Thursday, July 16, 2009

Parish Priest responds!!!




Reverend Jestus Pereira of St Anthony's Church in Pudu, Kuala Lumpur, has called on the police to investigate the magazine and act according to the law.
Although Al Islam did not name the churches visited by its reporter, Rev Pereira said the descriptions in the article appeared to refer to his parish.
He said congregants at the Bahasa Malaysia service described in the article numbered around 800 people who were mainly from Sabah and Sarawak.
Police have so far interviewed another priest in the parish and an office staff member, he told The Nut Graph.
"I hope this is not a public relations exercise, trying to show the public they are doing something about it. The police and other authorities must investigate and take action. If there is some criminal element, they must be ready to do the right thing and charge the person or persons concerned.
"Islam being the religion of the federation does not place Muslims above the law," he said.
"The government must be prepared to use just laws fairly and equally against all peoples, without preferring one religion over another. If disharmony is being caused they must have the courage to address it, even against persons of the dominant religion. The government must have the political will to do so."
Rev Pereira added that the church receives many visitors but does not ask people for identification. "We do not stop anyone from entering. I do not know if anyone from Al Islam came in for our religious service. No one identified himself or herself either before or after the service," he said

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