Cardinal Soter Fernandez, passed away at 12.35pm today aged 88. A humble man, he led the Malaysian Church with a steady hand, always passionate about authentic human development, social justice and interfaith dialogue. I wrote the piece below four years ago, soon after Pope Francis installed him as Malaysia’s first cardinal.
Original post on 18 November 2016
It seems altogether fitting that the archbishop who championed the ministry of justice and peace in the Malaysian Church should be installed as cardinal by Francis, the Bishop of Rome, on 19 November, which coincides with Bersih 5.
This is a piece I wrote for the Herald a few weeks ago.
Soter Fernandez – From hospital dresser to cardinal of a ‘field hospital’ church
Last year, when I met Archbishop Emeritus Soter Fernandez, he took pains to highlight two somewhat related areas that he seemed to be concerned about. He carried in his bag a clutch of documents relating to the Aggiornamento in 1976 and the present Bishop of Rome’s encyclical on the Joy of the Gospel.
