| Jurisdiction: | Archdiocese |
| Singapore | |
| Latin: | Archidioecesis Singaporensis |
| Country: | Singapore |
| Metropolitan: | Immediately Subject to the Holy See |
| Area Km2: | 765 |
| Population: | 5,600,000 |
| Population As Of: | 2020 |
| Catholics: | 373,000 (6.7%) [1] |
| Churches: | 32 |
| Schools: | 59 |
| Denomination: | Roman Catholic |
| Rite: | Latin Rite |
| Cathedral: | Cathedral of the Good Shepherd |
| Bishop Title: | Archbishop |
| Bishop: | William Goh Seng Chye |
| Vicar General: | Stephen Yim James Yeo Peter Zhang, CDD |
| Emeritus Bishops: | Nicholas Chia Archbishop Emeritus (2001–2013) |
| Website: | catholic.sg |
The Archdiocese of Singapore (Latin: Archidioecesis Singaporensis) is an exempt archdiocese of the Latin Church of the Catholic Church. Its territory includes all that is under the jurisdiction of the Republic of Singapore.
Its current archbishop is Cardinal William Goh Seng Chye. Goh took over the archdiocese on 18 May 2013, after Pope Francis accepted the resignation of his predecessor, Nicholas Chia Yeck Joo. The Cathedral of the Good Shepherd, located within the Civic District, is the cathedral church of the Archdiocese of Singapore.
As an exempt diocese, the archdiocese is not a part of an ecclesiastical province, but comes under the direct jurisdiction of the Holy See. The archdiocese is a member of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei.
The Roman Catholic Church in Singapore was initially under the jurisdiction of the Diocese of Malacca,[2] [3] [4] established by the papal bull pro excellenti praeeminentia issued by Pope Paul IV on 4 February 1558 as one of two new suffragan dioceses (the other being Diocese of Cochin) to the Archdiocese of Goa.[5] [6]
The diocese of Malacca was transferred to the Vicariate Apostolic of Ava and Pegu[7] in 1838 and then the Vicariate Apostolic of Siam[8] in 1840. In 1841, the church was placed under the jurisdiction of the Vicariate Apostolic of Western Siam that was erected from the Vicariate Apostolic of Siam. Initially called the Vicariate Apostolic of Western Siam, the name was changed to the Vicariate Apostolic of the Malay Peninsula and finally the Vicariate Apostolic of Malacca-Singapore.
In 1888, the church was once again placed under the jurisdiction of the Diocese of Malacca when the diocese was revived. The Diocese of Malacca was raised to the rank of an archdiocese in 1953. In 1955, the Archdiocese of Malacca was split and an ecclesiastical province was formed in its place comprising the Archdiocese of Malacca-Singapore as the metropolitan see and the Diocese of Kuala Lumpur and Diocese of Penang as suffragan dioceses.
In 1972, the Archdiocese of Malacca-Singapore was split into the Diocese of Malacca-Johor and the Archdiocese of Singapore with the Archdiocese of Singapore coming under the direct jurisdiction of the Holy See.
From 1838 to 1981, there was dual jurisdiction situation in Singapore, one tracing authority from the Vicariate Apostolate of Siam down to the present Archdiocese of Singapore and the other with the authority from the Portuguese Mission first from the Archdiocese of Goa and then the Diocese of Macau. This was a legacy of the padroado pronouncement in the 16th century. Dual jurisdiction was ended in 1981, when the Portuguese Mission handed over St Joseph's Church to the Archdiocese of Singapore and, thus, all of Singapore's territories was brought under the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Singapore.
Following his appointment, William Goh made key appointments:[9]
The archdiocese is divided into five district deaneries covering the entire city-state of Singapore, namely the City District, East District, West District, North District and Serangoon District.
Out of the thirty-two churches, three churches in the City District are not parishes, namely the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd, Saint Joseph's Church and the Church of Saint Alphonsus.
In February 2016, the Church's advice to congregants not to attend Madonna's Rebel Heart concert, the pop singer's first in Singapore, sparked controversy. In a circular, Archbishop Goh warned Christians not to support “the ‘pseudo arts’ that promote sensuality, rebellion, disrespect, pornography, contamination of the mind of the young, abusive freedom, individualism at the expense of the common good, vulgarity, lies and half-truths”.[10]
Expressing concern about Madonna’s "blasphemous music" and her "disrespectful use of Catholic/Christian symbols", the archbishop said he appreciated that “the task of the government in balancing freedom of the arts and public sensitivities is a challenging one”, but warned that “in multi-racial, multi-religious Singapore, we cannot afford to be overly permissive in favour of artistic expression at the expense of respect for one’s religion, especially in these times of heightened religious sensitivities, particularly among active practitioners of religions”.[11] “There is no neutrality in faith; one is either for or against. Being present (at these events) in itself is a counter witness," the archbishop added.[12]
As a debate ensued over whether the Church was imposing its views on the public, other Christian bodies including the National Council of Churches of Singapore, the Anglican church and LoveSingapore, began issuing similar statements.[13] [14] The protests did not end with any change on the part of the Media Development Authority which had already rated the concert R18 for its sexually suggestive content and scrapped a song for "religiously sensitive content".[15]