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About Us
Caritas Malaysia
Who We Are
Caritas Malaysia
is the official arm of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Malaysia (CBCM) engaging in works of integral human development, charity, relief, care for creation and social services.
It is a network of members from nine diocesan Caritas/ human development offices with affiliates from congregations and other Catholic organisations engaged in the field of integral human development and charity at a national level. We seek to work with communities, non-governmental organisations, and local authorities to promote an inclusive and sustainable development for all.
Our Vision
“A sign of God’s love for all creation in Jesus Christ.”
Our Mission
Rooted in the Gospels and the social teachings of the Catholic Church, Caritas Malaysia is dedicated to upholding the dignity of every human person and promoting social justice. We address the root causes of poverty, violence, and inequality, and respond to humanitarian crises with compassion and care. We empower and equip members of Caritas Malaysia and all people of goodwill to act in solidarity with the marginalized and creation, ensuring responsible stewardship of the environment for the common good.
Caritas Malaysia
Our Values
Our Values (Being)
We are proposing that our spirituality, which includes our disposition and our motivation be guided by the following three principle:
Sanctity: The universal call to holiness is a teaching of the Roman Catholic Church that all people are called to be holy and is based on Matthew 5:48: “Be you therefore perfect, as also your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48). Chapter V of the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Lumen gentium discusses the Universal Call to Holiness: …all the faithful of Christ of whatever rank or status, are called to the fullness of the Christian life and to the perfection of charity; …They must follow in His footsteps and conform themselves to His image seeking the will of the Father in all things. They must devote themselves with all their being to the glory of God and the service of their neighbour.
Synodality: “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). “Enlarge the space of your tent, spread out your tent cloths unsparingly, lengthen your ropes and make firm your pegs” (Is 54:2).
Synodality is the way of the Church (based on the way of Jesus) and therefore invariably the way of Caritas. We will focus on these 4 steps to part of every process in Caritas – Encounter, Listening, Discernment, Move to Action
Solidarity: (Lk 4:16-18 and Matt 25:40)
The aim of moving to action is solidarity. One of the pillars of a Christian spirituality of solidarity—belief in a God who became human like us and in so doing revealed the true dignity of each human being. And therefore, the spirituality of solidarity begins with honouring the divine presence in each human being: Solidarity and compassion is love in action. We are called to take up the mantle of prophecy, to discern the signs of the times, and to be an ever-present balm in a troubled world.… the experiences and hopes of people who are disadvantaged and living in poverty inspire and inform the ministry of Caritas.
Synodality is the way of the Church (based on the way of Jesus) and therefore invariably the way of Caritas. We will focus on these 4 steps to part of every process in Caritas – Encounter, Listening, Discernment, Move to Action
Our Values (Doing)
Our work ethics and processes at Caritas Malaysia are driven by three guiding principles of Catholic Social Teaching:
Subsidiarity
Empowering all levels inside and outside Caritas to ensure that decision making happens at the most appropriate level and that those affected have a voice in the entire process.
Common good
Working in solidarity, for the good of all in society, by respecting the rights and dignity of every person regardless of their background.
Co-responsibility
Each level – local community, parish, diocese and national office collaborating with laity, religious and clergy as one body – to grow the social mission of the Catholic Church, to serve the poor and marginalised so as to promote integral development and charity for the attainment of peace and justice.
Caritas Malaysia
Our History
During the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Malaysia-Singapore-Brunei (CBCMSB) on 8 July 2019, the Bishops met with the Caritas staff from the Vatican and Asia for a dialogue. The Malaysian bishops then decided to re-new the lapsed membership with the Caritas federation.
On 9 January 2020, at the following Bishops’ Conference they unanimously decided to establish Caritas Malaysia as an overarching body for all organisations involved in charity and development work. They then appointed Bishop Bernard Paul as Chair of Caritas Malaysia and Charles Bertille as Executive Secretary of the National office.
A launching meeting was held with all diocese delegates and the Bishop Chair on 25 February 2020 at the APC, KL. They discussed the situation and need for capacity building, being systematic and research based in ministry work. There was a consensus to work together at the national level under Caritas. An interim Exco was established at this meeting and has been meeting regularly. They consist of Bp Bernard Paul, Charles Bertille, Dominic Lim from Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Frs Galvin Richard Ngumbang & Alvin Ng from Kuching, Sarawak, and Alvin Santhanam from KL. Caritas Malaysia national office has been set-up in the Archdiocesan Pastoral Centre, Kuala Lumpur.
