vocation stories

Bishop Paul Tan, SJ

Bishop Paul Tan, S.J. after his ordination with Archbishop Adriano Bernardini

Episcopal Ordination: 15th May 2003 at 10.00 am in Plentong, Johore, Malaysia.
Collated by Jessica Chiew

On 13th February 2003, the Vatican announced that Jesuit Father, Paul Tan Chee Ing, has been appointed the new Bishop of Melaka-Johor Diocese. He succeeds Bishop Emeritus James Chan, who retired on 10th December 2001.

Family Background.
Paul Tan Chee Ing was born on 5th April 1940, in Yong Peng, Johor. His parents came from Fujian province in China. Paul is the youngest among four boys and three girls. He lost both his parents at a young age. His father died when he was 2 and his mother died when he was about 7. The whole family then moved to Singapore where his sister, Clara, raised him. While in Singapore, he pursued his education at St. Joseph’s Institution.

God’s First calling.
In his lower secondary years, Paul was a poor student and found himself one of the last in the last class. Possessing a sensitivity beyond his years, he began to grow weary and despaired of the corruption, lies and deceit of society at the tender age of 14. It was at this time that he turned to God, and the thought of priesthood came “first as an escape from the wicked world and then also as a life to do penance for the world.”

Paul describes himself as a “timid and taciturn” youth. But it seems he is a tough fighter too. When he first told a priest of his intention to become a priest, he was told that he needed to buck up on his studies. This admonition sparked off a radical change in him such that he sailed from the bottom of the heap to being one the top 10 students in Form V.

The road to priesthood did not go easy for Paul. He was in Form V when he first mentioned his intention to become a priest to his family. There were strong objections and they tried to keep him from taking such a drastic step by forcing him to continue with his From VI studies. However, after a year, he decided not to continue with his studies and his family then sent him to some relatives in Penang who helped him secure a teaching job at Stella Maris School in Kangar, Perlis. During his one year stint there, he had the time to pray and reflect on God’s calling. When he tried to broach the subject again to his family, they threatened to disown him and even to take him back by force and lock him up.

Encounters with God.
One night while in Stella Maris School, Paul had a spiritual experience of God. While praying the rosary and walking along a dark part of the school building, fear overtook him. At that moment, however, he felt the whole place lit up and heard music that was soft and calming. All fear left him and he felt peace. That gave him the courage to say “Yes, Lord, You will make me your servant. I will be Your servant.” It was perhaps God’s way of telling Paul that He would remove the obstacles on his way to becoming a priest.

Meanwhile, the late Fr. Bourke, a Jesuit priest, had been paying frequent visits to Paul’s family in Singapore while he was still teaching at Kangar. This was in some ways instrumental in helping Paul’s family get to grips with his intention to be a priest. The family was impressed with Fr. Bourke and thought they would not half mind if Paul were to become someone like the former. When Paul returned from his teaching duties at Kangar, he got a grudging approval from his family to allow him to become a priest.

Before Paul left for his training, there was another spiritual experience with God that further convinced him and his family that God was indeed calling him. While taking a short holiday in the jungle by the river of Mersing to see the logging process, he had an omen of something evil about to happen. He then prayed to God to spare the lumberjacks but to let him take on the misfortune meant for them. The next day, the cable fastening a lorry on a steep incline snapped and the lorry knocked into Paul. Instead of crushing him, the lorry pinned him to a tree but he suffered only two fracture ribs. The lumberjacks were safe. This spectacular grace from God was the final sign that persuaded Paul’s family God really wanted him.

Priestly Studies.
Paul joined that Jesuits in Hong Kong in 1959 and spent the first two years of his novitiate there. He describes them as “two years of intense courtship between God and me. It was a period of most wonderful experiences of God, but it was tough.”

In 1961 he was sent to the Philippines to do his studies in humanities and philosophy. Those were difficult years where Paul’s prayer life became dry and questions about his faith plagued him. He spent five years in the Philippines, earning his B.A. (Hons) in Humanities in 1964 and M.A in Philosophy in 1966.

