Reported by Daily Express dated 6th March 2010 (Saturday) Page 7
KUALA LUMPUR.
The Catholic Church has expressed regret that the Attorney-General would not take further action against two reporters from the Al-Islam magazine who allegedly desecrated a holy Catholic ritual last year.
Kuala Lumpur Roman Catholic Archbishop Tan Sri Murphy Pakiam said the church would not pursue legal action against the magazine and its reporters if a public apology was offered.
"Forgiveness is in our blood. Everyday, we pray for God to forgive us, and for forgiveness for those who have sinned against us," he said his office.
The two journalists, had posed as Christians and took part in a mass to probe allegations that Muslims were being converted. They were said to have admitted to receiving the Holy Communion then spitting it out, an act Catholics consider a desecration.
Citing the case of Tamil newspaper Makkal Osai, which published a caricature of Jesus Christ clutching a cigarette and a can of beer in 2007, Pakiam said the church considered the matter closed after the editor publicly apologised.
The reaction, Pakiam said, would be similar if Al-Islam apologised. He said the "modest act" of an apology by the journalists, editor and publisher of the magazine would go a long way towards healing the "wound" in the Catholic community.
Pakiam held the press conference to "express his disappointment” over Gani's decision to drop the case against the Al-Islam reporters.
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''We Catholics believe that during mass, the host is transformed and becomes the body of Christ. In this form, it is sacred. Its desecration is a most heinous offence" he said, adding that the incident showed contempt for the Catholics' beliefs.
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He added that the decision not to take action against the reporters and the magazine implied that no crime was committed despite sufficient provisions in the Penal Code for that purpose. Gani had said that the desecration of the communion wafer was an act of ignorance and not malice. Gani said while the two Al-Islam reporters might have hurt people's feelings, he was satisfied that they did not intend to offend anyone.
"It was an act of sheer ignorance," he said.
"In view of the circumstances at that particular time, and in the interests of justice, peace and harmony, I decided not to press charges against them."
Several months earlier, a pig's head was found wrapped in a PAS flag at a surau in Universiti Malaya.
Gani said he had made similar decisions (not to prosecute) in previous cases involving other religions.
The incident involving the Al-Islam reporters occurred at the St. Anthony's Church in Jalan Robertson near Puduraya in May last year. The reporters went to the church to verify allegations that Muslims were being converted into Christianity. "Their observation showed that the allegations were not true," Gani said. The reporters then took part in the ritual of Holy Communion, one of the most sacred Catholic rites. One of them consumed the communion wafer, spat it out, took some pictures and published them in the magazine.
"They did not know the significance of the 'white bread' (communion wafer)," Gani said.