Now this is a REAL national conversation!

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[TD="width: 546"]Function 8 disrespectful to Archbishop: MHA
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[TD="width: 546"]20 September 2012 2228 hrs (SST)
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[TD]SINGAPORE: Singapore's Home Affairs Ministry (MHA) on Thursday chastised activist group Function 8 for being "disrespectful" to Archbishop Nicholas Chia by publicising his retraction of a letter through blogger Alex Au.

Archbishop Chia had said on Wednesday that he had withdrawn his letter, which backed Function 8's call to abolish the Internal Security Act.

He said he did so as he was concerned the letter could be used in a manner that he did not intend and may inadvertently harm the social harmony in Singapore.

In a statement, the ministry said Archbishop Chia's decision shows his appreciation of the complexity of Singapore's multi-racial, multi-religious society, and the need to keep religion and politics separate.

MHA added the actions by Function 8 to publicise the matter through Mr Au run contrary to Archbishop Chia's views and intentions as conveyed to the group after he had decided to retract his letter.

The ministry said this deliberate breach of the Archbishop's trust confirms the objective of Function 8, which is to publicly involve the Catholic Church and the Archbishop in the activist group's political agenda.

Blogger Alex Au had also claimed that the Archbishop was pressured by authorities to withdraw his letter.

MHA said ministers regularly meet religious leaders in Singapore to build trust and understanding. It added such closed-door meetings allow a frank exchange of views, especially on sensitive subjects.

The ministry said this is a well-established process that is appreciated by both ministers and religious leaders.

-CNA/ac

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[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]This story was printed from channelnewsasia.com [/FONT]

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[TD="width: 546"][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Archbishop will not release exchange of letters with Function 8 [/FONT][/TD]
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[TD="width: 546"][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]21 September 2012 1822 hrs (SST) [/FONT][/TD]
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[TD][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]SINGAPORE: The exchange of words continues between Singapore's Archbishop Nicholas Chia and activist group Function 8.

In a statement to the media through the Archdiocese Communications Office on Friday, the Archbishop indicated that he does not intend to release any of the letters he had sent to the group.

Separately, Function 8 has defended its actions, saying it's "untrue" that it's disrespecful to the Archbishop.

Both parties are embroiled in an exchange over the Archbishop's withdrawal of support for a rally against the Internal Security Act (ISA).

The whole incident came about when blogger Alex Au wrote about how the Archbishop had retracted his letter of support to Function 8.

On Thursday, Function 8 called on the Archbishop to publish his first letter to the group, allegedly in support of its call to abolish the Internal Security Act, as well as to publish his second letter to the group, retracting his first one.

On Friday, the Archbishop said his letter to the group was intended as a private communication.

He added if the the group was going to publicise it at a political event - something which he did not intend - then they should have asked for permission first.

The Archbishop said they did not do so.

As the group has already returned his letter, Archbishop Chia said the question of releasing it does not arise as he had never intended for it to be released in the first place.

The Archbishop reiterated his stand that he withdrew his letter to Function 8, because the contents did not accurately reflect his views, and if used in a manner that he did not intend, may inadvertently harm the social harmony in Singapore.

On Thursday, the Ministry of Home Affairs weighed in on the issue, criticising Function 8 for being "disrespectful" to the Archbishop by publicising his retraction of a letter through blogger Alex Au.

Function 8 responded on Friday, releasing a copy of its letter to the Archbishop, dated 1 June, in response to his letter of withdrawal.

The group said the ministry's "unwarranted allegations" have now forced it to show details of its letter to the Archbishop in order to clear the allegations.

Parts of the letter have been blacked out.

The group said it's to protect the direct contents of the Archbishop's original letter and the identity of the person who was copied in his letter of withdrawal.

In the letter, Function 8 said it did not regard its anti-ISA rally as a political activity but an effort to achieve restorative justice.

It also indicated that the Archbishop's first letter to the group was unsolicited.

The group also said that it's "untrue" that it's disrespectful to the Archbishop because it never publicised the contents of his letter.