Working ties have been re-established with Caritas Asia and Caritas Internationalis. The Bishops met on 23 June 2020 and approved the Caritas organigram and other operation matters to set-up or strengthen existing diocese Caritas offices. Caritas Malaysia was launched on 6 November 2020.
CARITAS INTERNATIONALIS
It all started with just one man. From humble beginnings in Germany 1897, Lorenz Werthmann founded the first Caritas. The organisation, named after a Latin word meaning love and compassion, grew to become one of the largest aid and development agencies in the world. In the 20th Century, Giovanni Battista Montini, the future Pope Paul VI, laid the foundations for an international network. In 1954, Caritas Internationalis was officially recognised.
Caritas Internationalis is a confederation of 165 Catholic relief, development and social service organisations operating in over 200 countries and territories worldwide.
The Caritas confederation is unique. Wherever there is need in the world, there is a Caritas organisation to provide practical help, love and support. Caritas members on the ground respond to emergencies sparked by natural disasters and those created by humans.
Caritas comes to the assistance of victims of floods in Europe, to people caught in conflict in Africa, to those suffering the effects of climate change in Oceania. There, and in Asia, North and South America and the Caribbean and in the Middle East and North Africa, Caritas is an active, experienced and skilled provider of aid, long-term development, medical and educational services and advocacy for a better, more just world. For further information, visit: caritas.org
CARITAS IN ASIA
Caritas Asia is one of the seven Regional Offices under the Confederation of Caritas Internationalis (CI). It was established by the Asian Member Organisations with the endorsement and approval of the Confederation, during the General Assembly of CI in 1999 in Rome. Caritas Asia maintains recognition at the international level within Caritas Internationalis, with the nihil obstat of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum. It also complies with the CI Management Standards.
Caritas Asia is made up of 25 Member Organisations, of national character, mandated by their respective Episcopal conferences or Ecclesiastical authorities, responsible for the local Church’s socio-pastoral works.
The primary role of Caritas Asia is to serve and support its Member Organisations in the region in the achievement of their mission, in conformity and under the guidance of the local and universal Church, and in line with the decisions and plans approved by the General Assembly of Caritas Internationalis. In fulfilment of this role, Caritas Asia has the responsibility to intensify interchange and mutual aid among Member Organisations for the promotion and harmonization of their work to achieve the goals pursued in the region by the Confederation.
There are four Caritas Asia sub-regions:
Southeast Asia sub-region: Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor Leste, Vietnam
East Asia sub-region: Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Macau, Taiwan
South Asia sub-region: Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka
Central Asia sub-region: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan
Each Member Organisation maintains its own individual autonomy in its relationships and operating procedures within the legal framework of the global Caritas confederation. As an integral part of Caritas Asia, Member Organisations have the responsibility to take part in the creation of the organisational structures and programmes of Caritas Asia. Member Organisations also have the responsibility to contribute towards the development and fulfillment of the strategic direction of Caritas Asia.
Member Organisations act in accordance with the Catholic Social Teaching, the Canon Law, the requirements of the competent Ecclesiastical authorities, and the norms of behaviour and criteria defined jointly within the Caritas Confederation with regard to international and regional cooperation. They accept coordination by Caritas Asia in relation to operations at the regional level and in terms of representation by Caritas Asia at inter-denominational and regional levels. Member Organisations jointly finance the bodies and activities of Caritas Asia, as they do with Caritas Internationalis.
Regional Secretariat
The Regional Secretariat of Caritas Asia, with its office in Bangkok, Thailand, consists of the Regional Coordinator and staff who are governed by the Regional Commission. The main function of the Secretariat is to carry out whatever works the Regional Conference and the Regional Commission entrusts to the office. The Secretariat is responsible for operationalising decisions of the Regional Conference and Regional Commission and is mandated to provide opportunities for capacity building for Member Organisations. For further information, visit: caritas.asia
Caritas Malaysia
Annual Reports
The inaugural Caritas Malaysia Annual Report 2020 gives an overview of the ongoing social mission of the Catholic Church in Malaysia through images, narratives and finances of the dioceses. The heroes of Caritas Malaysia’s mission are truly the volunteers and ministry personnel on the ground, in all our parish communities and dioceses.
