Ahead of Malaysia-Vatican ties

[Lee_Aaronaldo]

Peace be with you all,

Malaysia Is one of the 17 nations that have yet to set up formal link with the head of Roman Catholic Church.

I am here just out of curiosity and want to learn more, what are the benefits if diplomatic ties being established between country like Malaysia and Vatican?

Does it mean that there is a good chance for Pope to pay a visit to Malaysia in near future? Or perhaps World Youth Day potentially can be held in country like Malaysia? I mean once the ties is established. Correct me if I am wrong.

 

[Digitonomy]

I am here just out of curiosity and want to learn more, what are the benefits if diplomatic ties being established between country like Malaysia and Vatican?

The main advantage is probably diplomatic. The Vatican has ties to a great number of countries. In case of a diplomatic problem involving Malaysia and another country, the Vatican may be seen as a more impartial actor than say the US or Turkey or whoever else.

The second advantage may be political. I haven’t researched this aspect, but I’m confident that the PM would not be doing this if there were strong opposition to it. If the move endears him to Malaysian Catholics, and makes him seem more positive toward Christianity in the eyes of non-Catholic Christians, it could give him crucial support in parliamentary bills or in elections.
Lee Aaronaldo:

Does it mean that there is a good chance for Pope to pay a visit to Malaysia in near future? Or perhaps World Youth Day potentially can be held in country like Malaysia?

I expect the pope will visit Malaysia in the next few years as a result. Keep in mind that such visits are usually planned many months in advance, so unless it’s a quick stop tacked onto another visit, it may not happen until late 2013 or 2014.

I would be very surprised if World Youth Day came to Malaysia. All previous WYDs have been held in countries with more of a “Catholic identity.” IIRC, Malaysia is around 80% Muslim, making it an unlikely choice. Are there any cities with high Catholic populations?

 

[Lee_Aaronaldo]

Are there any cities with high Catholic populations?

I am not sure the exact population of Catholics in Malaysia nor any cities with high Catholic pupulations. However both of these 2 states Sabah and Sarawak which mostly known by westerners as Borneo hold a larger number of Catholics over there.

 

[Dale_M]

News update:

Diplomatic relations have been established between the Holy See and the government of Malaysia.

The Vatican and Malaysia established diplomatic relations Monday in the wake of tensions between Muslims and religious minorities in the Southeast Asian nation.

The Vatican announced the agreement after Pope Benedict XVI met with Malaysia’s prime minister, only the second meeting between a government chief from the Southeast Asian nation and a pontiff. The first was in 2002 for talks focusing on Christian-Muslim relations.

In recent years, religious minority groups in Malaysia have complained of discrimination by the country’s Muslim majority. Roman Catholics and other Christians compromise nearly 10 percent of Malaysia’s 28 million people.

news.yahoo.com/malaysia-vatican-establish-diplomatic-ties-130515370.html;_ylt=AnmPbhVP7GF4ogkMCqluw0M7Xs8F;_ylu=X3oDMTNsbzgycTJyBHBrZwNlMWY5MzA4NC01NWY3LTM1ZDEtYjU1ZC1lOGI4YmE5OGJhZDQEcG9zAzIEc2VjA1RvcFN0b3J5IFVTU0YgUmVsaWdpb25TU0YEdmVyA2Q1OTA1NmQwLWIxM2UtMTFlMC05Y2RiLTNjZjJlNGRhMDMyOA–;_ylg=X3oDMTFwc3ZuNThtBGludGwDdXMEbGFuZwNlbi11cwRwc3RhaWQDBHBzdGNhdAN1c3xyZWxpZ2lvbgRwdANzZWN0aW9ucw–;_ylv=3

Another news story suggests that Malaysia may be seeking to improve its international image in the wake of electoral fraud and human rights abuses.
asianews.it/news-en/Malaysian-Prime-Minister%27s-visit-to-the-Pope-launches-diplomatic-relations-22131.html

 

[Lee_Aaronaldo]

Here is another piece of news from Vatican I would like to share:

Pope meets Malaysian Prime Minister