Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on June 1 wrote on his Facebook page words of congratulations to Archbishop William Goh Seng Chye for being elected to be one of the Cardinals.
Lee said, “He [Goh] will be the first Singaporean Cardinal, a rank second only to the Pope in the church hierarchy. This is especially significant to our Catholic community, who marked their bicentennial just last year.”
The Prime Minister commended Archbishop Goh for his guidance to Catholics and active service with other religious leaders to promote religious harmony and support for the development of the country since 2013 of his episcopacy.
Lee expressed, “I am confident that he [Goh] will continue to bring his wisdom and humility to his new responsibilities. I wish him every success in his new appointment, and look forward to him making a greater contribution to the church and the broader community, in Singapore and beyond.”
On June 1, the humble Archbishop Goh wrote on his Facebook about being elected to be the cardinal, by mentioning that he was an ordinary man and did not know why God chose him.
“Not my will but His be done! All for the greater glory of God. I will go where He wants, not where I want or what I want.”
The prelate was named to be the cardinal among the other 21 elect announced by Pope Francis on May 29.
The 64-year-old Archbishop Goh said, “I feel He [God] is asking me to renew my obedience to Him, to surrender my life completely to Him; and to offer myself without reservation for His Church and the good of humanity.”
As a great responsibility, the cardinal-elect together with other Cardinals will assist and advise the Pope to take care of the universal Church.
The Archbishop of Singapore felt that this honor was an endorsement of the Singapore Archdiocese's vision of building a church that was vibrant, evangelizing, and missionary.
The cardinal-elect asked for prayers so that he might have the “strength, the humility, the wisdom, the holiness and fortitude” for the service of the universal and local Church.
According to catholic-hierarchy.org, the prelate was born in Singapore on Jun 25, 1957, and was ordained on May 1, 1985.
He was ordained as Coadjutor Archbishop of Singapore on February 22, 2013, and became Archbishop of Singapore on May 20, 2013.
He was announced to be the cardinal on May 29, 2022, and will be created as Cardinal on August 27, 2022. He was appointed as Cardinal-Priest.
There are three ranks of Cardinals in the Roman Catholic Church; such as Cardinal-Bishop, Cardinal-priest, and Cardinal-Deacon.
Cardinal Bishops are the one who holds jurisdiction over the dioceses near the city of Rome.
They work in the departments of the Roman Curia which is the central administration of the church.
Cardinal Priests are bishops who work outside Rome. They belong to the majority groups.
Cardinal Deacons are “the pope’s cabinet.” They work full time in the curia. The senior cardinal deacon has the honor to announce the newly elected pope from the balcony of the Vatican. - Patrick Soe Htun
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