisonment for two to five years.
The Malaysian Church, with this gesture, also intends to reach out to Malay Muslims (majority in the country) in the hope of finding solutions, in an atmosphere of dialogue and friendship, to the question of the use of the name "Allah" for Malay-speaking Christians (see Fides 12/1/2010 and 29/1/2010). After the appeal to the High Court and the verdict in favor of the Church, in January there were isolated reactions of young fundamentalists and some attacks on churches. Christians still have suspended the use of the word "Allah" and the matter is on hold, but is expected to continue towards a resolution, thanks to negotiations between Church lawyers and government authorities. (PA) (Agenzia Fides 4/03/2010)
