I am a priest because
of the youth ministry.
This affirmation came from Fr. Dominic Santhiyagu, the outgoing Director
of the Penang Diocesan Youth Network
(PDYN), during an interview that we had with him in his office at the Church
Our Lady of Sorrows. Below is the full
transcript of this interview.
PDYN: You
have been with PDYN for more than five years.
Can you tell us how you started and how it felt like working with the
young people in the Diocese of Penang?
Fr.
Dominic: I consider it as a call from
God. Bishop Antony Selvanayagam asked me to join PDYN in
2007 instead of taking over as Director in 2008. Before I accepted the invitation, I asked
Bishop Selva for time to think and pray over it. At that time, a lot of things were happening
in the parish so it was not easy for me to decide whether to accept it or
not. What inspired me to say yes to the
invitation was a Sunday reading on Zaccheus (Luke 19:1-10) who climbed the
sycamore tree to have a glimpse of Jesus, then was told to get down from the
tree and welcomed Jesus in his house.
Like Zaccheus, I realized that Jesus was calling me and giving me the
opportunity to explore my talents.
As to working with young people, it was challenging
at first. I was a young priest then and
all the methods I used were old and based on what I experienced when I was in
the youth group. I would say that it was also very interesting and was filled
with opportunities for growth.
PDYN: It is a
well-known fact that you did a lot as PDYN Director in terms of the formation
of leaders and organizing activities that brought the young people of the
Diocese together. Can you share to us
the joys and challenges that you experienced in the youth ministry?
Fr. Dominic:
It is always a joy to work with very talented young people. Those I worked with did not give negative
reasons as to why things can not be done.
They are always ready to try and to explore new ideas. I am lucky to work with a hopeful batch of
people which, like me, also consider the ministry as a call from God. The challenge was working with other
priests. I also found it very difficult
to convince the young people to be involved especially those coming from the
parishes in the city. I found the young
people coming from the outskirts of the main city more responsive and more
eager to know and experience things.
PDYN: From the many events that PDYN organized, what are the three significant experiences that you want to share with us?
Fr. Dominic:
The Kenang Project is one of the things that I consider
significant. It came as a result of my
experience during the Asian Youth Day 2009.
We practically started with nothing.
I gave the responsibility to Amelleia Chamin Leo to come up with a
program and to organise the youth. From
nothing, money and resources, we ended up having so much for this project. I can say that with this project, everything
is possible when responsibilities are given to committed young people. When we think about something and work with
capable people, we can make it happen.
It is the richness of the experience, spending 10 days with our brothers and sisters in Keningau, that stays with me up to this time.
Another experience is the Partnership Program that
involved 20 single adults from the different parishes and youth groups in the
diocese. It was a 2-year journey where
young people met once a month for the first year of the implementation
(2008-2009) then once every quarter (2009-2010) for prayer and formation
sessions.
The youth partners, as the participants were called,
were expected to go back to enhance, strengthen and motivate the members of
their own youth groups. They were like
the disciples who were formed and trained to go back to their places and share
what they have learned to their fellow youth.
This program formed leaders who are very involved in their groups such
as Mandarin Partners and CHOICE as well as in their parishes. They were the pillars of the various
leadership trainings and district-level celebrations in the Diocese as well as
the two Penang Diocesan Youth Days (PDYD 1 and 2).
And lastly, we had the PDYD 1 (August 2008) and PDYD
2 (November 2012) which were held so that the youth could experience the World
Youth Day (WYD) in the local level.
PDYN: Despite of the Partnership Program and
Leadership Trainings for the youth leaders, continuity in the parish leadership
is still a concern at the present. What
do you think are the reasons for this?
Fr. Dominic:
It has been a problem ever since I started my ministry. Most of the leaders are students and they are
not very sure how long they will be around.
They will be very involved until they are in Form 4 but will focus more
on their examinations when they reach Form 5.
If we want continuity in the leadership, we should have single adults as leaders or advisers such as
what Islanders Tamil Youth Network (ITYN) and Central Perak Youth Council
(CPYC) have.
 |
Two of his many gifts and interests: Directing and
photography... seen here taking video clips for
PDYD 2 Launching
|
PDYN: Where
did you get the inspiration and ideas all those years that you were working
with the youth and for the youth?
Fr. Dominic:
Not all of those activities and ideas were new. We have done them before. Others came from my personal reflections but
mostly, ideas came from my exposure and participation in the World Youth Day
(WYD) and Asian Youth Day (AYD). These
youth gatherings gave me the opportunity
to talk to young people and helped me see things done in various ways. Without
this exposure, my ideas will be very limited.
PDYN: Do
still you have unfulfilled plans and dreams for the youth ministry of the
Diocese?
Fr. Dominic:
There is only one thing that I think we have not done yet and that is to
train young people and send them as missionaries to the different parts of the
world. When I went to the Philippines
for the AYD in 2009, my perception of the youth ministry changed. There, I discovered many young people from
Malaysia who gave one year of their life to be missionaries. These are young people who are holding
important positions in the factories here or working in the offices who took
one year unpaid leave to go to the Philippines and serve the Church through the
different organisations and missionary groups.
 |
| with the youth from City Parish |
I am thinking, why can we not do it? I think that Malaysians need this kind of
exposure so we could widen our perspectives.
Personally, I am grateful to Bishop Selva and the diocese for giving me
opportunities to be out of the country to join these youth gatherings. These opened my eyes to see the universality
of the Church and that, it is not limited to the local level.
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| At the Church of Our Mother of Perpetual Help with the youth from Kampar |
PDYN: Do you
still see yourself getting actively involved in the youth ministry now that you
are not anymore connected with PDYN?
Fr. Dominic:
PDYN is just one of the ministries in the Diocese but all ministries are
in the parishes. As priests, we are exposed to all the ministries in a
smaller scale. I am in the parish and
always surrounded with young
people. I am planning to give the youth
in my parish the formation they would need as missionaries and send them to
different places to serve. I promise
to give my 101% support for the youth
ministry in the parish.
But in a
way, I will miss being in PDYN. I will
surely miss the staff and the youth ministers with whom I have worked with.
 |
| At the Church of Our Mother of Perpetual Help with the youth from the Risen Christ Church |
PDYN: We
would like to thank you for the selfless service that you have given to the
youth ministry of the Diocese. You have
been an inspiration to all of us and have given us the opportunities to grow as
person and as youth ministers. Is there
anything that you want to say to the youth of today?
Fr. Dominic:
Discover your own call. Be
involved in the youth ministry because it is the only opportunity that you have to explore your
gifts. There are no other venues for
this except in the Church because we are very organized as a community. Use your youthfulness and attend leadership
trainings and formation sessions.
I am a priest today mainly because of youth
ministry. Thanks to the opportunities given to me by Fr. Bernard Paul, and many
others. In the youth ministry, you can acquire leadership qualities and the
confidence which could even help you to manage your family in the near future.
Fr. Dominic:
I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who have
journeyed with me in the youth ministry:
· Bishop Emeritus Antony Selvanayam for the
opportunity that he gave me to serve
the Diocese of
Penang in
the youth ministry.
· Bishop Sebastian Francis for allowing me to focus
on my parish.
· All the priests, youth leaders and advisers for
your full support and guidance.
· The staff of PDYN and the Diocese for your
dedication, support, hard work and
encouragement .
· Jesus for the particular mission He has given me
in PDYN and the mission continues through Him, with
Him and in
Him.
Thank you, Fr. Dominic!
Count on our prayers...