What it's seeking is for the authorities to engage civil society groups for "frank exchange of views especially on sensitive subjects".

As a rule, Singapore makes clear the distinction between religion and politics, to maintain social harmony and stability in the country.

The connection between the Catholic Church in Singapore and Function 8 dates back to 1987, when some group members were arrested for allegedly conspiring to overthrow the government.

Among the detainees were four full-time church workers, including an associate of the group, Mr Vincent Cheng, as well as church volunteers such as lawyer Teo Soh Lung, who's one of the founders of Function 8.

The Singapore government said when it carried out detentions under the Internal Security Act in 1987, it took great care to assure the Singapore Archdiocese and the Vatican that the security action was not directed against the church, but against a few individuals, including non-Catholics, who had exploited their position in church organisations to pursue a political agenda that mixed religion with politics.

In 1987, the Catholic Church leadership in Singapore had stated that "we are satisfied that the government of Singapore has nothing against the Catholic Church when it detained 10 of our Church workers amongst the 16 who were arrested for possible involvement in a clandestine communist network".

The Vatican reiterated this position in 1989 when it stated that "the Apostolic Nunciature and the Archdiocese of Singapore did not feel themselves as an object of attacks on the part of the government authorities of Singapore, and their relations have been and are good".

The government's reasons for the detentions were accepted, and the cooperative and consultative relationship between the government and Catholic Church in Singapore has continued through that period till this day.

- CNA/ck

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[h=2]Press Release[/h]Posted on September 20, 2012by fn8org
<!-- .entry-meta -->We are deeply saddened by the comments of Archbishop Nicholas Chia reported in The Straits Times of 20[SUP]th[/SUP] September 2012. He made three unsubstantiated remarks:

1. That Mr Au’s account (in Yawningbread) could only have come from Function 8, with whom he had communicated in private.
2. That he decided to withdraw his letter of support “because if the letter were to be used in a manner that I (Archbishop) did not intend, it may inadvertently harm the social harmony in Singapore.”
3. That Mr Au’s article appearing now, months later, “confirms the correctness of my (Archbishop’s) earlier decision to withdraw the letter so as not to inadvertently embroil the Catholic Church and the office of the Archbishop in a political event which was being staged by the group.”

Our response is as follows:

1. Archbishop Nicholas Chia’s initial letter to us, and the subsequent one withdrawing the first letter, were not marked “private and/or confidential”. Indeed, in discussing his first letter, members of Function 8 concluded that it was intended to be made public on 2 June 2012, the 25[SUP]th[/SUP] anniversary of Operation Spectrum. The retraction of the first letter made us cancel the plan. The organisers of the 2 June event subsequently decided that we would try to have a private dialogue with the Ministry of Home Affairs.

1. Archbishop Nicholas Chia assumed that Mr Au could only have obtained an account of what he wrote in his article from Function 8. Has His Grace forgotten that his second letter was cc to a third party and that his staff and others within the Church may also have sight of the letters?

1. What was his initial letter intended for and what are the unintended manners in which it could possibly be used to ‘harm the social harmony in Singapore’?

1. Finally, we do not understand how His Grace can draw the conclusion that the disclosure of his own letter can “inadvertently harm the social harmony in Singapore” and that the fact that Mr Au has now written an article confirms the correctness of his earlier decision to withdraw the letter.

In the midst of a national conversation called by the prime minister, we believe there is no room for whispered meetings on the issues above. We request Archbishop Nicholas Chia to publish his first and second letters and advise on what transpired between the time his first letter was written and his second letter so that the public can judge for themselves whether the actions or inaction of Function 8 and Mr Au were “irresponsible and regrettable”. For clarity, His Grace should also make known to members of the public if his first letter to the organisers of the 2 June event was solicited or unsolicited.
Function 8 Ltd
20/9/2012
* Media is advised to use this statement together with the statement issued by MARUAH. Thank you

 

[mojito]

So actually Archbigshot support the Group right? But only spiritually, not even in personal capacity bcuz must recognize Loong's divine right to rule.

All these lawyer types talk many many, lor lee lor sor for what? Chey!