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Gregory Yong
By peace | July 1, 2008
Ex-Archbishop Gregory Yong: Mourners arrive to pay their final respects
I heard the funeral prayers on the news on 29th June, the Teochew Funeral song (prayer for the dead by St Joseph Dying Aid Association), and I was so sad. Those songs were being sung everytime when my grandparents and great grandparents died, very sad songs/prayer. I don’t understand the meaning, but still feel very sad.
His body should be at The Cathedral of the Good Shepherd at Queen Street now. He will be cremated on Wednesday.
Gregory Yong stayed at St Joseph’s Home for four years. I never know that. Otherwise, I would have gone in to visit him on that day when I passed by St Joseph’s Home.
The leader of the Catholic community here from February 1977 to October 2000, Archbishop Emeritus Yong kept a low-profile and did not like attention. Known as the ‘people’s archbishop’ to many, Archbishop Emeritus Yong stepped down as head of the catholic community in 2000, passing the baton to current Archbishop Nicholas Chia. He had been suffering from heart problems and diabetes but his health took a pronounced turn for the worse a few months ago and he started spending more time in bed.
Last month, he had his last birthday celebration, who appeared strong and healthy. The last time he was seen in public was in May 2004, when he appeared as a prosecution witness in the trial of a priest who was eventually jailed for misappropriating $5.1 million in church funds. Gregory Yong was also in office when, in 1987, people with links to the church were arrested in a conspiracy to overthrow the government. He had ordered his priests to stop mixing politics and religion.
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July 1st, 2008 at 3:36 pm
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July 2nd, 2008 at 4:49 pm
[…] is Gregory Yong’s funeral, going to be cremated. It was raining just now, when I was thinking about him, and […]