Paul was then sent to Taiwan in 1966 to do his regency: a period of apostolic work. It was also a time for him to get to the roots of his identity as a Chinese and he followed classes in Chinese philosophy and taught English and English literature in Taiwan University. His sensitivity to the suffering of the world and his intense questioning led him to many questions about the love and existence of God. Paul was nearly on the verge of leaving the Society of Jesus. However, he had a last talk with his “Master of Novices”, Fr. Joh O’Meara, who decided that Paul was only having a psychological problem and should continue with his theology. Paul agreed.

In 1968 Paul was sent to Ireland to do his theology, and earned his Licentiate in Theology in 1972. He met a good Irish friend, Jesuit Fr. Myles O’Reilly, while in Dublin. Paul credits Fr. Myles O’Reilly with helping him regain his faith in God. Whenever he doubted his own abilities, Paul would turn to Fr. O’Reilly and find a friend who supported him and often pointed him in the right directions.

Throughout the difficulties that Paul faced both before and after he entered the Society of Jesus, he reflects that he “clung to Jesus Christ, the only person I really loved deeply. He saved me.” And on 21st June 1971, Paul was ordained a Jesuit priest.

After his theology Paul was sent to Paris, France, to pursue further studies. He earned his Doctorate in History in 1975 in Paris. He then went to Colombia in South America from 1976-1977 for his tertianship, the final year of Jesuit formation. After this, Paul’s provincial expressed his wish that Paul returned to Malaysia, which he did in spite of the fact that he was prepared for something else.

Given the rigorous training and studies that Fr. Paul had to undergo, it is not surprising that he is fluent in English, Bahasa Malaysia, Mandarin, French, Spanish, Italian and a few other Chinese dialects.

Summing Up.
Upon his return to Malaysia, one of Fr. Paul’s first assignments was as the spiritual director of the Independent Catholic Renewal society (ICRS). The ICRS is part of an international movement whose aim was to foster the mutual evangelisation of middle and uppor income groups. It was introduced in Malaysia by two French priests. Fr. Paul was spiritual director of ICRS till 1991.

In 1977, with a group of lay people and religious, Fr. Paul started the Catholic Research Centre in Kuala Lumpur and became it’s Director. The Catholic Research Centre was the launching pad for ecumenical initiative and inter-religious dialogue.

Fr. Paul was also editor of Catholic Asian News from 1981-1991, a monthly periodical which provides news about the Church in Asia. He is also a writer of several books (the most popular being “Straight to Catholics”) aimed at educating and increasing the consciousness of people in general and Catholics in particular. He has also written articles published both locally and internationally.

Among his more notable achievements, mention must be made of Fr. Paul Tan’s contribution on inter-religious dialogue front. Hew as a founding member of the Malaysian Consultative Council for Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism and Sikhism (MCCBCHS), which was established in 1983. It is a consultative body aimed at promoting understanding, mutual respect and co-operation between people of different religions. He was also a founding member of the Christian Federation of Malaysia (CFM), formed in 1985. The CFM is an umbrella body of all the various Christian denominations, which reinforces and extends, through dialogue and consultation, the common areas of agreement among the various Christian groups in the country.

From 1984-1991, Fr. Paul was the Regional Superior of the Jesuits in the Region of Malaysia and Singapore.

In 1992, Fr. Paul was posted to Rome to take up an appointment as Regional Assistant to East Asia in the Jesuit Order. He has been serving in this capacity until his recent election as the new Bishop of the Melaka-Johor Diocese.

Ministering on Home Ground.
Fr. Paul has been variously described by his contemporaries as a wise, intelligent and talented person. His charisma has always touched those who have worked with him, and many of his friends and colleagues respect his outspoken, dynamic personality. Yet it is his humility and diplomacy that leaves the deepest impression on people. As someone once remarked to Fr. Paul when he was working during the summer holidays in a hospital in New York during the early years of his priesthood, “as soon as you walk in, the whole place seems to light with joy.” May the light of God continue to shine upon Fr. Paul as he takes on his new role as the Bishop of the Melaka-Johor Diocese.

 

Links
· More Pictures from the ordination
· Choosing a Vocation
· More Vocation Stories
· Prayer