As part of future annual reports, the Caritas national office will continue compiling these efforts into a family album – and like any family album it will help us to get to know other family members, their respective situations, efforts and needs. And we pray that it will eventually become our family story – a chronicle of our shared heritage, which we can share widely with all, with joy – supporting one another amid our challenges, and working together to uplift others.
Caritas Malaysia
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Caritas is charity or love. Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, the President of Caritas International writes: “God´s inner life is a communion of love. God´s mission is an act of communion of the three Divine Persons. The meeting of mission and communion generates the community of the Church which exists to evangelise through word, sacrament and charity/caritas. In the heart of the Church we serve together, guided by the values of solidarity, sharing, co-responsibility, participation, respect and common purpose. That is how to be Caritas.
Pope Francis says, “a Church without charity does not exist”. For him Caritas is “an essential part of the Church” and that it “institutionalises love in the Church”.
Caritas Internationalis has the status of a public canonical juridical person within the Church (CIC 116-123). The specific task entrusted to Caritas is to assist the Supreme Pontiff and the Bishops in their ministry of charity.
Caritas Malaysia is the official arm of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Malaysia (CBCM) engaging in works of integral human development, charity, relief, care for creation and social services. It is a network of members from nine diocesan Caritas/ human development offices with affiliates from congregations and other Catholic organisations engaged in the field of integral human development and charity at a national level. We seek to work with communities, non-governmental organisations, and local authorities to promote an inclusive and sustainable development for all.
Some dioceses already have existing structures such as the Office for Human Development (OHD) or Commission for Mission and Human Development (CMHD). These will continue their work. Other dioceses will need to strengthen their existing offices or establish their own Caritas offices where they do not exist. They can ask for assistance in this exercise; the national and established diocese offices will assist. The following organigram was approved by the bishops at their meeting on 23 June 2020.
Ad Intra
1. Coordinate among diocese Caritas and affiliates a healthy exchange of programme information, learning opportunities, skills and other resources, and best practices.
2. Communicate such news, events, educational and advocacy materials from dioceses, national office and affiliates through the CM website and social media.
3. Establish specialised desks and/or task force teams to pioneer or innovate certain areas for the good of all e.g. in relief, research, peace building, etc.
4. Coordinate and support any relief efforts in the face of national emergencies; and local emergencies when needed.
5. Undertake community based research, to advice and support the Bishops’ Conference and local diocese initiatives. [It works on a principle of economies of scale and common good. Such desks and team members need not be limited to only national office staff, but can be a pool of persons.]
6. Promote on-going capacity building for all diocese heads, staff, volunteers and partners for updating as well as to attain certain standards of compliance and accountability in the work of charity and development.
7. Establish an annual calendar, budget and platform for the above meetings, study days and trainings.
8. Organise the Annual Assembly for CM / Board members / and invited affiliates to review, update, discern orientations, and plan.
9. Encourage on-going monitoring and evaluation, review and reflection at all levels to cultivate a healthy spirit of learning and innovation; and to ensure targeted outcomes are met.
10. Receive, keep in trust, administer, such funds and goods as are entrusted to CM for the purposes of undertaking the functions of the office.
11. As the CM office is located in Kuala Lumpur, it seeks fraternal collaboration in common areas with the diocese Caritas or AOHD, and to maximise resources.
Ad Extra
1. Network, dialogue and collaborate with relevant national authorities, coalition of NGOs, international offices, Christian Churches, and other bodies in a spirit of partnership to promote the social mission of the Malaysian Church
2. Advocate with relevant authorities, NGOs and others on specific issues at a national level, being a voice for those in need.
3. Represent Caritas and the Catholic Church at national, regional and international levels.
Local diocese Caritas offices are accountable to the local communities, the local Board and ultimately the local bishop. The diocese Caritas offices, after surveying the local needs, and in consultation with local community leaders and pastors, develop the necessary plans and programmes. It is the pedagogy of Caritas to begin with the community or grass-roots experiences and needs.
