Malaysia’s Sibu diocese declares 2024 as ‘Year of Oil and Anointing’

The Diocese of Sibu in Malaysia welcomed the new year by declaring 2024 the “Year of Oil and Anointing.”

This is the eighth year in the diocese’s Decade of Creation Justice, which opened in 2017.

In his message, Sibu Bishop Joseph Hii compared virgin oil, the “liquid gold” of the ancient world that heals, to petroleum, the “liquid gold” of the modern world that is beneficial to mankind but causes major repercussions.

“Alas, we also see that the pursuits for money and power have seen rampant explorations of oil without regard to the pollution and harm caused to our natural ecosystem,” he said.

Bishop Hii lamented the lack of urgency in fading out fossil fuels at the COP 28 Summit on Climate Change in Dubai, UAE, last year.

The prelate noted that humanity’s failure to become stewards of the planet is “a tragic and striking example of structure sin.”

He called on everyone to take a firm stand against the climate crisis, which he called “a human and social problem on any number of levels.”

“As Christians, we are commanded to love God and our neighbour, and these require transformation on our part and change our mindset so that we can begin to genuinely care for one another and the whole of Creation, for we realize human life is incomprehensible and unsustainable without other creatures,” he explained.

Moreover, Bishop Hii said that the Diocese of Sibu will continue its national campaign “Protect Our Earth, Protect Our Children” in September, at the beginning of the Season of Creation.

Now in its fifth year, the campaign for 2024 will center on the reduced use of paper and wood. 

Finally, the prelate called on the entire diocese to come together as one human family to help take care of Mother Earth “who is now sick with cancer, wounded and poisoned due to our human greediness, indifference and disrespectfulness for the dignity of all Creation.”