Catholic Bishop Dr Paul Tan Chee Ing denounced the action of the protesters in Petaling Jaya who yesterday forced the removal of a cross from a church in the Taman Medan area which is located in the parliamentary constituency of PJ Selatan.

The protesters had earlier gathered in front of the church which they claimed is in a predominantly Malay/Muslim area, despite the presence of a sizeable number of Indians in the locality.

“This incident marks a new and more insolent height in the intimidation of Christians in this country,” remarked the head of the Catholic Church in the Malacca-Johor diocese.

A vocal defender of the Christian community whom he has often said in the past is feeling increasingly beleaguered on account of them just being themselves, the Jesuit-trained prelate said that the patience of the community is running thin.

Bishop Paul Tan referred to recent speeches and pronouncements of Pope Francis decrying what he called the persecution of Christians in the Middle East and in Africa.

“Bear in mind that Pope Francis has spoken out against the extension of freedom of speech to cover acts that insult tenets considered sacred to Muslims. Likewise he has decried Muslim persecution of Christians,” he reminded.  

 “The bullying of Christians has become a casual sport for bankrupt politicians in this country who are out to redeem their waning popularity,” said the bishop.

“Initially, Christians must have felt that the leaders of this country are too sensible to allow the sport of Christian bashing and humiliation to proceed with impunity,” he remarked.

“But now after repeated instances of Christian bashing in recent years, Christians are awakened to the reality that this latest incident is not something aberrant but normative,” he said.

“If this incident is allowed to pass without rectification, it will be downhill all the way after this,” the prelate predicted.

Bishop Paul Tan ( left ) said there were “absolutely no grounds for the protesters to demand that the cross [on the church in Taman Medan] be removed.”

“This cross is the universal symbol of the Christian faith just as the crescent is the symbol of the Muslim religion,” he remarked.

“If people are going to be unduly perturbed by the reasonable display of religious symbols, they are saying their own faith is so fragile they need the complete disappearance of other symbols because only then can they feel comfortable in their own skins,” he added.    

“If this incident is allowed to pass without state sanctions against those responsible, Christians will know that henceforth they are at the mercy of anti-Christian hordes in this country who on the flimsiest of grounds can engage in actions aimed at humiliating them and making them feel that they are a virus in society,” said the bishop.