It is vital that people participate in defining and developing programmes and activities that will affect their lives and communities, if these are to be sustainable. At the diocese level, if non-existent, the diocese will have to name the right person as Caritas director, allocate funds for creating the office and staffing, and establish a board composed of competent persons.
The National Caritas seeks to add value to all. It only intervenes to assist or establish local or regional programmes when requested by the Diocese Caritas and bishop/s. Much of these will be discussed and decided at the national meeting of Caritas directors. As such, it is not a centralised office that undertakes all decision-making or programmes, nor will it ‘take over’ anyone or anything. Rather, it will foster cooperation and common good as the national office.
On the other hand, the current stand-alone approach of dioceses is no longer sufficient to respond to the increasing needs, or to develop the social mission of the Malaysian church. Real capacity and coordination are lacking. The survey and post-COVID relief reflection among diocese offices brought out the need for representation of the church as a single entity as well as greater internal coordination. The lack of it affects her visibility and mission on the ground.
Diocese offices are encouraged to communicate news on their programmes and activities that these can then be shared with the larger Caritas family and church. Applying the principle of common good and co-responsibility, all are encouraged to share initiatives, resources, and consult with the larger body so that a clearer picture and response may evolve, synergies may be found, and weaker parts find support from the larger body.
Through this the spirit of Catholicity is strengthened and the parts bear witness to the whole. Communicating news of programmes and activities within and outside of the Caritas family and church engenders inclusivity in the social mission of the church. Through this exchange of news, both laity and members of the public can become involved in the mission as volunteers.
Accountability begins with consulting, listening to voices on the ground, and building together. Accountability measures and structures such as Caritas Internationalis Management Standard will be put in place gradually at all levels.
Like any other organisation, all the diocese offices of Caritas Malaysia will have to carry out regular reviews, and prepare an Annual Activity Report with accounts, and an extract of their Audit Report. These will be presented to their local Board annually, as well as to the national office. The national office will then put together a consolidated Report for the Bishops’ Conference for discernment and reflection as well as to help them appreciate the bigger picture – the efforts, blessings and concerns in building up the social mission of the Malaysian Church.
Regular meetings, exchange of information, study of Catholic Social Teachings (CST), pastoral exhortations like Evangelii Gaudium, joint review and planning exercises can all help to foster the right understanding and practice of charity, development and justice. Progressively, Caritas Malaysia will have to develop its statutes and manuals.
Caritas Malaysia
Organisational Policies
Caritas Malaysia is working towards implementing organisational policies that are aligned with the Management Standards set out for member organisations of Caritas Internationalis.
Caritas Malaysia
Spirituality
“SERVING OUT OF LOVE – CARITAS IDENTITY AND MISSION”
THE CHARITY OF CHRIST URGES US
Caritas Christi Urget Nos (2 Cor 5.14)
Those who serve in Caritas mission must be first and foremost “true witnesses of Christ” – Pope Benedict Jesus identified himself with the hungry, the thirsty, the strangers, the naked, the sick, the prisoners. We are called to recognise the face of Jesus in the faces of our brothers and sisters, in particular the poor and the marginalised. Caritas work has been rooted in and inspired by Church tradition and history, since its foundation.
Spirituality is a mode of life in the Spirit, a docility to its life giving power, which mobilises all areas of our existence. The Word of God illuminates our minds and moulds our hearts for the exercise of fraternal charity and for justice, to serve communities, to live a solid spirituality of communion with Christ and to be docile to the actions of the Spirit. In this way we develop a spirituality of gratitude, mercy, and fraternal solidarity, proper attitudes of one who loves disinterestedly and seeks no recompense.
The starting point to trigger our spirituality is love of the Father, seen in the presence, face, human actions and words, and unconditional love bestowed upon Jesus, through never ending love in order to give life to every person and to all humanity. Therefore “being Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction” (Deus Caritas Est 1).
