No to Numbers

Not very long ago, I commented about Protestants' obsession with numbers and the negative implications this obsession has brought upon the Church and the Gospel. Perhaps the Archbishop of Kuala Lumpur, Most Reverend Murphy Pakiam (Auxiliary Bishop at the time of publication of this news article) could give us some wisdom regarding this matter. I took the piece of news from here:

MALAYSIA CATHOLICS SHOULD BE CONCERNED WITH FAITH WITNESSING, DIALOGUE, NOT NUMBERS

KUALA LUMPUR (UCAN) -- Catholics in Malaysia should not be concerned about their small number, but with how to witness their faith and to dialogue with other religions, a Church leader says.

"It is not our great concern to increase the number of Catholics in peninsular Malaysia," but to emphasize witnessing of faith and interreligious dialogue, Auxiliary Bishop Murphy Pakiam of Kuala Lumpur said.

According to government census figures and the 2002 Catholic Directory and Ordo of Singapore, Malaysia and Brunei, Catholics make up a little over 1 percent of the 18.5 million population in peninsular Malaysia.

Despite this low percentage, the Catholic Church is in no hurry to go on an evangelizing spree to increase the number of its flock, Bishop Pakiam said in an interview with local Catholic media.

The bishop emphasized that evangelization in the country should not be "pulling people into the Church," but of Catholics becoming witnesses of the faith by their way of life, and letting God do the rest.

However, Bishop Pakiam stressed the need for the local Church "to dialogue with other religions, to build up relationships with people of other faiths and to see God's love extend to other people."

"Despite being multiracial, multicultural, and different from each other, we can still be united with our bonds of friendship. All these are binding us together. This is the beautiful sign what God can do for us," he added.

The auxiliary bishop noted that God's mission is to create greater love and unity. "That's why in our churches, we have Masses in different languages. It makes us Catholics realize that we are different, but we can be open and appreciative of each other," he said.

"We can rejoice about our cultural diversity and welcome it positively to express our oneness as children of our Father in heaven," he explained.

Catholics can be proud of their faith through worship, he said. "Faith is not only instructions in sermons, but also in coming together as a community to pray -- during Sunday Mass, in penitential service, charismatic prayer groups or retreats," he added.

The Catholic faith is "a communitarian faith," he said, adding that "because we have experienced faith, we are open to people of different religions and culture."

Among the three dioceses of peninsular Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur archdiocese has 92,660 Catholics, the largest number. It is followed by Penang diocese with 65,837 Catholics. Melaka-Johor diocese has the smallest number, with about 36,000 Catholics.