KK Archdiocese celebrates 50th WCD at Pekan Nabalu

BUNDU TUHAN: A chapel at the foothills of Mount Kinabalu served as the centre of a colourful World Communications Day (WCD) celebration on 8 May 2016 by the Catholic Archdiocese of Kota Kinabalu.

Hundreds of Catholics gathered at the St Philip Neri chapel near the busy Pekan Nabalu, about 75kms from Kota Kinabalu.

The WCD that was celebrated for the 50th year is aimed at encouraging Catholics to pray for those who work in the field of communications, especially those representing the church.

The festival programme began with a Sunday mass concelebrated by Bundu Tuhan parish priest Fr Michael Modoit and Fr Thomas Madanan, the spiritual adviser of the Social Communications Commission (SOCCOM) of the Archdiocese.

Also present was SOCCOM chairman Datuk Joseph Leong as well as members of the commission.

In his homily, Fr Michael said good communication is essential, noting that God communicated to humankind through his son Jesus Christ.

He said humankind communicated with God through prayer while constant communication among families was necessary in maintaining love and harmony.

Later, Fr Michael said the move by Kota Kinabalu Archdiocese to celebrate WCD at outlying areas such as the St Philip Neri chapel, that is part of the Bundu Tuhan parish, augured well for rural communities.

“It is part of the church reaching out to rural communities to enlighten them about what communications is all about,” he said.

“It will in turn encourage rural folk to get more involved, for example by contributing to our church’s bi-weekly publication the Catholic Sabah,” Fr Michael added.

He said the WCD celebrations also augured well with the move by the Bundu Tuhan parish to set up its own SOCCOM and Human Development Commission.

Fr Thomas told the gathering that the WCD was a reminder to Catholics to harness the mass media to spread the Word of God.

“We also pray on this day that our media practitioners may always be guided by the Holy Spirit,” he said.

The Bundu Tuhan parish has a population of about 13,000 Catholics and about 400 live around Pekan Nabalu area.

The parish has about 30 churches and chapels, the main one being the St Pius X at Bundu Tuhan.

After the mass, Fr. Michael launched a WCD banner carried aloft by colourful balloons.

The parishioners of St Philip Neri later staged various performances as part of the WCD festivities.