In other words, the source of spirituality for Caritas is the life and ministry of Jesus Christ, his actions, his words, his very person, who went about doing good, healing the sick, returning sight to the blind and proclaiming the Good News of salvation, revealing to us the infinite love of his Father and our Father. This theological event forms the basis of the necessary relationship that exists between Caritas and evangelisation, as this is the duty of those with whom we collaborate and work in Caritas, continuously proclaiming and remembering the centrality of Christ in the solution to problems relating to justice and development. This is in fact the initial contribution: to apply to modern day problems the same attitude and words that Christ shared with his contemporaries, continuing the Church in this way, through the work of salvation as the one who gave His life to sanctify it.
It is true that in historical depictions of the crucifixion we find Christ suffering, “but this contemplation of Christ cannot stop at the image of the Crucified One. He is the Risen One!” (Novo Millenio Ineunte n°28). We also see Christ in so many acts of love and solidarity from our people, every day we experience the paschal mystery of our Lord and this fills our work with spirituality, because he is the Risen One, who triumphs over sin, oppression, injustice, evil and death. Going beyond harsh reality, our faith knows how to find him alive, present and risen, in this way making sure that violence, pain, injustice and death do not have the last word.
This experience of resurrection comes through visiting our communities and witnessing the enormous effort people make to move forward with modest, almost non-existent means. Faced with the most adverse and desperate situations, in this way they evangelise us, bringing the exchange process of our involvement full circle. Given that anyone carrying out work in the name of Caritas, on experiencing this commitment from so many people, especially the impoverished, cannot help but fix their eyes once more on Christ who “has come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10)
In this paschal spirituality, we find spaces for happiness, freedom, affection, hope and the enthusiasm necessary to strengthen ourselves and improve our interiority, especially when we discover that we have not met the goals that we had set ourselves, that there is still much need and much poverty before us. We realise that we may have only contributed a small part to making this world more human, and to making sure that the hope for a better future is not lost, but in the certainty that it is the Spirit of the Lord Jesus which is guiding us and helping us to love and do everything with love (…) because “if I do not have love, I am worth nothing, I have nothing, I am nothing…” (1 Cor 13:1). – extracted from “Serving Out of Love: Caritas Identity & Mission”
Click to view or download the HANDBOOK ON CARITAS SPIRITUALITY– extracted from “Serving Out of Love: Caritas Identity & Mission”
PATRON SAINT – MOTHER TERESA OF CALCUTTA
Mother Teresa was born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu in Skopje, now part of Macedonia, on 26 August, 1910. Her family was of Albanian descent. At the age of eighteen she left her parental home in Skopje and joined the Sisters of Loreto, an Irish community of nuns with missions in India. After a few months’ training in Dublin she was sent to India, where on 24 May, 1931, she took her initial vows as a nun and the perpetual ones in 1937.
From 1931 to 1948 Mother Teresa taught at St. Mary’s High School in Calcutta, but the suffering and poverty she glimpsed outside the convent walls made such a deep impression on her that in 1948 she received permission from her superiors to leave the convent school and devote herself to working among the poorest of the poor in the slums of Calcutta. Although she had no funds, she depended on divine providence, and started an open-air school for slum children. Soon she was joined by voluntary helpers, and financial support was also forthcoming.
This made it possible for her to extend the scope of her work. On 7 October, 1950, Mother Teresa received permission from the Holy See to start her own order, “The Missionaries of Charity”, whose primary task was to love and care for those persons nobody was prepared to look after. In 1965 the Society became an International Religious Family by a decree of Pope Paul VI.
The Society of Missionaries has spread all over the world, including the former Soviet Union and Eastern European countries. They provide effective help to the poorest of the poor in a number of countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America, and they undertake relief work in the wake of natural catastrophes such as floods, epidemics, and famine, and for refugees. The order also has houses in North America, Europe and Australia, where they take care of the shut-ins, alcoholics, homeless, and AIDS sufferers.
The Missionaries of Charity throughout the world are aided and assisted by Co-Workers who became an official International Association on 29 March, 1969. By the 1990s there were over one million Co-Workers in more than 40 countries. Along with the Co-Workers, the lay Missionaries of Charity try to follow Mother Teresa’s spirit and charism in their families.
Mother Teresa died on 5 September 1997. Two days later, John Paul II described her as follows: “Present in memory is her minute face, marked by an existence lived at the service of the poorest, but always full of an inexorable inner energy: energy of the Christ’s love. Missionary of charity: that was Mother Teresa, by name and in facts”.
