Kuala Lumpur (Fides Service) - Catholic nuns and laity are working together to spread the Good News of the Gospel in Malaysia. The local community of Good Shepherd Sisters has held meetings with lay Catholics to discuss apostolate and improve activity of evangelisation with three guiding principles: motivation, competence and generous commitment.
First of all to promote understanding and communion among laity and religious, lay people are invited to spend some time at the convent to share daily life with the sisters and also to give the nuns a chance to learn about secular and family life and problems that arise. Sister Cecilia Liew, Provincial Superior of the Good Shepherd Sisters in Malasia and Singapore, says that today collaboration with the laity is fundamental. "In the past lay Catholics were supposed only to pray and obey. Today they are active agents in the mission of the Church and very necessary if we are to face the challenges of evangelisation. I think that we Catholics have many resources and infrastructures which could be better used for the formation of the laity. For example lay persons could be allowed to attend theology courses in seminaries and other similar initiatives. We share with the laity the same mission and vocation: to promote reconciliation with self, with others and with God. This is why we want the laity to work with us and also to hold positions of responsibility. We must help them play their the proper role ".
The Good Shepherd Sisters work in various parts of Malaysia and they give special attention to help girls and young women who live on the streets, many forced into prostitution, to start a better way of life. The Sisters also work in hospitals and schools and among the poor in city outskirts. Involving the laity is a priority for the Good Shepherd Sisters: in fact lay persons from five continents will attend the order's Chapter General in France in June this year. PA (Fides Service 25/3/2003 EM lines 27 Words: 343)