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Dear readers, we understand that some of our subscribers received copies of our December issues late. We fully acknowledge your disappointment and we extend our sincere apologies for the inconvenience. While our team looked into strengthening our internal processes, there were some external factors beyond our control.Read more ...
Whether Seal of Confession was broken in film
We understand that emails and WhatAapp messages have been circulated questioning whether the Seal of Confession was breached in the dramatisation of the confession of Catherine Tan Mui Choo in the local film entitled Sister.
Some have postulated that what was “seemingly revealed” in the confession scene (from 4:30 to about 7:30 mins) should have been kept within the expected confidentiality of the Sacrament.
While some artistic licence may have been taken by the producers, these are facts to be considered:
“How can Jesus love me after everything I’ve done?”
Sister tells the story of Sr Gerard Fernandez’s journey with one of the wives of self-styled medium Adrian Lim as she was on death row. The filmlet features hope and redemption even in the midst of despair and sorrow.
Jeanne Tai
In Chai Yee Wei’s short film Sister, there is a scene where death row inmate Catherine Tan asks for confession. “Forgive me Father ... I don’t even know where to begin,” she whispers to a priest before reciting a litany of sins: Prostitution. Incest. Murder.
It culminates in Catherine tearfully recounting how she assisted with the killings of two children. She breaks down as photographs of her young victims flash onscreen. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” she wails.
Giving hope, love to those on death row
André Ahchak and Jared Ng
During the seven years Sister Gerard Fernandez spent counselling and journeying with Catherine Tan in death row, “God was always right by our side ... Listening, loving and forgiving.”
“Christ was so present in that prison,” recalled the Good Shepherd Sister (RGS), who turns 81 in February.
The nun met Catherine and Hoe Kah Hong, the two “holy wives” of self-styled medium Adrian Lim, every week right until they were hanged on Nov 25, 1988. They were convicted for the murder of two children in a ritual killing in Toa Payoh in 1981.