Pope Francis an ‘ambassador of Christ’s love’

The following is an abridged and slightly edited version of an interview with Cardinal William Goh following Pope Francis’ Apostolic Journey to Singapore. The entire interview is available at: https://www.vaticannews.va/en/church/news/2024-09/cardinal-william-goh-singapore-pope-francis-visit.html

Cardinal William Goh, Archbishop of Singapore, shared his impressions of Pope Francis’ three-day Apostolic Journey to the Asian city-state, which concluded on Friday, 13 September. The Cardinal highlighted the Pope’s closeness to the people throughout his visit and his consistent messages about building harmony, being inclusive and making the Church “a sacrament of Jesus’ mercy and compassion to others”.

What short-term and long-term impact do you think the Pope’s visit will have in Singapore?

[...] For us, we are very appreciative that he has made himself truly the shepherd for all, regardless of the size of the nations, regardless of the people. So, I think his visit certainly will have revived the faith of our people. His visit has brought many of our Catholics to work together. We have more than 5,000 volunteers just to serve at this papal visit. This is a very rare occasion when all Catholics come together to work side by side. All of them have been very enthusiastic, and they felt that it’s a great privilege to be part of this whole organizing committee, to plan and to work for the success of the papal visit. I’m sure that as they work together, I think that in the long-term, it helps to build ourselves as one Church. Because presently our Church, we have been going through the Synod process, as the Holy Father has encouraged us. So, we have formed our Archdiocesan Pastoral Council, and we want to engage more and more of our Catholics at different levels, not just the parish alone, but everyone, so that we can really journey together, work together, and make the Church in Singapore a vibrant, evangelizing and missionary Church. His visit will certainly inspire not just our Catholics, but I’m sure there are many non-Catholics who are on the sidelines. Many of them actually attended the mission schools, the Catholic schools. The seed of faith has already been sowed in the younger years. Many of them, perhaps they are still trying to find faith in their life. I believe that this visit has made Catholics proud in a good sense, proud to be a member of the Catholic Church, proud to have someone like the Holy Father to unite the entire Church, the universal Church. And so, it is truly a great moment for us and I believe that the long-term impact will be seen in a more dynamic desire to work together and to bring others to Him.

How do you think Pope Francis’ visit to Singapore and other Asian countries will impact relations between the Holy See and individual Asian countries? Do you see these moving in a positive direction?

The visit of the Holy Father, not just to Asia alone, but to Catholic-majority countries, has been very important for non-Catholics, for the world to understand the beauty of the Catholic faith, in the way the Holy Father projects himself. He is a man who is inclusive, a man who respects other people’s religions, and someone who advocates values that are truly fundamental and universal, which every human person would truly desire. All religions speak about the importance of mercy and compassion. So, when the Holy Father visits a particular Asian country, he is not just addressing Catholics, but many non-Catholics will also hear his message, and they begin to realise that the Catholic Church is not very close-knit, and is not a triumphalistic Church, but the Church is really welcoming and is respectful of others, a Church that seeks to unite with the rest of humanity, and most of all, to protect those who are oppressed and to protect society for the common good of all. He is saying and teaching us something, that if people are truly open, and especially governments that are suspicious of the Catholic Church, I think by hearing his messages and recognizing that the Church is truly an ambassador of Christ’s mercy and love, and we are here to help the people to grow, and it is about the common good, then I think they will become less suspicious and more open to religion and faith. As in Singapore. The government does not feel that religions are a threat to them. In fact, we are considered partners of the government, because they see religion as something very important for the well-being of the people. This is where the question of dialogue, mutual respect, and trying to listen to each other, because at the end of the day, a good government will share the same values, because all of us want to promote the common good of society. We want peace, we want harmony, and we want people to work together and care for each other.

What does the Church in Asia contribute to the universal Church?

From my humble assessment, I think perhaps the West should try to learn more from Asia, and also from Africa as well. I think these two continents, particularly Asia, where we have so many different cultures and different forms of government as well, and different cultural values, of course. And what is significant about Asia is this. I suppose it’s true also for those in Africa, but I think for Asians, we are people that have this effective dimension of our faith. For us, encountering God is not something reducible to a celebrable experience. Encountering God is encountering God with your heart. That is why Asians tend to be religious people, all Asians. There is religiosity in all the people of different faiths. And for us, God is real because we encounter Him. [...] Asia has a lot to contribute to the universal Church. To help people in the West, I think we need to strike a balance between cerebral knowledge of God, a lot of study, theological knowledge, and reasoning. But you fall in love with Jesus. You fall in love with your heart; you don’t fall in love with your head. When you want to marry somebody, it’s not a question of intellectualizing whether you are suitable for me. It’s a question of how we feel with each other; we love each other, and love is real. And love will help us to be united together. [...] I think Asia would be able to contribute to the universal Church by stressing the importance of popular religions. I think there is an over-emphasis on theology, of knowledge of Christ. Of course, these are beautiful, really beautiful things — I myself like to read all these books — but just knowing doesn’t change you until you feel it in your heart. And popular religions are very important in Asia. I think we should not despise popular religions, because these are the means that people encountered Jesus. Not all are very educated and not all like to read. Even the younger generation today, they like to see pictures: People want to see, want to feel, want to touch. That is why even when the people touched the Holy Father or the Holy Father touched them, I could see the tears and the joy. It was like Jesus touching them. And this is true. That is why in Asia, we have different cultural expressions of our faith, whether it’s statues, whether it’s dance, whether in the different ways of devotion, they’ve got a lot of popular piety. Of course, popular piety has to be guided by the Church, that is true. But we cannot dismiss them, because I feel that true religious piety, when they fall in love with Jesus, then slowly we can lead them to a greater knowledge of their faith, to purify their devotion. [...] I think the Church must be more open to inculturation of the liturgy as well. Because that is the way people want to express their love for God. Different cultures have different ways of expressing their love for God. I think more freedom should be given to the local Church to be able to have greater flexibility in the way we celebrate liturgy so that our liturgy is truly life-giving. Not just going through the liturgy, just listening. In Asia we want to participate. We want to participate, we want to sing, we want to dance, we want to raise our hands, we want to express ourselves. We don’t just want to sit down there and listen. That is not Asian. So, I think we want to participate with our whole mind, our heart, our body, to love the Lord our God with all your mind, with all your heart, with all your strength. I think perhaps the Church should really be more generous, more inclusive, and help the Asian Church to retain that liturgical vibrancy.

What was your favourite moment of the papal visit?

When I was travelling with the Holy Father to different places, I was really overwhelmed first and foremost, when I saw the Holy Father: He was really like a father. Not like a father, a holy father. His name is truly Holy Father. And the way he showed his fatherly love to those who were sick, to little children, and he would stop his vehicle just to bless the children, to ask to bring that little boy here, and those who were sick. I could see the tears, the overwhelming joy of these people who had that great privilege to be blessed by him and to be prayed over by him. I saw this everywhere, and especially at the stadium for the Holy Mass. When I entered, I could see the joy and the love the people had for him, and how he really touched and moved their hearts. So many of them really wanted the Holy Father to give them a blessing. I saw a couple of women bringing the child, and they were so overjoyed and they were crying. I cried with them too, and I was holding back my tears, because I really could see how these people have been so delighted and so grateful that God has sent the Holy Father to them. And in the Holy Father, as I have said, we truly see Jesus.

By Claudia Torres — Singapore